Late Blossom by Laura Lam

Author:Laura Lam
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9789814358675
Publisher: Monsoon Books Pte. Ltd.

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At the back of our house there was a large bamboo grove bordering on a cemetery. It never bothered us. The front of the house was rather close to the back entrances of Mrs Buoi’s and Mrs Troi’s houses, and their sewage drains. We often had to pour water into them to stop unpleasant odours arising, particularly when the weather was dry and hot. Buoi’s husband sold scrap iron for a living. They had adopted two little boys. Troi and her husband owned the Chinese restaurant at Ba Chieu market. They had no children. It was not long after we moved into the neighbourhood that my mother and Mrs Buoi had a fight and swore violently at each other. A few days later, as if nothing had happened, they became friends again.

Being at the back of other houses with their sewage drains caused my grandmother and me discomfort and embarrassment. We kept these feelings to ourselves lest we upset my father, who was trying his best to support us. We shared the same toilet with four other families. It was adjacent to the cemetery, above ground, made of cement with solid wooden walls. Everyone had to take a bucket of water to flush it.

We had no space for a bathroom. My mother put a simple curtain up near one of the water tanks in the kitchen area in order for us to shower every day. During the monsoon season my brothers took showers in the open. They would stand happily under the heavy rain in the little alley between our house and that of Bay Ca. Along the wall we had several giant ceramic containers collecting rainwater.

There was no spare land for a garden, something I missed greatly. I started growing houseplants of various kinds and had them all over the house. I even had a few rows of orchids hanging from the attic balcony. We had no electricity and used only kerosene lamps at night. This made concentrated work like studying or sewing difficult. It was only ten years later that I had electricity installed. The main water source, as for most people in Xom Gieng, was a well. It was my responsibility to collect water every day.

My father went to work by bicycle. It was wonderful having him living in the house again. However, he had no interest in material possessions. I doubt if he ever felt the pain of extreme poverty we endured. On the other hand, he was very generous with his time and effort in helping other people. Back in the village he had volunteered to teach children. Here, in the city, he volunteered to assist our neighbours. Most of them had little or no formal education and they were unable to write necessary applications for jobs, marriages, or for their children to enter school. There were no pre-printed forms to fill in then. Each application had to be written by hand. Previously people had had to go to a special office and pay someone to do it for them.

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