Page 498 - Thorn In The Heart
P. 498

Thorns in the Heart I

         year of Nguyen-Du high school. We lived in the resettlement Tran-
         Hung-Dao, Ban-Me-Thuot city. The high plateau of central Vietnam.

             Most of the time we plaid soccer on the back yard of Community
         Elementary

             Tran-Hung-Dao school. It had a winding spring at the left side, so
         we swam in the spring's water every time after the game. He had a
         volunteer


             to be a Ranger after he graduated at National Military Academy
         Thu-Duc until now. "  Nguyen said.
             " The brown beret? "


             " Yes... "

             On the way, Nguyen drove the Air Force pickup toward the Binh-
         Minh restaurant. They don't talk anything to each of other. Phuong
         was  quiet  to  thinking  of  what  Tuyet  had  told  her  about  Nguyen's
         girlfriends.  Phuong  bent  her  head,  thinking  of  a  woman,  who  had
         come to live with Nguyen for a few days, or a few weeks in his home.
         What  is  the  sentiment  between  them?   Maybe,  she  is  his  lover,
         maybe not ... She felt a rending in her heart, and she tried to hide her
         tears, which grew in her eyes.  She thought of her condition. To be a
         girl in the bar... Where her perfume and powder was fading by the
         passions thirst of any passer-by.  She glanced to look at his face, and
         continued thinking: I am nothing for you to worry about. I knew you
         are honest. Sometimes you are frigid, and some people had difficult
         to  understand  you.  You  were  Either  trying  to  hide  behind  your
         coldness  the  full  sentiment  of  love,  and  affection...  or  you  have
         ensconced  like  a  cobblestone  in  a  situation  of  narrow  or  rigid.
         Because of the war... Much harder for water to push and rolling his
         cobblestone soul forward into the waterfall of the love... One day it
         will have a strong hit from another until it broke into pieces, and on
         the broken areas of the cobblestone will have special angles colors
         showing in the transparent spring water. But what is the waterfall
         should be for you are a  cobblestone?   - The spreading of war, the

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