After nearly 10 years of moving to a small alley in the middle of District 10, neighborly love was something I was not interested in cultivating… Until the fire broke out early that morning, did I understand what it means to “buy close neighbors” .
My family lives in the alley where the fire broke out in the early morning of February 17 (January 8). The house caught fire just a few steps from my house. I still remember feeling the heat and clearly seeing the embers of fire flying out, the column of black smoke rising high. If it weren’t for my neighbors, I don’t know what would have happened to my family.
The fire broke out in the early morning of January 8th, and the whole small village called out to each other to save their lives |
The room my family sleeps in is upstairs and far from the gate, so it’s difficult to hear calls from outside. My husband and I have a habit of turning off the phone at bedtime. But even if I open my phone, it won’t make any difference because… I don’t have anyone in my neighborhood’s phone number saved and of course neither do they.
That morning, while the whole family was still sleeping, I was suddenly startled to hear the sound of pounding on the gate and shouting “fire, fire, everyone wake up” accompanied by the sound of engine revving and car horns blaring.
My husband and I woke up, ran downstairs but still didn’t understand what was going on, when a neighbor’s voice echoed from outside the gate: “There’s a big fire a few blocks from here, everyone is gathering papers and necessary items.” then run away”.
I held my child, my husband took the papers. At that time, he lost his temper and was confused about what to do when someone told him to “turn off the circuit breaker”.
My whole family went out and saw everyone moving to another alley to avoid the fire and smoke. When we arrived at the end of the alley safely, the neighbors reassured us and even gave us bottles of water to calm down. My family is one of the last to wake up and leave the house. They, my neighbors, see each other every day, but don’t know many of their names, yet in the midst of the boiling fire, they still did not forget or abandon my family.
Having been here for nearly ten years, neighborly love is something I am not interested in cultivating. Every day when I see my neighbors, I just nod slightly and quickly enter the house. If there was a gathering of guests, I would just sit around for a bit and then go home. Sometimes I even find them annoying when sometimes they drink in front of the house, sometimes they do karaoke loudly, they talk in groups of 3 or 5. Giving each other a bunch of vegetables, a bowl of stew, and a bag of fruit is something that has never happened before.
Strangely enough, that morning, when I was half asleep, I dreamed that I was in the house in the countryside when I was a child and was about to run to the neighbor’s house to play. Every time my mother cooks pho, I bring it to my uncle’s house. My younger brother played there almost all day, and even when it was time for dinner, he refused to come home, wanting to stay and eat fried shrimp rice.
When I grew up, I went to Saigon to study and work. The neighborly love of my old hometown still made me miss and crave it, but why couldn’t I get close to the neighbors where I lived? That morning, a large fire claimed the lives of four family members. They were neighbors that I didn’t remember ever seeing, ever saying hello to… and I thought I was terrible. Then I suddenly thought, maybe tomorrow I won’t have the chance to be close and harmonious with my neighbors.
This morning, the alley was calmer after the incident. When I drive to work, I still see those faces, sitting in front of their house. I raised my head, brightened my face, and said a few words, instead of quickly putting on a hat, mask, and driving away like every other day.
Neighbors are a natural connection, although not binding, but not unimportant (illustration) |
Tet has just passed a few days, how long am I going to live indifferently to the things that need to be nurtured? But it is not difficult to cultivate, first of all, just a sincere smile, a gentle bow of the head, a question to inquire about things near and far are enough. There are relationships that are difficult to build and maintain, but there are also natural connections that are extremely important.
Hong Nhien
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