The Leper Colony — Khanh Ha

In a leper colony, the damned are quarantined; the damned are banished, untouchable, to dim crouching hutsforever. This is where Phong Nguyen, a Vietnamese emigrant, finds himself in the end of his journey to the Promised LandAmerica. His damnation begins with an angel. She comes like some angelic being who has descended to earth to confirm his belief: If you wait long enough, your lover will one day walk out of your dream. Her name is Lan. Orchid in English. She is not Phong's friend or lover, and yet, beyond his control, he becomes inextricably involved with her story, and learns from this orchid what it means to be human when the time comes for him to face his own damnation.