Chapter 38 35 The Innocence Gap

The sequelae of malaria lingered for several days. I was dizzy and couldn't use my legs.Also, Burkina Faso was so hot that we rode hard every day trying not to collapse. One day, I made a big mistake. When I was resting under a big tree an hour ago, I left my glasses there.I usually wear contact lenses, but there is a lot of sand and dust in this area, so I added a pair of glasses. "No way? You idiot!" I asked Shinji to take a step ahead, and returned to the original place alone in the scorching heat.What the hell am I doing, alas... After finally returning to the place where I just rested, something even more unexpected was waiting for me—not just the glasses, but also some broken spokes and broken retaining bottles that were thrown away, all of which were picked up. I could only fall to the ground on the spot.

There are three or four houses not far away, all built with earthen walls and thatched roofs, small and crude.A little girl and a younger boy poked their heads out of one of the houses, and as soon as they came into my sight, they quickly ducked back inside. ――Did things be taken away by them? I thought about it with a drowsy head, but even if I went to ask them, I couldn't get the things back, right?What's more, even the broken spokes and broken holding bottles were picked up.This is a place where birds don't lay eggs. The glasses they picked up today must have become their treasures.

I sat under the shade of the tree, thinking blankly about the two children who are hiding at home now, they look like a pair of sisters and brothers, what games do they play every day?In this small settlement of only three or four families, is there anyone else who can play with them?After a while, the two poked their heads out of the room again, and then walked slowly towards me, wouldn't they?I also got up and walked over to them. The little girl was holding my glasses in her hand. After the two returned the glasses to me, they turned around and slipped into the house quickly.I was taken aback. I thought that the things had been "stolen" by them, and I also felt self-righteously that "it is absolutely impossible to return them to me"... This kind of thinking is rooted in the narrow-mindedness of "the poor must be despicable". values.

But, on the contrary, I feel very carefree. ――It's so innocent. Traveling in Africa, there are opportunities for people to think about the "essence of human nature" from time to time, especially when seeing children.Crying "gift, give me a gift", chasing you, you can feel a certain innocence in these children.It also makes people discover that the closer they are to the so-called "essence", that is, the more innocent they are, the more undisguised their desires are, and they do have this tenacious characteristic. However, the two kids still gave me back the sunglasses.Such innocence also makes people unable to help thinking about the nature of human nature. Why is there such a difference in the same innocence?They live in this small place with only a few families. Instead of competing with others, they should help each other to survive, right?How does this environment affect their personalities?If these two children lived in a larger village with many residents, and it was also a place where broken bottles were picked up and supplies were scarce, would they still take the initiative to return the sunglasses to me?

Two children poked their heads out from the door and looked at me. I was about to ride away and waved to them. They immediately hid in the house. .