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| Illustration: Phan Nhan |
Then in the early 90s, a doctor quit his job and his wife from Hue founded a company specializing in embroidery. The couple and their colleagues devoted themselves and spent countless efforts to gradually build a team of excellent artisans with many branches across the country and abroad. Every year, the anniversary of the embroidery profession becomes a jubilant festival with many spiritual and cultural activities. Da Lat embroidery gradually became famous and sold in many places. But they never called those embroidery paintings goods, but they asked everyone to call them embroidery works of art. That shows how much they are devoted to and cherish their embroidery profession.
Linh, a young woman and a single mother, is about twenty-six years old. Linh has been doing embroidery following her family's tradition, since she was in elementary school her mother taught her how to do embroidery. At twenty-six years old, she has been embroidering for nearly twenty years. Linh is also the first embroiderer in Da Lat to be honored by the company as an embroidery artisan during the Embroidery Ancestor Commemoration Day.
The mother and daughter lived in a small but pretty wooden house in a flower-filled garden at the end of a small slope. Linh's parents had both passed away. They left their daughter a fairly full bookcase and a collection of vinyl records along with an old but durable and sweet-sounding gramophone. Since childhood, Linh seemed to have lived in an atmosphere of fairy tales and classical music with haunting yet elegant love songs of a peaceful time in her parents' arms. Linh was tall, had white skin and rosy cheeks, and a gentle voice of a girl from the dreamy Da Lat region. Linh's husband, a childhood friend, had also passed away in a traffic accident at Bao Loc Pass, about three years earlier, leaving behind a little daughter of about six years old. Since then, Linh has lived a quieter, more reserved life, always turning inward, but the elegant and noble features still could not be hidden on her face. Everyone loved Linh from the first meeting, especially her friends in the portrait embroidery group. The portrait embroidery team, where most of the company's honored artisans gather. The portrait embroidery team is often assigned to embroider the most difficult and artistic embroidery paintings such as double-sided embroidery, embroidery of portraits when ordered.
That year, the rainy season in Da Lat came late. It usually happened at the beginning of the fourth lunar month every year, but that year, it was not until the end of April that the first rains of the season came in the afternoon, followed by the fog slowly rolling in. One afternoon, after work, I stopped by school to pick up Mai and ran home, but the fog had already covered the alley.
That morning, Ms. Thu, the company's vice director, called Linh into her office. After a cup of hot artichoke tea, she gave Linh a portrait of a man in his late sixties. In her sweet, pure Hue accent, she said:
- This is Professor Minh, a friend of Quang's, his birthday is this September. Quang wants me to embroider this portrait as a gift. Focus on embroidering it beautifully and with soul.
Yes, I will try my best.
- We know and believe that you will embroider successfully. We hope that you will make this portrait embroidery a masterpiece. We have considered it very carefully and decided to entrust it to you.
Mr. Quang is her husband and also the director and founder of the company. He picked up the portrait, looked at it for a moment, then handed it to Linh again. Ms. Thu continued:
- Take it home and look at it carefully today. This afternoon, the sample room will also complete the process of tattooing the image onto the fabric. You also go back to your room to prepare the embroidery frame and all the necessary tools. Tomorrow morning, you go to the sample room to receive the embroidered fabric and start.- Yes, sister! Hello, I'm going back to my room now...
Having said that, Linh stood up, took the portrait and went back to her embroidery room. Thu looked at Linh with loving and trusting eyes.
Linh's embroidery room with two other friends is about twelve square meters, made of wood and covered with beautiful tiles. The large windows let the room be flooded with light, but in the afternoon, during the rainy season, the lights still have to be turned on. The wooden house is painted light purple with dark purple window frames, located in the middle of a small yard full of roses, hydrangeas, and heather. On the left is a crystal clear fish pond full of adorable koi fish swimming around. The sound of water flowing from the rockery is only very soft. Surrounding the fish pond are four embroidery rooms like Linh's. But it is very quiet, each room only has classical music played softly and softly. At nine thirty, break time, friends from other embroidery rooms rush out to feed the fish. Only then do there come clear and bustling laughter and voices. The embroiderers of each room wear traditional ao dai of different colors. The women of Da Lat in their ao dai are gentle, shy but also bustling during fish feeding time. Many tourists happen to pass by here at this time. They stand there stunned, looking and feeling without words. That scene, the long dresses, on cold days they wear a thin sweater over them, also a company but with an artistic soul. Many tourists feel like they are lost in a fairyland. Linh has never met anyone who loves Da Lat and embroidery like Quang and Thu. Embroidery, to them, is like a religion.
On the way back to her embroidery room, Linh stopped by the altar of the founder of the embroidery profession - Mr. Le Cong Hanh. She respectfully placed the portrait she had been given on the altar and lit incense. With all her heart, Linh knelt down and prayed to the founder to bless her embroidered portrait with complete success.
That day, Linh only had to focus on the portrait of Professor Minh that had just been assigned. She had to look closely, scrutinize every detail, and immerse herself so that when she started embroidering, every movement, every stitch, every fragile thread would carry her heart with it. Only then would the embroidered picture have soul and express the character's personality.
Let's see, Professor Minh is about sixty years old. According to the knowledge of physiognomy that he has read in many books left by his father, Linh began to shape the character he would embroider. The slightly raised corners of the mouth show an optimistic personality and a strong will in all situations. A high and wide forehead, the upper lip thicker than the lower lip shows a person with a determined will, enduring difficulties and always overcoming. High, bright cheekbones show perseverance and a desire for progress, fame and finance. High, thin eyebrows show a person who enjoys great fortune, is intelligent and kind. Bright eyes but a bit cold. Straight nose bridge shows a positive, optimistic personality and a high sense of responsibility.
Actually, embroiderers do not need this knowledge. But as an embroiderer, who specializes in embroidering portraits of important, big clients, knowledge of physiognomy helps Linh grasp the soul of the character very quickly. So Linh often embroiders faster and the quality almost always satisfies Mr. Quang and Ms. Thu. Linh's embroideries are perfect when completed and submitted to the quality control department. They just need to clean and frame them to deliver to the client.
Early the next morning, when Linh arrived at the embroidery room, she saw that the embroidered cloth had been finished and was already hanging on the embroidery frame. Next to the table lamp was a tray with needles, colored threads, and a pair of small scissors. After finishing the cup of coffee that had been prepared on the table, Linh gently sat down behind the embroidery frame and gently inserted the first needle.
During the following three months, Linh was like a relative of Professor Minh. The embroidery was meticulously placed with each needle and thread color suitable for each part and position on the face. The background scene was simply a distant mountain, which seemed to be Lang Biang Mountain. The large-scale embroidery was gradually taking shape day by day, with each careful and affectionate stitch by Linh. Now Linh knew almost every feature on Professor Minh's face by heart. The face was shaped like the letter "than", exuding a strong, independent personality due to a difficult and arduous childhood, without the support of his family. To be as successful as he is today, he must have started on his own and faced many difficulties and obstacles. I wonder if he was as eager to possess in his feelings as his physiognomy shows?
Suddenly, Linh felt very close to Professor Minh, a person she had never met before. Linh would whisper to him about every little thing in her daily life. Then she asked, if she were Professor Minh, how would he handle this situation?
This morning, the motorbike broke down again, the old motorbike that her father bought for Linh when she entered the final grade of high school. Today, it acted up again, pedaling it wouldn't start. Early in the morning, Mai called her but she wouldn't wake up, touched her forehead, she had a high fever, pedaling the bike wouldn't start, Linh panicked and was confused. Tears were about to fall, suddenly thinking, if it was him - Professor Minh, how would he handle this? Okay, calm down, the rickshaw driver who usually waits for customers at the top of the hill, ran up to check. Luckily, the driver was still sitting on the motorbike, watching, half asleep. Linh called him to take both mother and child straight to the hospital. Then she left the house key and asked the rickshaw driver to go back and take the motorbike to be repaired. She had to take a day off work, called the company to ask for permission, then Linh went back to feed Mai porridge and medicine. Then she called the school to ask for a day off for Mai. Three days later, Linh still had to take a day off work and Mai still had to take a day off school. After leaving the hospital, Mai was worried about not being able to keep up with her homework, while Linh was worried about not being able to deliver the embroidered portrait on time. I understand why every woman needs a man by her side to lean on and rely on. In this case, his image had calmed Linh down, even though it was small, but if she wasn't calm, Linh would have just stood there crying. Thank you so much!
Finally, the embroidered portrait was finished. The company's delivery time was ninety days. But in the end, it took Linh nearly one hundred days to deliver the portrait of Professor Minh to the quality control department. Mr. Quang and Ms. Thu personally inspected the portrait, because this was a gift for the professor. They were very satisfied, shook hands with Linh and promised to honor and award her at the Year-end party, which was usually held on the company's New Year's Eve.
Saying goodbye to Mr. Quang and Ms. Thu, saying goodbye to the embroidered portrait, Linh went into the ancestral altar room to light incense and pay her respects, then returned to her embroidery room. Linh's steps were as if she could no longer control herself. She felt a little dizzy, but luckily she held onto the door frame. Regaining her composure, looking at the empty embroidery frame, Linh suddenly wanted to cry. It was not the first time Linh had delivered her embroidered portraits to the company. But why did this time feel so different? No character Linh had embroidered before had given her this feeling. A feeling of closeness and familiarity, as if they had met for a long time and were very intimate. Or maybe Linh had fallen in love with him. It couldn't be. Linh brushed it off, for more than three years of being widowed, there were many men in the company and outside the company, but Linh had not felt fond of or missed any of them. After work, Linh would pick up her child and the two of them would cling to each other in their lovely and cozy wooden house. Life had gone on like that, peacefully. But for more than three months now, it had been different. Sometimes when cooking dinner, Mai would hover around her mother, but Linh's mind seemed to be somewhere else. Mai would call out to her two or three times, and Linh would startle and turn around, sometimes making her panic. But sometimes she would laugh out loud and tease her mother: Are you missing someone?
On Saturdays, the company usually finishes early. Linh took the opportunity to run to Da Lat market to buy some more food. Just past the market stairs, Linh suddenly froze and stood still. In front of Linh was him - Professor Minh in the flesh. He was with a woman who looked very elegant and beautiful. Linh's lips trembled, her hands also trembled slightly, Linh stood still and suddenly stuttered calling his name:
- Mr... professor... Mr. Minh. Hello!
It seemed like he didn't hear. Or maybe Linh was calling someone. Linh was flustered again, calling again:- Mr... Mr. Minh! Professor Minh...!
At this moment, he looked straight at Linh with a cold and distant gaze. He still did not say anything, but his gaze did not have the warmth or sympathy that Linh usually thought. Linh was confused. At that moment, the woman next to Mr. Minh turned around and pulled his hand into a sweater stall. Mr. Minh looked at Linh again with a strange and cold gaze. Linh trembled, suddenly felt embarrassed and could not move. Turning back up the market stairs, Linh whispered with trembling lips, freezing in a rainy afternoon in Da Lat.
The fog had come, pouring into every house, alley, and pine grove. Linh walked aimlessly and in shame. Linh kept walking without knowing where she was going, only knowing that she needed to go. The fog of Da Lat was like a companion, protecting and comforting Linh.
Source: https://baolamdong.vn/van-hoa-nghe-thuat/202504/am-anh-nguoi-dung-448075e/
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