Listen, Slowly

The moment they have all waited for finally comes when the guard arrives to meet with Bà. He is an old, skinny man, and when he begins to speak, Mai is excited that she can understand him. The guard speaks to the detective while Bà listens, and Mai eavesdrops from the other room.

The guard begins his story. In the spring of 1968, the army put him to work digging a tunnel to a new water source. Given only a crude shovel, he spent his days digging but barely made any progress. In addition to the backbreaking labor, the soldiers did not give enough food or water, and there was no fresh air to breathe in the tunnels. Seeing the lack of progress, the guard’s commander brought Ông to help, a prisoner who had no shoes and whose clothing was tattered. The two worked together and became friends. At night after they cooked their meager rice rations, they would go outside and relish the fresh air. Ông told the guard about his seven children, explaining their personalities and how much he longed to be with them again after being apart for over a year.