Belfast Bliss
"Peace studies researcher Adaeze interviews former combatants in Belfast—but the thick Rwandan reconciliation expert who joins her project heals wounds of a different kind."
The research was heavy.
Stories of violence. Testimonies of loss. Days that drained the soul.
Immaculée understood. She'd worked with genocide survivors.
"You carry it home," she said. "I see it in you."
"How do you cope?"
"Connection. Human touch. Remembering why we fight for peace."
"Show me."
The showing happened in their shared accommodation.
Thick bodies finding comfort after difficult days.
"This helps," Adaeze admitted.
"This is necessary." Immaculée's hands found her face. "We can't pour from empty cups."
"Then fill me."
Belfast's peace walls witnessed many things.
The love growing between two African researchers was quieter than most.
But equally transformative.
"Best collaboration I've ever had," Adaeze wrote in her acknowledgments.
Immaculée smiled, knowing what was left unsaid.
Some peace, they learned, started with two people.
And grew from there.