Good Luck Orphanage,

"Little brother, what are you doing here? Mingling? ”

Reporter Du Wen, who wore a volunteer badge, stood in the courtyard and looked at the young people in the courtyard curiously.

The other party looks dressed as a student, holding a drawing board and looking down to draw, looking very maverick in the orphanage.

Du Wen is a new young journalist for the Myanmar Mirror.

He is ambitious and is preparing to write an investigative story about the local orphan community in Yangon in the coming months, which will hit the local press.

This kind of documentary journalism, which records the dark side of society, has always been the favorite subject of current affairs reporters, and it is also the easiest to win various awards in the news category.

As for why not go to the Golden Triangle to interview the big drug lords, or go to northern Myanmar to document the warlords and frictions......

I'm sorry

He's not that ambitious.

Since he wanted to get access to first-hand information, it was impossible for Du Wen to hold his press card and let the photographer carry a long gun and a short cannon to walk around.

He planned the interview plan and the process of the investigation in advance, and almost every day as a volunteer, he would infiltrate various local welfare homes in Yangon to conduct investigations.

Today

He met a strange man in the Good Luck Orphanage.

In fact, the probability of encountering strange things in the journalist industry is quite high, and it is rare for art students to come to the orphanage, and it will not make Du Wen fussed.

But after each drawing, the other party threw the paper into the coal stove on the side and burned it.

This makes Mr. Reporter incomprehensible.

"Why do you burn it? Painted ...... Do I look pretty good? ”

Du Wen craned his neck curiously, looking at the thin boy who looked about seventeen or eighteen years old, and once again threw the sketch he had just finished into the coal stove for boiling water.

Although he doesn't know much about painting, Du Wen's reporter intuitively seems to be vividly painted.

"The mood is not right."

The flames licked at the rough surface of the sketch paper, and the paper shrank rapidly, scorched black, and after a few seconds, turned into a puff of green smoke that dissipated.

Gu Weijing looked at the fading open flame in the furnace and shook his head in distress.

After taking a taxi to the orphanage today, he originally planned to draw a sketch of a person to complete the task.

The subject of portraiture was chosen not only because he had acquired Burriman's anatomical specialization.

It is also because painting portraits is undoubtedly the easiest way for a painter to capture emotions.

Everyone is alive all the time with their own joys, angers, sorrows, and joys. Even if you want to be deliberately calm, calmness itself is an emotion.

All the painter needs to do is record this emotion.

Especially the little ones in the orphanage.

Innocent, childlike, simple, theoretically the best model.

But he had already burned several drawings in a row.

For each drawing,

Just burn one on the coal stove where the water is boiled.

Sometimes, halfway through the painting, I just take it and burn it.

The reason why Gu Weijing did this was because it seemed that there was something missing in his paintings.

It doesn't feel right,

The final emotional evaluation can't go up either.

He stared into deep thought as he pondered the girl playing with her doll under a tree not far away, her chosen model.

"I heard that your family has donated a lot of money here, maybe a few thousand dollars?"

Du Wen was a little interested in this boy who burned paintings.

This guy is not very old, but I heard others say that he often donates money and materials for the orphanage, which is already a lot of money.

Still so young,

Rare.

"My own money."

"Your own money is not your parents' money. What do your parents do, if you can go to Dewei, the family will probably earn a lot. ”

Du Wen pouted.

As a well-informed journalist, he recognized the school emblem of DUWLCH on his chest on Gu Weijing's dark school uniform, which is a well-known local private high school.

It turned out to be the son of a rich family,

Du Wen thought.

He has heard of the local rich children in Yangon who play with cars, watches, models, even white powder, but he likes to play charity, and this hobby is indeed curious.

"You're applying to a foreign university, right? Mix up social services for a few days, and when the time comes, you will get extra points on your application...... I'm quite willing to spend money, but it's better to find a study abroad agent. ”

Journalist Du Wen thinks he has found the answer.

He was able to become a reporter for the largest newspaper in Myanmar, and he also studied journalism at an overseas school, so he knows the twists and turns of foreign universities.

Many foreigners prefer to admit students with social service backgrounds.

For example, Harvard, the average minimum admission student has a high school GPA of 3.6, and the SAT (American College Entrance Examination) must also score 1500, but if the social service is particularly prominent, it may be a GPA of 3.2, and SAT1300 will be fine.

However, in this case, you can just ask the study abroad agent to issue a certificate form, and you can make up all the background for you for a little money, ensuring that you look like a good student who is keen on social welfare.

Why bother to come to the orphanage, tired and unpleasant.

Du Wen felt that although this guy's family was rich, he was obviously not knowledgeable enough.

He shook his head and prepared to leave.

A rich kid who came over to mix social activities really doesn't have any need to report.

It would not be enough to denigrate such behavior in the report.

At least they really spend money on charity, and the students of Dulwich College International are either rich or expensive, so they are the children of local high-ranking officials, so there is no need to offend.

Unexpectedly, at this time,

Perhaps they looked at the little girl in the blue dress for too long, which aroused the curiosity of the other party.

The little girl came cautiously from the shade of the tree.

The girl looked very shy, she didn't disturb Gu Weijing, who was painting, but stood still a few steps in front of Du Wen.

She tentatively handed over the Snow White doll in her hand.

"Uncle, can you play with me?"

Du Wen was not interested in playing with dolls with the little girl.

He was still pondering his report in his mind, but subconsciously took the doll.

When the skin touched, he felt that the little girl's little hand was cold and thin, like a small dry firewood stick.

He looked up and glanced at the other party out of professional habit as a journalist.

The girl is long and wrinkled,

It was black and small, like a small piece of black charcoal.

Although it is not a pink carving now, when I grow up, I look forward to the eighteenth change of the female university, and the probability of becoming a beauty is not great.

The only highlight is that there are a pair of very beautiful big eyes,

Other than that, the dress is lackluster.

The pale blue dress, which was obviously a little oversized, was washed and washed, and looked like second-hand clothes worn by other older children.

There was no decoration on the whole body, except for the wrist of the right hand, which wore a ribbon made of red silk.

Wait...... Wait!

"What do I see?"

Red ribbon?

Duwen's heart pounded.

It's a ...... Red Ribbon Doll!

The Red Ribbon Doll is actually a nice term for children with AIDS.

Like some countries in Africa, Myanmar is one of the most affected countries in the world by AIDS, affected by the drug epidemic.

AIDS can be transmitted from mother to child, and since the orphanage itself houses many drug orphans, it is not surprising to meet children with AIDS.

While knowing this,

But...... Suddenly, under the direct contact of the skin, Du Wen's heart still subconsciously surged with a burst of disgust.

As if he had touched a large mass of pathogens, he shook off the little girl's hand.

"Don't hit me!"

Du Wen's practical strength is not great, but he overestimates the strength of this little girl who also looks like she is in her teens.

The little girl was thrown by him, and the whole person seemed to be made of marshmallows, and she was stumbled lightly, and the doll in her hand was also thrown aside.

The reporter didn't have time to care about the girl who fell, so he quickly took out a tissue from his pocket and wiped his hands repeatedly, and even had goosebumps on the back of his hands because of disgust and fear.

The little girl who fell looked at Du Wen with a frightened gaze, her big eyes were full of tears, but she didn't dare to cry.

It was obviously not the first time she had experienced this kind of thing, and she knew that she might have caused trouble and upset others.

She said in a small, mosquito-like tone, "I'm sorry, I just wanted to play with you." ”

Du Wen, who came slowly, was a little embarrassed in his heart,

He tried to lift the little girl up from the ground, but he couldn't reach out.

suddenly

Du Wen saw the rich kid in the Dulwich uniform walk past him, got down on one knee, and picked the little girl up from the ground.

"Jasmine, are you alright? I didn't fall it, did I bleed? ”

Gu Weijing vaguely remembered that this little guy was called Jasmine.

At the moment when Du Wen pushed Jasmine down, he almost subconsciously understood what was missing in his painting-

It's empathy!

He once told Katsuko Sakai that the other party's paintings lacked realism.

And he made the same mistake himself.

If there is no thunder rumbling in your mind, you can't paint a thunderstorm day, and a painter who can't empathize with his characters can't talk about souls in the characters he expresses.

Gu Weijing has never really understood the inner world of these children.

His original work was too bookish and dogmatic.

A little girl playing with dolls in the shade of a tree.

In art textbooks, such scenes are naturally innocent, peaceful, and plain.

Gu Weijing also took it for granted when he painted, and there may be a little pity.

But this is his own emotion, not the emotion of the character itself.

He didn't pay attention to Jasmine's inner world at all.

She was not at all calm and joyful, she longed for the company of others, longed to play with other children, but she could only sit alone under the tree and hold her doll.

The discrimination against children living with AIDS is all-encompassing.

Not only is no one willing to adopt them, but even the children in the orphanage have been imperceptibly isolated by the outside environment.

They may not yet understand what AIDS is.

But older children of the same age were already able to understand that this companion with the red ribbon was "unclean" and that if they mixed with her, they could become unclean.

Not to mention ordinary people, in fact, even volunteers are reluctant to come into contact with them.

Gu Weijing has never understood Jasmine's emotional world.

Not enough empathy,

It's like indiscriminately wrapping a pot of Russian beetroot soup into the skin as a dumpling filling, and the final result is naturally not the same as the horse's mouth.

"Wow......"

Seeing that someone cared about her, the little girl Jasmine, who had been pretending to be strong, cried as soon as she said a word, her head lay on Gu Weijing's back, and her tears couldn't stop flowing down.

Looking at the fragile tearful eyes of this little girl who was treated unfairly by God.

Gu Weijing felt very uncomfortable in his heart.

"Don't cry, I'll play with you."

"They said I was dirty and dark, no one played with me, I had to play with the dolls by myself all the time......"

Molly said with tears in her eyes.

Gu Weijing shook his head with a smile and took the little girl's hand: "You are not dirty at all, you are simply beautiful, my brother taught you how to dance with a European princess, you are the first girl I invited to dance." ”

"Ahem...... Little brother, she ...... There is AIDS. ”

Du Wen couldn't help but remind on the side, thinking that Gu Weijing might not have noticed the red ribbon on Jasmine's hand.

The female director of the orphanage also noticed the situation and came over.

After hesitating for a moment, the female dean still whispered, "Xiao Gu." Just let Jasmine play on her own. ”

Du Wen is not alone, many people in the orphanage who are kind volunteers are also very taboo about contact with children with infectious diseases.

Mr. Gu, who often comes to the orphanage to donate money or help, is a very good young man.

She didn't want the other party to feel unhappy.

Gu Weijing didn't let go of the hand holding Molly, and shook his head: "I know, but it's okay, AIDS won't be transmitted through holding hands." ”

The United Nations International Health Organization (WHO) has a public welfare program for almost free antiretroviral treatment for HIV, and HIV treatment is very cheap.

Jasmine has also been taking related drugs in the orphanage for a long time, and the load of virus in the blood is not high, and the risk of transmission is actually very low with normal contact.

Many families with AIDS have lived together for more than ten or twenty years, and their families who have AIDS do not transmit the pathogen to other family members.

This kind of normal contact, as long as you overcome your own psychological barriers, there is generally no problem at all.

Faced with such a little girl's tearful request, Gu Weijing couldn't say anything to refuse.

"Ugh."

The female director of the orphanage sighed with emotion.

Many people know this truth, but how many people are really willing to smile and hold the hand of the red ribbon doll?

The reason why Princess Diana has become the most beloved member of the royal family in the whole world for half a century, or even the past century, is that when she visited the wife of the US president in the 90s, she hugged a child who tested positive for AIDS and shook hands with several AIDS patients.

This move shocked the world,

Time magazine called Princess Diana "the Angel of Love".

Even France, which has always been at odds with the British royal family, and Le Monde, the newspaper with the largest circulation in France, said that the other party's behavior was "enough to change the world."

The photograph of the princess holding the hand of an AIDS patient has even become one of the most classic political news photos of the past 30 years.

The only thing that can be compared to it is the New York Times's "World Trade Center Twin Towers at the Moment of Collapse" of global lens photography.

This also shows how shocking and moving it is for people to have close contact with patients who know they have AIDS.

"Little brother, what's your name?" Du Wen asked with a complicated expression.

"His surname is Gu, his name is Gu Weijing, and he is the most upright young man I have ever met." The female dean took a soft breath: "I want to have such a son, let me live thirty years less, I am willing." ”

The sun is gradually setting in the west,

And Gu Weijing really patiently accompanied the little girl to dance for an afternoon.

He didn't lie to the little girl,

She danced the same dance that European princesses had danced, directed by Louis XV, and there was nothing more authentic than that.

The court dance is not too complicated, the little girl has soft muscles and bones, and when she jumps up and rotates her skirt, she is really decent.

It wasn't until it was dark and sweaty through her dress that she was reluctantly called by the female dean to wash her hair and change clothes for dinner. The hot water here is limited, and it is all boiled by coal stoves, so you can only simply wipe your body and wait until the weekend to take a shower.

Gu Weijing didn't go home immediately, so he lit a candle in the courtyard of the orphanage, took out his mobile phone, and clicked on the photo album.

The volunteer gentleman, who didn't know why he had been asking questions about himself today, stood beside them for a long time while he was dancing with Jasmine.

The other party always looked like he wanted to say something, and then took out his mobile phone and took several photos.

Gu Weijing didn't stop it, but just asked the other party to use AirDrop on the iPhone to send the photo to himself.

When it comes to documenting reality, photographs are the quickest way to do it.

Gu Weijing hopes that the other party can capture the little girl's most heartfelt happy expression and use it as a template for his own painting.

"No, what is he doing with me?"

Gu Weijing glanced at the photo twice, a little speechless.

Nine out of ten shots of these photographs are focused on Gu Weijing's body.

I have to say that the old brother's photography skills are good, and he is even quite professional, and the formal uniform of the international school itself is very decent.

This makes Gu Weijing and the little girl dance hand in hand, and they have a feeling of warmth and humility under the camera, and they look really personable.

But

It wasn't what he wanted.

"This one is okay."

Gu Weijing searched for a long time, and only then did he find a good-looking photo under the lens, the little girl's blue skirt rotated and she smiled brightly.

He picked up the paintbrush by candlelight.

(End of chapter)