Good Luck Orphanage,
"Brother, what are you doing? Picking up the wind?"
Reporter Du Wen, wearing a volunteer badge, stood in the yard and looked curiously at the young people in the yard.
The other person looked like he was dressed as a student. He was holding a drawing board and drawing with his head down. He looked very unique in the orphanage.
Du Wen is a new young reporter at "Myanmar Mirror".
He is ambitious and is preparing to write an investigative report on the local orphan community in Yangon in the next few months, which will become an instant hit in the local press.
This kind of documentary news that 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 journalism awards.
As for why not go to the Golden Triangle to interview drug lords, or go to northern Myanmar to record the wars and frictions between warlords...
Feel sorry,
He's actually not that ambitious.
Since he wanted to get first-hand information, Du Wen couldn't hold up his press card and let photographers follow him around with guns and cannons.
He formulated the interview plan and investigation process in advance, and almost every day, as a volunteer, he went into various local welfare homes in Yangon to conduct investigations.
today,
He met a strange girl in the Lucky Orphanage.
In fact, the reporter industry has a high probability of encountering strange things. It is rare to find an art student in an orphanage, and it is not a big deal to Du Wen.
But every time the other party finished drawing a picture, he threw the drawing paper into the coal stove on the side and burned it.
This made it difficult for the reporter to understand.
"Why do you want to burn it? The painting... I look pretty good?"
Du Wen stretched his neck curiously and watched as the thin boy, who looked about seventeen or eighteen years old, once again threw the sketch he had just completed into the coal stove used to boil water.
Although he doesn't know much about painting, reporter Du Wen intuitively saw that the painting seemed to be lifelike.
"The mood is not right."
The flames licked the rough surface of the sketch paper, and the paper quickly shrank and burned black. After a few seconds, it turned into a puff of dissipated smoke.
Gu Weijing looked at the dimming flame in the stove and shook his head in distress.
After taking a taxi to the orphanage today, he originally planned to complete the task by drawing a portrait sketch.
The subject of portraiture was chosen not only because of Berryman's expertise in anatomy.
It’s because painting portraits is undoubtedly the easiest way for an artist to capture emotions.
Everyone has their own joy, anger, sadness, and joy all the time they live. Even if you want to be deliberately calm, calmness itself is an emotion.
What the painter needs to do is just to record this emotion.
Especially the children in the orphanage.
Innocent, childlike, and simple, in theory, she is the best model.
But he had already burned several drawings in a row.
Every time I draw a picture,
Just burn one on the coal stove that boils water.
Sometimes in the middle of a painting, I just burn it.
The reason why Gu Weijing did this was because it seemed that there was still something missing in his paintings.
It feels wrong,
The final emotional evaluation also failed to improve.
He stared at the girl playing with a doll with her head lowered under a tree not far away and fell into deep thought. That was his chosen model.
"I heard that your family donated a lot of money here, maybe several thousand dollars?"
Du Wen was a little interested in this boy who burned paintings.
This guy is not very old, but I heard from others that he often donates money and materials to 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 afford to go to Dulwich College, your family will probably earn a lot of money."
Du Wen pouted.
As a well-informed reporter, he recognized the school emblem on the chest of Gu Weijing's dark school uniform consisting of the letters DUWLCH, a well-known local private high school.
It turns out he is a kid from a rich family.
Du Wen thought.
He has heard of local rich kids in Yangon who play with cars, watches, models, and even those who play with white powder, but those who like to play charity are really curious.
"Are you going to apply for a foreign university? Do some social service for a few days and then you can add points to your application... You are quite willing to spend money. In fact, it is better to find an overseas study agency."
Journalist Du Wen thinks he has found the answer.
To be able to become a reporter for the largest newspaper in Myanmar, he also studied journalism at an overseas school and knows the twists and turns of foreign universities.
Many foreigners prefer to admit students with a social service background.
For example, at Harvard, generally the minimum high school GPA for admitted students is 3.6, and the SAT (American College Entrance Examination) is 1500. However, if social services are particularly outstanding, a GPA of 3.2 and an SAT of 1300 may be enough.
However, in general, in this case, you can just go to the study abroad agency to issue a certificate form. For a little money, they can compile all the background for you, ensuring that you look like a good student who is passionate about social welfare.
Why come to an orphanage? It's tiring 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.
There is really no need to report a rich kid who came here to participate in social activities.
If we say that this kind of behavior is denounced in the report, that is not the case.
At least they really spent money on charity, and the students of Dulwich International High School are either rich or noble. They might be the children of local high-ranking officials, so there is no need to offend them.
Unexpectedly, at this moment,
Perhaps they had been looking at the little girl in the blue skirt for too long, which aroused each other's curiosity.
The little girl walked cautiously from the shade of the tree.
The girl looked very shy. She did not disturb Gu Weijing who was painting, but stood 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 had no interest in playing with the little girl's dolls.
He was still thinking about his report in his mind, but subconsciously took the doll.
When the skin came into contact, he felt that the little girl's little hand was cold and thin, like a dry firewood stick.
He raised his head and, out of journalistic professional habits, looked at the other person.
The girl is wrinkled,
It's black and small, like a small piece of black coal.
Although she is not a perfect girl now, when she grows up, she is expected to transform into a beautiful girl, and the probability of becoming a beauty is not much higher.
The only bright spot is that she has a pair of beautiful big eyes.
Other than that, the attire is lackluster.
The light blue dress, which was obviously a bit too big, had been washed again and again. It looked like it was second-hand clothing worn by other older children.
There are no other decorations on the whole body, except for a red silk ribbon on the wrist of his right hand.
etc!
"What did I see?"
Red ribbon?
Du Wen's heart skipped a beat.
This is... a red ribbon doll!
Red ribbon doll is actually a nice way of saying children with AIDS.
Like some countries in Africa, Myanmar is also a country in the world that is severely affected by AIDS due to the epidemic of drugs.
AIDS can be transmitted from mother to child, and the orphanage itself houses many drug orphans. It is not surprising to meet children with AIDS.
Although I know this,
But... under the sudden direct skin contact, Du Wen still subconsciously felt a wave of disgust in his heart.
He shook the little girl's hand away as if he had touched a large mass of pathogens.
"Don't touch me!"
Du Wen actually didn't use much strength, but he overestimated the strength of this little girl who looked to be in her teens.
The little girl was thrown away by him, her whole body seemed to be made of marshmallows, she was carried away and staggered, and the doll in her hand was also thrown aside.
The reporter didn't have time to pay attention to the fallen girl. He quickly took out a tissue from his pocket and wiped his hands repeatedly. Goosebumps even appeared on the back of his hands because of disgust and fear.
The little girl who fell looked at Du Wen with fearful eyes. 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 gotten into trouble and made others unhappy.
She said in a small, mosquito-like tone: "I'm sorry, I just want to play with you."
Du Wen, who had regained his composure, felt a little embarrassed.
He wanted to help the little girl up from the ground, but he couldn't reach out his hand.
Sudden,
Du Wen saw the rich boy wearing a Dulwich uniform walking past him, kneeling on one knee and picking up the little girl from the ground.
"Jasmine, are you okay? You didn't fall, did you? Is there any bleeding?"
Gu Weijing vaguely remembered that this little guy was called Jasmine.
The moment 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 person’s paintings lacked a sense of reality.
And I also made the same mistake.
If there is no thunder in the mind, it is impossible to paint a thunderstorm day well. A painter who cannot empathize with the characters he paints cannot say that the characters he expresses have souls.
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 a doll in the shade.
In art textbooks, such a scene is naturally childlike, peaceful, and plain.
When Gu Weijing painted, he also took it for granted, maybe with a little pity.
But this is his own emotion, not that of the character himself.
He didn't pay attention to Jasmine's inner world at all.
In fact, she was not at all calm or happy. She longed for the company of others and to play with other children, but she could only sit alone under the tree holding her doll.
Children with AIDS are discriminated against across the board.
Not only was no one willing to adopt them, but the children in the orphanage also isolated Jasmine under the influence of the outside environment.
They may not understand what AIDS is yet.
But those older children of the same age can already understand that this kind of companion with a red ribbon is "unclean", and if they hang out with her, they may become unclean.
Not to mention ordinary people, even volunteers are reluctant to contact them.
Gu Weijing never understood Jasmine's emotional world.
Not enough empathy,
Just like randomly wrapping a pot of Russian cabbage soup into dumpling fillings, the final result is naturally wrong.
"Wow……"
When she saw someone caring about her, little girl Jasmine, who had been pretending to be strong, started crying as soon as she said a word. Her head lay on Gu Weijing's back, and her tears couldn't stop flowing down.
Look at the fragile, tearful eyes of this little girl who has been unfairly treated by God.
Gu Weijing felt very uncomfortable in his heart.
"Don't cry, can I play with you?"
"They said I was dirty and black. No one played with me. I could only play with dolls by myself..."
Molly said tearfully.
Gu Weijing smiled and shook his head, holding the little girl's hand: "You are not dirty at all, you are simply beautiful. Brother, can you teach you how to dance like a European princess? You are the first girl I invite to dance." "
"Ahem...little brother, she...has AIDS."
Du Wen couldn't help but remind him, thinking that Gu Weijing might not have noticed the red ribbon on Jasmine's hand.
The headmistress of the orphanage also noticed what was going on here and came over.
After hesitating for a moment, the headmistress still whispered: "Xiao Gu. Just let Jasmine play by herself."
Du Wen is not an exception. Many kind-hearted volunteers in the orphanage 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 person to feel psychologically unhappy.
Gu Weijing did not let go of Molly's hand and shook his head: "I know, but it's okay. AIDS is not spread through holding hands."
The United Nations International Health Organization has almost free public welfare projects for anti-retroviral treatment of AIDS, and AIDS treatment is very cheap.
Jasmine has also been taking related drugs for a long time in the orphanage. The load of the virus in her blood is not high, and the risk of transmission through normal contact is actually very low.
Many AIDS families have lived together for more than ten or twenty years, and the family members who have AIDS will not transmit the pathogen to other family members.
This kind of normal contact generally won't cause any problems as long as you overcome your own psychological barriers.
Faced with such a little girl's tearful request, Gu Weijing couldn't even say no.
"well."
The headmistress of the orphanage sighed with emotion.
Many people know this truth, but how many people are really willing to hold the hand of the red ribbon doll with a smile?
The reason why Princess Diana has become the most beloved royal family member in the entire world for half a century, and even in the past century, is largely because she hugged an HIV tester without changing her face when the wife of the US President visited in the 1990s. positive children and shook hands with several AIDS patients.
This move shocked the world,
Time magazine called Princess Diana a "loving angel."
Even France, which has always been at odds with the British royal family, the most widely circulated newspaper in France, "Le Monde", called the other party's behavior "enough to change the world."
The photo of the princess holding the hand of an AIDS patient has even become one of the most classic political news photos in the press in the past thirty years.
The only thing that can compare to this is the "Twin Towers of the World Trade Center at the Moment of Collapse" shot by the New York Times.
This illustrates from the side how shocking and moving it is for people to have close contact with patients who know they have AIDS.
"Brother, what's your name?" Du Wen asked with a complicated expression.
"His surname is Gu, and his name is Gu Weijing. He is the most upright young man I have ever met." The female dean took a soft breath: "If I want to have a son like this, even if my life is shortened by thirty years, I will willing."
The sun gradually sets completely from the west,
Gu Weijing really patiently danced with the little girl all afternoon.
He didn't lie to the little girl either;
The dance she danced was really the dance danced by European princesses, directed by Louis XV. It couldn't be more authentic than this.
The court dance is not too complicated. The little girl has soft muscles and bones. When she jumps up and twirls her skirt, she looks really presentable.
It wasn't until the sky turned dark and sweat soaked through his clothes that he was reluctantly called by the headmistress to wash his hair and change clothes for dinner. There is limited hot water here, and it is all heated by coal stoves. I can only simply wipe myself and wait until the weekend to take a shower.
Gu Weijing didn't go home immediately, so he lit a candle in the yard of the orphanage, took out his mobile phone, and opened the photo album.
The volunteer gentleman who didn't know why he kept asking questions about him today stood beside him and Jasmine for a long time while they were dancing.
The other person always looked like he was hesitant to speak, and then he took out his cell phone and took several photos.
Gu Weijing didn't stop him, he just asked the other party to send the photos to him using AirDrop on his Apple phone.
Photographs are indeed an extremely quick way to record reality.
Gu Weijing hoped that the other party could capture the little girl's most joyful expression and use it as a template for his own painting.
"No, why does he always take care of me?"
Gu Weijing looked at the photo twice and was speechless.
Nine out of ten of these photos focus on Gu Weijing.
I have to say that the old man’s photography skills are pretty good, even quite professional, and the formal uniform of the international school itself is very decent.
This makes the way Gu Weijing and the little girl dance hand in hand look so gentle and gentle in the camera, and they look really graceful.
but,
This is not what he wants.
"This one is okay."
Gu Weijing searched for a long time before he found a good-looking photo under the camera. The little girl's blue skirt was spinning and she was smiling brightly.
He picked up his paintbrush by candlelight.
(End of chapter)
