Lan Huế

Beautiful sunny days are here and so are sunsets:

Herself wearing a helmet
Wearing helmets became compulsory for motorbike drivers and passengers in Việt Nam since 2007. Of course, she understands the importance of wearing a helmet and has followed the law strictly; however, she never likes wearing it. Why not? Well, she simply does not feel comfortable with it.

Unlike the light and airy nón lá (conical hat) that she has been wearing for decades, a helmet is truly a nuisance. It’s heavy, ugly and hard to be fastened and unfastened (at least for her). It takes her, sometimes for ever, to fasten the trap. To save time, her daughter always helps her with it. She used to consider herself a clever woman until the helmet appeared. It makes her feel like she’s such a clumsy person. Her daughter has, for so many times, looked at her wearing a helmet and laughed secretly, she knows.

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As usual, when the dry season comes, power cut repeats. I hate the nights when it was hot and dark at the same time. You could not sleep when it was too early and too hot. For an internet-addicted person like me, power cut seemed worse. I found myself sitting dully there in the wood chair or lying down lazily on the bamboo mattress in the dark. I tried not to burst into the anger of being imprisoned by the darkness. The light from the oil lamp or candles was not strong enough to defeat the huge evasion of the darkness. I was hopeless.

But last night was a great night without power. My mom sat by the doorstep fanning herself with a paper fan. The weak light from the half moon was shining on the front yard. I lied down on the floor, my head was on one of her laps. I felt peace and joy inside my heart. I remembered the old days when electricity was something luxury, we enjoyed the nights together beside the oil lamp. My mom would tell me some fairy tales such as Thánh Gióng or Sơn Tinh & Thủy Tinh. She told me over and over again but hardly did I feel fed up with those familiar stories. I recalled she fanned me like this with a fan made from the cement wrapper. It was long long time ago but I felt like it was just yesterday.

Was I dreaming or what? It could not be fantasy as Chuột (Mouse), the black dog given to mom by Eric and his mother, was tickling my feet with his wet and hot tongue...