The Ruined Bride of Velvet Nights by Brick Moving Ant

Chapter 62

  • Chapter 8

  • The first time I met Joseph was in a camp in Goma.

  • At that time, the situation in eastern Congo (DRC) was chaotic.

  • Militants, driven by the scramble for mineral resources and ethnic conflicts, frequently attacked villages. Hundreds of thousands of people were forced to flee their homes, seeking refuge in larger cities.

  • When I arrived at the refugee camp, a few doctors were treating a little girl.

  • She had been injured in an explosion, with a small pebble embedded in her ear. She cried in pain and struggled violently, making the doctors hesitant to proceed.

  • Someone called out, “Joseph!”

  • A tall man responded and stepped forward.

  • He examined the situation and surprisingly pulled out a few playing cards from his white coat, -performing a magic trick on the spot.

  • The little girl was quickly captivated and stopped struggling, giving the doctors an opportunity to act.

  • When the pebble finally fell into the tray with a “clang,” the cards in Joseph’s hand had disappeared, replaced by an African violet.

  • The little girl stared wide–eyed in amazement and tugged on his sleeve, trying to find the vanished cards, but to no avail.

  • She clapped her hands in delight, pulling at her parents‘ clothes as she squealed with joy.

  • Joseph handed the flower to the girl and escorted her grateful parents out of the medical tent.

  • The scene was so unique that I couldn’t resist taking a photo on my phone.

  • The clicking sound of the camera caught his attention. He turned around, slightly surprised, and asked in French, “New faces are rare here. Where are you from?”

  • 09:23

  • The Puined Daid

  • Chapter 8

  • I replied.

  • and he switched to Chinese, introducing himself: “I’m Joseph; currently stationed in

  • Goma.”

  • did you get that

  • flowers were a rarity in

  • proudly. “I grew it! Want to

  • to his quarters, I discovered a small garden he had created using scavenged foam boxes, plastic bottles,

  • violet, agapanthus, tropical orchids, and

  • these?”

  • he answered confidently, “Because flowers

  • happy.”

  • I was puzzled.

  • explained, “You probably think

  • more important to them, and flowers are just impractical

  • I nodded.

  • “Here, everything pushes people to forget

  • remember they’re alive, that there’s still something

  • hope, there’s

  • spoke, a confident smile spread across his face, and he winked

  • matter.”

  • a beam of light, striking

  • myself unable to look away from his

  • and I were from Country

  • 09:23

  • of Velvet Nights

  • 2%

  • Chapter 8

  • was

  • patient treatments and even assisted me in completing my first–ever surgery–successfully delivering a baby

  • noticed an unusually high mortality rate

  • distributed antiretroviral drugs, but they’re still

  • make sense unless they’re not taking the

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