It's been twenty years since Uncle Tu started working as a security guard at the agency. For twenty Lunar New Year holidays, he hasn't celebrated New Year's Eve at home with his wife. During the spring days, he only briefly visits home with his wife to see a few neighbors before rushing back to the agency for his shift.
Illustration: THANH SONG
Uncle Tu was a retired soldier, and he rarely talked about his past battles. It seemed that for him, war was a source of fear, and victory was never complete. When liberation came, he returned to his hometown, limping in his left leg – compared to many of his comrades, he was still fortunate. The village was desolate, and he had no close relatives left. He stayed with a friend. Then, someone arranged a marriage for him with a seamstress; their happiness was temporary. They quickly got married. After several years of marriage, they couldn't have children. Hearing all the gossip and rumors, the couple decided to move to the city. Back then, the city was still quite rudimentary; they rented a simple room, then saved up enough to buy a house.
Since moving to the city, his wife has been sewing at their rented room, and he's been working as a security guard for the local government office. For twenty years, the city has been bustling with activity, yet their family remains small and isolated, just the two of them. Whatever money they earn goes towards daily meals, and every now and then, his leg aches and requires hospital visits, so they never have much left over. Mr. Tu comforted his wife, saying, "Don't worry, dear, we don't have children, so what's the point of having a house? We don't have many guests anyway, so we don't need to show off." His wife, feeling sorry for him, tried to joke along, saying, "You already have the biggest three-story house in town, you could open any room in it!" Then the two embraced, laughing happily. The couple, nearing fifty, still addressed each other affectionately, probably because they had no children; it felt like they were still newlyweds.
At the office, there are dozens of ceremonies, conferences, and celebratory events a year. Actually, there are few official office events; other departments rent the hall to hold theirs. Uncle Tu is in charge of decorating, setting up the stage, and arranging the decorations. Then there's the matter of the gratuities he receives. Everyone praises Uncle Tu for his enthusiasm and many talents, from lettering to flower arrangements. He laughs and says, "That's what soldiers are like; you have to be quick to learn and adapt. Back in the hard times in the jungle, we managed to organize many grand ceremonies."
Every time the event was over, there were always a few flower arrangements left in the hall. People would take home the bouquets given as gifts, but the welcoming flower arrangements were left there. After Uncle Tu finished cleaning up the hall, he stood frozen in front of the flower arrangements, not knowing what to do. Throwing them away would be a waste; the flowers were fresh and worth money, and it would be a shame to throw them in the trash.
The flower vendor from the market stopped by and said, "Uncle Tu, can I take these home?" Uncle Tu asked, "What for?" She replied, "I'll tidy them up a bit, remove the red ribbon, and I'll have a new flower arrangement to sell." Uncle Tu glared at her and said, "No way! That's like taking the bananas we offered as a sacrifice and selling them back at the market for people to take home for offerings." The flower vendor argued, "Bananas are different from flowers, Uncle. The bananas were offered to the ancestors, and it would be disrespectful to offer them again. But these fresh flowers are just for admiring, and who knows if the people at the conference will even admire the flowers; they'll mainly be listening. So these flower arrangements are just like tables and chairs, being moved around like that." Uncle Tu thought she had a point; if he didn't give them to her, throwing them away would be a waste. So he told her to take them.
Once, two conferences were held one day apart. The flower arrangement for the second day was the same as the first, only the ribbon draped diagonally across it was replaced with a different inscription. Uncle Tu recognized it immediately but didn't say anything, thinking to himself, "Well, they're just selling, they're making whatever they can." Besides, these flowers are only displayed for two hours, so it's better if they're a little less fresh than displaying a bunch of fresh, vibrant flowers only to throw them away later.
As the Lunar New Year approaches, coinciding with the start of the Gregorian New Year, the number of ceremonies increases. This department is holding a year-end review and a year-end orientation; this committee is holding a conference to commend exemplary individuals. In our country, there are festivals all year round, and traditional festivals aren't enough; suddenly, during the New Year, they create even more. Well, nobody can forbid people from making each other happy during the New Year. Flowers are brought into the hall in baskets, one after another. Uncle Tu stands watching, silently counting: five hundred thousand dong, one hundred thousand dong... Oh, money! Flowers are usually the same price, but during the New Year, they're three or four times more expensive. His monthly security guard salary is only enough to cover the cost of one flower arrangement used for two hours. Suddenly, Uncle Tu feels so insignificant; no wonder people go out and about during the New Year, while he sits in a corner.
Over twenty Lunar New Year celebrations, he realized that each year the rituals increased, and the amount of flowers for each ceremony also increased. The woman who used to ask for flowers back then now had grown children, and during the New Year, she brought two more children to help carry the flowers back to her stall to tidy them up. Looking at the vibrant yellow and red flower arrangements, he suddenly felt sorry for his own situation living in rented accommodation. Every Lunar New Year, his wife would buy a few branches of Da Lat chrysanthemums from the market and put them in a vase on the small altar in their house. But there were no flowers on the table. The small table was barely big enough to hold a plate of candies and a teapot. And during the Lunar New Year, his family only welcomed about five people from the neighborhood anyway, so why bother with all the decorations?
***
This year, Uncle Tu planned to bring home a basket of flowers from the final ceremony to display at home, to please his wife. He felt so sorry for her; during Tet, they only had a short time together, just like in the wartime years when they were separated by distance. But how would he explain it to his wife? If he said, "These flowers were used by someone else, I brought them home," she might be upset, thinking he was using someone else's leftovers. If he said, "I bought them from a stall," she'd probably regret the money spent for the entire Tet holiday. He could also lie and say it was a gift. But who would give flowers to a security guard? Maybe the office? Hard to believe. The office would give them a bag of sugar, a packet of jam, or a bottle of colored wine—more practical. Uncle Tu racked his brains trying to come up with a good reason to bring the flowers home that would still make his wife happy. Meanwhile, the flower vendor had already brought out the last basket of flowers to the hall entrance.
- This!
Uncle Tu called out softly, as if trying to hold her back.
She turned around, surprised.
- Why, Uncle Tu?
"Leave it for me..." Uncle Tu stopped mid-sentence. Asking her to leave it now would be too embarrassing. He'd never begged like this before. Oh dear, he'd never begged anyone for anything in his life, and now he was asking for a bouquet of flowers, which rightfully belonged to him, and it felt so difficult. It just goes to show that being an honest person isn't easy at all.
Then he blurted out:
- ...Oh, never mind, it's nothing.
The flower vendor didn't know what the gentleman wanted to talk about, she stood there愣 for a moment, then nodded slightly in greeting to Mr. Tu before carrying the flowers out to the gate.
That was the last working day of the year, and the afternoon ceremony was the year-end party at the office. That meant it was impossible to get flowers to take home to Uncle Tu anymore, unless we went to a flower shop to buy them. Uncle Tu was stingy with money, but his wife was ten times more so. Let's not make a fuss about it anymore.
From afternoon to evening, thoughts of flowers kept lingering in his mind. Well, this year is just like every other year, the same old rented room, devoid of any festive decorations for Tet. If only he had taken a risk this afternoon, endured a little "humiliation," and brought a basket of flowers home – how much better things would have been.
The air outside was thick with the scent of incense. In these final hours of the year, he stayed at the office alone, feeling more sorry for himself than for his wife at home. "It's almost New Year's Eve, isn't it?" he wondered to himself, glancing at his watch. Eleven forty-five. He could still make it home by now. Surely no one would break into the office to steal on New Year's Eve, so why bother guarding it?
So he ran out the gate to go home, as if being chased. A few people were returning home late on the street; they saw him running and looked suspicious, but no one paid any attention, especially with the spring atmosphere approaching.
He hurried along, rushing to make it in time for New Year's Eve, but his mind kept wandering to flowers. He felt a pang of regret, wishing he had taken a chance and bought a basket of flowers that afternoon; his wife would surely have been delighted. He imagined how cold and desolate their rented room would be now and throughout the entire New Year's holiday, without flowers. Another spring in a room devoid of blossoms. His eyes welled up, not from the dew of the New Year's Eve night, nor from the exhaustion of running. He cried, a light, weary cry of regret and self-pity.
At exactly midnight, the television in the neighbor's house blared the sound of fireworks exploding. He knew he had arrived home just in time for New Year's Eve, but he felt a pang of disappointment. He stood in front of his rented room and saw his wife had finished preparing the fruit platter and was sitting with her arm resting on the back of a chair, looking sleepy.
Upon seeing her husband, the wife could only manage a few words before her voice choked, "You've just come home..." Uncle Tu smiled and nodded. Looking over at the table, he noticed a large, beautiful, and vibrant vase of flowers. The petals were still soft and smooth; Uncle Tu knew they had just been taken out of their plastic wrapping. Before he could ask anything, his wife spoke:
- We'll have a vase of flowers in our room for Tet, won't we? I was so surprised when she brought it over this afternoon; I wondered if they had the wrong address. It turned out she said she was the daughter of the flower seller at the market, and Uncle Tu bought the flowers and asked her to bring them home.
Uncle Tu was taken aback; he hadn't asked anyone for any flower-related favors. Before he could recover, his wife continued:
- I also wanted to buy some flowers to decorate the house for Tet (Vietnamese New Year). But... I was afraid you'd scold me for spending too much, so I didn't. Turns out you've already bought them.
Uncle Tu also intended to say the same thing to his wife. But he decided against it. Why say it when spring was overflowing with such romantic feelings?
Hoang Cong Danh
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