He is a soldier from the capital.

My uncle is truly special, at least to me. He has many relatives back home, but I'm the only one he contacts and calls. Whenever something happens back home, I'm the first to let him know; he calls me first to ask about anyone, whether it's a wedding or a funeral. Despite his age, he listens to the radio and reads the newspapers. He's always interested in what's happening in his hometown of Quang Tri , listening to the news and then calling to ask about it and share his thoughts. Because of my busy work schedule, I don't call him regularly; he mostly calls me. Sometimes he calls during work hours, and I can't answer, or I forget to call back when I get home, but he still proactively calls me without any reproach.

My uncle always cherished and treasured the Quang Tri New Year newspapers as a special gift from his hometown - Photo: TU LINH

At the age of 15, he left home to join the revolution. Then, in 1954, he and the army advanced to take over the capital. His workplace before retirement was the Capital Military Region (now the Capital Command). His house is in Hanoi's Old Quarter, in a 1/2 apartment of about 16 square meters on the third floor of an old apartment building, where he has lived since 1954. The apartment only has room for a double bed and a multi-purpose chair that can be pulled out to become a bed when needed, a tiny refrigerator, and an additional loft for storing other items. The house is small, but the people are always generous. No one from the countryside comes to visit without stopping by his house for a meal and taking some Hanoi souvenirs back home.

Last week, my uncle called me to remind me to send him the Quang Tri New Year's issue; he inquired about the health of his family, relatives, village, and some important events in the province. He also asked me: "Did you go to the funeral of the Heroic Vietnamese Mother Phan Thi Cat in our hometown who just passed away? She's a distant relative of mine; I visited her last year when I went back to my hometown, and she's still healthy..." At 96 years old, he still remembers events and people with surprising clarity and lucidity.

For over 20 years, every Tet (Lunar New Year), I've sent my uncle a copy of the Quang Tri New Year's newspaper, along with some traditional Tet treats from his hometown like banh chung (sticky rice cake), ginger jam, and pickled vegetables. Hanoi has no shortage of these treats, and some are even tastier, but my uncle still cherishes the Tet gifts from his hometown, with the New Year's newspaper placed alongside, making the spring season in the city even warmer. And every year, after reading the Tet newspaper, he calls me, expressing his joy at the increasing development and prosperity of his hometown. Anyone who visits his house boasts, "I live in Hanoi, but I always get to read the printed newspaper sent from Quang Tri!"

On a bitterly cold winter weekend morning, I tossed and turned in bed, unable to get out of my warm blanket, when a text message from my uncle's son jolted me awake, leaving me stunned. My uncle had been ill for two days and was in a deep coma. Perhaps this year, he wouldn't be able to read the spring newspaper I sent him, filled with the flavors of our hometown. The familiar image of the old soldier intently reading each line, then happily calling relatives to boast about the changes in his homeland, would no longer be present before his children and grandchildren. The phone calls filled with longing and deep affection for Quang Tri were becoming less frequent... Hanoi was bitterly cold. My heart ached...

Tue Linh

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