Part 44

Soldier Gani, when he arrived at the first stalls in the market, knew they could not stay too long in this environment or they would incur the irate abuses of the tradesmen and women for scaring away the customers with their presence. But he was drawn to watch a young girl sitting on a mat with her legs stretched out, playing on a flute; a simple harmony. His fascination had gone unnoticed by the other soldiers who were some way down the road, further from him and the young girl. The look of surprise on his face caught the girl’s eye. She smiled. It appeared she was too  young to play the flute so well. The military man’s fascination with the softer things in life would come as a surprise to you, when you recall that this is a man that has been hardened by death and destruction. And that his fascination with things like a little girl playing the flute could be likened to the way a moth is attracted to the light of flames.