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If I had to describe my life in Yemen with one photo, this would be it. Dry, cracked dirt that doesn’t appear to sustain life, rough terrain, prickly cacti that don’t seem to live or grow or change, thick skin, a sometime monotone existence. But every once in a while, just every once in a while, life throws in the most beautiful, delicate and exotic flower as if to reassure you that everything’s fine and you’re being rewarded for your efforts and patience.

There it was.

The most beautiful and complex flower I’ve ever seen and will ever remember. It took the cactus two to three days just to grow the flower’s stem. Then yesterday morning, there it was, in full glory and bloom. And today, no more. A one-day miracle. Why all this work and effort for just one day of life, one day of beauty?

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