Page 515 - Thorn In The Heart

Chinh Nguyên

" Nguyen, do you listen to me reading long's letter or you were

sleeping? " Phuong as-

Tweens

A few time of early 1970, Nguyen had joined with his American
friend to walk into the bar at the end of Hoang-Tu-Canh street and a
distance from the beach in Nha-Trang city.

It was a noisy place from 7:30 PM to Midnight by the sound of
the rock music, the Honda motorcycle engines and cry loudly of few
drunk American soldiers. Each bar has full of the color light, hung
around the sign plate, the windows, and sparkling to invite or call the
player guests, who want to spent their money in the bar for his
drinking, holding and touching over the girl, or let the girl sat on their
leg for their enjoy life.

The Honda motorcycle was the fast way to moving from one bar
to another of the dancing girls, and prostitutors, also it was the way
to make the money of the owner Honda motorcycle. They were the
Vietnamese soldiers, public servants, and laborers, whom would like
to help their families surviving from the poor and unfair of society,
and because their salaries could not buy the foods enough to their
families living. Therefore the prostitutors, dancing girls, the owner
Honda motorcycle, and the owner bars were conjoining to make a
cycle plant also wished to get more money out of the G.I.'s purses.

Hanh-Phuong stepped down on the ground from the back seat
of the Honda motorcycle, pushed the door, walked into the Thien-
Thai bar. The smoke of cigarettes and its smell was full in the air,
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