Love Like Hate by Linh Dinh

Author:Linh Dinh [Dinh, Linh]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 978-1-60980-129-8
Publisher: Seven Stories Press
Published: 2011-01-04T05:00:00+00:00

19 WAFTS OF DECAY

Ha Nam Ninh Reeducation Camp was about forty-five miles south of Hanoi, in Ha Nam Province. After leaving the Cock’s home, Kim Lan and Cun went back to the station to board a train for Phu Ly, the chief town of Ha Nam. The town was not known for much. Most of it had been razed by American bombs during the war. There was a traditional wrestling tournament held there with much pomp and ceremony each January. There was a small Buddhist temple dating back to the twelfth century. In 1985, a student from a local school had won second place in the national penmanship contest.

On the train, Kim Lan overheard a few women speaking with southern accents. Unlike the other passengers, they seemed subdued, cheerless. Only their children looked excitedly out the windows. They all had bulging bags next to them.

“Excuse me, but are you from the South?” Kim Lan asked them in a hushed, conspiratorial voice.

“Yes,” they all answered.

“Are you visiting relatives?”

“My husband, he’s in the camp.”

“Me, too.”

“I’m visiting my son.”

“I’m visiting my brother.”

“Is this your first time?” Kim Lan asked.

“No, I come every year. This is my third time.”

“This is my fourth.”

“This is my second. How about you?”

“My first time,” Kim Lan said, feeling apologetic. “I received a letter from my husband only a few days ago.”

“You just found out he’s up here?!”

“Yes.”

“What’s your husband’s rank?”

“Captain.”

“That doesn’t sound right, sister. He should be out by now if he was only a captain.”

At Phu Ly station, the prisoners’ relatives numbered nearly thirty, with many children among them. Squatting on the floor, they waited three hours before an army truck came to take them away. The ride down a bumpy road took another hour. They could not enter the camp itself, of course, but had to sleep in a small house outside the gate. Their men would be brought to them early the next morning.

There were not enough pallets inside the guesthouse, so many people had to double up that night. Many slept on woven mats on the floor. Without blankets, Cun and Kim Lan had to clutch each other all night to keep from freezing. Kim Lan couldn’t sleep anyway. Her mind was filled with tender thoughts for Hoang Long. Sen seemed very far away, nearly unimaginable. Knowing that she would see Hoang Long’s face the very next morning made her think back to their happiest moments together. Most of these preceded their wedding. She also thought of the wedding reception, when everything was still perfect, before everything had been ruined.

In the morning, the prisoners’ relatives stood outside the guesthouse to await the arrival of the men. Everyone tried to remain stoic as thirteen ragged figures approached from afar, accompanied by nine guards. The prisoners’ daily ration was two small bowls of rice with bits of vegetables and a cup of water, less for those who had committed infractions. Scraps of meat were reserved for special occasions such as Uncle Ho’s birthday. The prisoners craved protein so much, some of them even swallowed cockroaches, when a cockroach could be found.

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