A strip of memories across the sky

For Phu Yen, it's the Da Rang Bridge – a bridge that has weathered countless seasons, its reflection cast upon the Ba River like an indelible mark of time. It silently connects generations, across years, so that each time it's remembered, a clear path emerges – the path leading home.

Da Rang Bridge in the early morning. Photo: Le Minh

The Ba River flows on, like time passing through a lifetime, never looking back. But the Da Rang Bridge still stands there, silently witnessing and preserving what the river carries out to the vast ocean. In the minds of generations of people in the Nẫu region, the bridge is like a strip of memory stretched across the sky, spanning layers of time, rainy seasons, war years, and the changes of a young city. There are stories no one tells, but they still linger somewhere on each old iron beam. They are the footprints of a soldier from years past, or a farewell that has faded into oblivion. They are the footsteps of street vendors passing by from dawn. They are the sound of a train whistle piercing through a crimson sunset.

I don't remember how many times I've crossed that bridge. I only remember the scorching midday sun, the river's surface shimmering with silver light, each span of the bridge seeming to heat up under hurried footsteps. I remember the breezy afternoons, walking on the bridge and hearing the river breathe, hearing the old metal echoing with dry, harsh sounds, like time stirring within steel. And I also remember the very early mornings, when the city was still asleep, only a thin mist hanging in the air, the bridge appearing like a faint sketch in the unnamed silence.

That bridge doesn't just connect two banks of the river. It connects distances invisible to the naked eye. It connects childhood with adulthood, connecting those days of naive ignorance with the years filled with trials and tribulations.

Among many urban symbols, few are as enduring as a bridge. With the Da Rang Bridge, this value is even more evident as it is connected to the Ba River – a flow not only of water, but of history and life. The bridge, therefore, is not simply an engineering structure. It is a cultural landmark, where each generation leaves its mark.

People can build new, wider, and more modern bridges. But there are bridges that are irreplaceable once they have become a part of our minds. The Da Rang Bridge is one such thing. It's not just a structure, but a habit of remembering, connecting us to a particular land.

People may forget many changes in the streets, but they will never forget the image of that quiet yet enduring bridge.

And so today, far from home, when one briefly thinks of their homeland, they will find themselves standing still, on the old bridge, on a windy afternoon.

Kim Ai

Source: https://baodaklak.vn/van-hoa-du-lich-van-hoc-nghe-thuat/van-hoc-nghe-thuat/202605/dai-ky-uc-ngang-troi-cc42107/