Listen, Slowly

After the meeting, everyone leaves the house. Mai is starving and goes to the market to buy some phở which she relishes before returning to Bà. On the way inside, she stumbles across the detective’s notebook. She takes it to her room and curls up under the mosquito netting to begin reading the entries that begin in 1975, but she cannot decipher the language. She is angry with herself that she cannot read Vietnamese and thinks, “When I get back, I’m going to go to school in Little Saigon” (157). Her parents had encouraged it, but the classes were on Saturdays, the same day of the week she attended track meets to see her crush.

While she scans the journal, Mai hears Bà chanting, wishing she could take back what she did to the guard. Mai tries to comfort her, but Bà is haunted by the stories of Ông’s suffering. She hopes someone took him in and gave him food or tended to his wounds, but she knows there is little hope he survived. Bà tells Mai she will hear the letter, but Mai explains that it may not be a letter in the traditional sense. When she realizes this detail will likely lengthen their journey, Mai regrets telling her grandmother the truth. Feeling sad, helpless, and frustrated with the detective’s lack of action, Mai thinks she and Út must come up with a plan to help Bà and expedite the process.

Bà did not sleep at all as she was haunted by the images of Ông in the tunnels. For once, the relatives have left them alone to allow Bà time to process the news. When she refuses to eat, Mai becomes so worried she decides to call her mother. She tells a small lie, saying that her father must return as the guard will only deliver the letter to him, but her mother has already spoken to the detective and knows about the letter. Mai’s mother has had a difficult time connecting with her father and has sent some scouts into the mountains to find him. She tells Mai to stay strong for Bà: “Listen to me, you are enough. Sit with her, eat with her, tell her stories, take her on walks, most of all, when she’s ready to talk, listen to her” (163).

Út left them breakfast, so Mai takes it to her grandmother and manages to get her to eat half a bowl. Her strength revived, Bà asks to go for a walk, so Mai takes the chance to stop by the phở vendor. While there, she eats three more bowls of soup. All the villagers are milling around the center of town and are happy when they see Bà out and about. She reassures them that all is well and not to worry.

Mai sees Út and must stop herself from hugging her friend. She shows Út the journal and writes a message that the letter is in Hanoi. Út struggles to translate the journal entries, so they find Anh Minh, who is with Lan and Con Ngọc, and ask for his help. Út tells Mai that if Anh Minh and Lan call each other certain names, then it means they like each other. Mai is confused once again by the language’s rules but is excited about the possibility of romance in the air. She asks Út what she should call her, and Út says the words that mean “good friends” (166) in Vietnamese.

Anh Minh finds an address in the journal for where they might find the letter in Hanoi. Út fakes an injury from her braces, and her mouth fills with blood. Mai runs to the house and brings her dental wax to help with a broken wire. While her mother and aunt tend to her mouth, Út signals for Mai to play along and pretend her face is injured from when she passed out. Cô Tâm decides Út will go to Hanoi to have her braces repaired by a relative who is a dentist, and Mai will go as well to have her face x-rayed. The girls will stay with their relatives, and Anh Minh will accompany them. Bà gives her money and strict instructions to stay safe, but all Mai can think about is her excitement over having an adventure with Út.

During the 50-mile journey to Hanoi, Mai wants to take in the scenery outside, but Anh Minh forces her to learn how to correctly use diacritical marks in Vietnamese. Despite her father making her write in Vietnamese each night, Mai never learned the significance of the marks or how to use them properly. There are nine marks used with vowels that indicate the up or down inflection one should use for the word. The marks can also be combined, creating myriad possible meanings. Anh Minh explains using the word Ba as an example, demonstrating that the mark used can change the meaning to anything from “poisoned food” to “residue.” Making some of the inflections requires manipulating the throat and epiglottis, and Mai pokes fun at the strange sounds coming out of her mouth. Anh Minh chides her for not taking the lesson seriously.

Út interjects that the reason he is so serious about the pronunciations is that his name means something completely different without the marks, and when he studied abroad, kids teased him for the American translation of his name. Mai tries not to laugh, but Anh Minh tells her all the odd interpretations of her name with different marks. Mai decides to adopt a diacritical mark, thinking, “As for my last name, I will from now on write Lê with a little hat over the e. Think of it as adding Vietnamese-style sunblock” (176). They finally arrive in Hanoi, and Anh Minh explains that it should be spelled Hà Nội.

Hanoi is as loud, crowded, and bustling as Mai remembered it, but it is full of the same stacked concrete houses she saw in the country. The cab driver weaves in and out of the busy traffic leaving Mai carsick. They arrive at Cô Nga’s house, which has a dentistry office on the ground floor and living quarters upstairs where she sends them to rest even though they are starving. Anh Minh tells them he must leave to go to his appointment, and Mai notices Út understands what he is saying. When Mai points it out, Út responds that Mai also understands more Vietnamese than she lets on, and she never told her because Mai’s Vietnamese sounds so funny. They agree to stop using paper to communicate if Mai can slow down her speaking.

Cô Nga examines them both in short order as her practice is busy and she must get on to seeing other patients. She introduces them to Chị QH, who will be their caretaker during the trip. Chị QH rents mopeds for the day and takes them clothing shopping. They get new face masks that only cover their nose and mouth and match the color of their skin. Mai feels like she is in a whirlwind and thinks, “Off we go and I’m even more dizzy. Things move fast in the city” (181).

In the shops, Chị QH helps them purchase blouses and pants along with money pouches that hang around their necks. Mai likes the style of the new clothes, but Út is reluctant to give up her grubby old pants and shirt. Mai is starving and asks if they can stop in the market for food. Chị QH takes them to a jewelry store to exchange Mai’s money, and Chị QH argues with the owner over the exchange rate. Mai is amazed at how much đồng equates to in dollars and wishes she could show her father all her stacks of bills.

In the chaos, Mai remembers why they have come to Hanoi and asks Út when they can find the guard, but she says they must wait. Út approaches several food vendors desperate to eat, but she refuses to buy anything, claiming the prices are too expensive. Mai is famished and steps in, offering a fish vendor some money, and they sit to eat their food. Mai panics when she realizes it is raw, but her stomach is fine after a few bites, and she figures her body has acclimatized to the foreign parasites and bacteria. After buying more food, Mai realizes they have run out of time for her X-ray. Chị QH collects them to return to the house and tells them not to say anything to Cô Nga about the mopeds or the missed X-ray.

Cô Nga is very busy with her dental practice and working for the government clinic and does not have time to chaperone the girls. The next day, she puts Chị QH in charge of them again. Chị QH explains to the girls that she has a busy day ahead and has arranged for the moped drivers, Chị BêBê and Văn, to be their tour guides for the day. The bilingual guides take them to breakfast and take Mai to get her X-ray. Út shows them the address from the journal and asks if they can take them there, but the guide says they cannot because the area is inaccessible, and she worries for the girls’ safety. Later the guides agree to take them, but Chị BêBê lost the paper with the address. Thankfully, Út remembers the address, and they use one of the guide’s phones to map the directions. Seeing the phone reminds Mai of her parents, and she wishes she could talk to them.

When they arrive at the house, Út and Mai approach the door. When they knock, an older man answers and asks what they want. Mai asks for the man from the tunnel, and the older man slams the door in her face. Mai asks the guides for help, even offering them money, but they claim they cannot leave the mopeds unattended for fear they will be stolen. With the guides unable to help, Mai pleads with Út to speak to the man in the house, and she agrees to help, but only if Mai promises to spend time at the house.

Mai does not understand but is desperate to help Bà. They knock on the door again, and Út begins to tell the story of why they are there, but he slams the door in their face again. Mai knocks again, and before he can slam the door, she uses her foot to keep it open. In her best attempt at Vietnamese, desperately explains why she is there. Suddenly, she begins to cry, realizing that “I want Bà to get her wish even more than I want to go home” (194). After listening to her plea, the man tells her to wait, and a boy arrives with coconut drinks and escorts them through alleys, where they find the detective and the guard.

The detective is angry with the girls for chasing after him and angry with the guides for bringing them into the alley. As he escorts them to a café where it is safer, he explains that he was visiting the guard once again to try and convince him to visit Bà in Saigon. The guard still refuses and insists Mai, her father, Bà, and the detective fly south to see what Ông wrote. The detective tells the guides to return Mai and Út to their house, but before leaving, Mai sits and talks with the guard. Mai uses her broken Vietnamese to explain why they came to find him. He explains to her why he became a soldier. Mai does not understand a lot of what he says, though she can tell from his facial expressions that his life has been full of sadness.

Everyone is upset after the encounter with the guard, especially Chị BêBê, who fears she will be in trouble with Cô Nga, from whom she is trying to get a recommendation for acceptance into dental hygienist school. She explains that both she and Chị QH are working for Cô Nga so they can go to dental school overseas. While she listens to the guide, Mai notices Út whispering with Văn.

When they return to the house, Cô Nga makes them go to bed at 4:30. Út agrees only if they can have their old clothes returned. Út awakens Mai in the middle of the night and tells her to dress in her old clothes, and, after smearing their skin with leaves to keep away mosquitos, the girls sneak away into the night.

Văn arrives, and they follow him to where a girl named Lulu is waiting with mopeds. After stopping for food, the drivers take them to a large pond, and Út takes a net and a box from the driver before they leave the girls alone, promising to be back in one hour. Út wades into the pond and bids Mai in English to join her. Mai answers in Vietnamese that she does not want to go, fearing she might get another leech. Mai listens to Út mumble in Vietnamese about how these frogs will help keep mosquitos away and how spoiled and unkind she is to be so unwilling to help her friend. Út continues to lament how much she has tried to help Mai and now she is not returning the favor. Mai responds in Vietnamese that she is Út’s friend, and now Út knows Mai can understand her. Instead of being angry, Út laughs, and Mai covers her feet with bags and wades into the murky water.

They wait quietly, hoping the glowing frogs will return. Mai notices all the beauty around her and thinks she could make Vietnam her second home. Soon, they hear voices and see several children who are also trying to catch the frogs. Út makes a deal with them for 10 frogs. Just then, Văn returns and yells at the children to get away from the girls. The kids run away, dropping the net into the pond and releasing the frogs. Út is angry with Văn and tells him to ask the children to come out of hiding. After renegotiating the price, the children recapture the frogs, and Út is content. Mai tips the children and Văn before they speed off back into the night.

Anh Minh returns from his business at the embassy and arranges for Văn and Lulu to take the girls around the town to visit tourist attractions before they leave. They visit a place called Lake of the Restored Sword which has rich cultural significance. Anh Minh tells them the legend attached to the lake about a turtle that swam to the surface with a sword in its mouth. They visit the French Quarter where the buildings look far different from the square Vietnamese structures. The girls sample many types of food along the way, including grilled squid, a dessert made from coconut and beans, and snails that must be pulled from their shells with a pin. While they stop to eat, they learn Út’s sister was passed over for the same international scholarship Anh Minh received. He explains how difficult it is for poor students to advance because wealthy students can afford to be tutored by their teachers, and the teachers accept the tutoring jobs because they are underpaid. Mai wonders if there are any lazy kids in Vietnam, and Anh Minh explains that Vietnamese parents want the same success for their children as any parent in the world. The difference in Vietnam is the kids want to succeed more.

Văn takes them back to the house since Bà is arriving to fly south, and Mai is sad because she wants to spend more time sightseeing and learning from her new friends. The detective and the guard arrive, and Mai tells them not to mention to Cô Nga that they were in the alley. She does not want her guides to get into trouble and not be able to attend dental school. He will not agree and calls them disobedient children, so Mai tells him she has his journal and will return it to him at the airport if he does not reveal their secret. Mai is sad to learn her father could not make it to go south with them. He had a tough case in the clinic and must stay to oversee the patient’s care. Before saying goodbye to Anh Minh, Mai invites him to Saigon. He launches into a lesson on the proper pronunciation of Sài Gòn and explains that the city is called Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh. He goes on and on, but Mai stops listening. Bà arrives, and Mai realizes how much she missed her grandmother.

In Saigon, Bà and Mai stay in a hotel room while the guard and the detective find lodging elsewhere. They have strict instructions from the detective not to leave the hotel for their protection. Mai is bored and frustrated that her father did not join them, but Bà tells her that her presence is comforting enough. She tries to read the book Út gave to her when they said goodbye, but she cannot read Vietnamese, so she uses the pictures to comprehend it is a folktale about a frog.

After Bà takes a nap, they decide to ignore the detective’s instructions and venture out into the city. The weather is so hot they must use cold cloths on their neck for relief. Aside from the shock of the hotter weather, Mai is also astounded at how much busier Saigon is than Hanoi. Crossing the street feels life-threatening, and Mai is relieved to see a hotel employee accompanying them for protection. He tells them to listen to the engines to determine when it is safest to cross. They find a place that serves Bà’s favorite dish, and Mai sits in wonder as she watches the women go through the ritual-like process of cooking and serving the broth and noodles.

No one sells water to drink, so they must return to the hotel for refreshment, and the detective is waiting for them, angry they defied his instructions. Bà explains that this is the last time she will visit her home city, and she wants to see all that she can while here. When she asks about the letter, the detective explains that despite his best efforts, he is not having much success finding it. Claiming he is low on funds, he humbly asks Bà for more money. Bà gives him another white envelope and says, “If you are hinting that you must bribe every official connected to the project, so be it. Tell them I am here for a final truth” (224). Despite his protests, Bà asks to go back into the city, and they arrange for comfortable transportation in a cyclo.

Mai enjoys the breezy ride through the city eating her favorite fruit next to Bà. She thinks, “I love my life. I’m not hot, really full, cocooned from the traffic and noises and smells, and best of all, I’m with Bà” (227). While they travel to Chùa Vĩnh Nghiêm, Bà tells her the story of the first time she visited the pagoda with Ông and all seven of their children. It took many trips for him to deliver everyone to the temple, but it made him happy to fulfill her desire to take all the children to be blessed by the statue of Ông Thần đồng. As Mai and Bà arrive at the pagoda, there is no one around, and Mai is entranced by the beauty of the structure and the smell of incense in the air. When they reach the statue, Bà is too short to reach it, so Mai gives her a boost to touch the statue’s foot. Mai puts her down, and Bà rubs her face, blessing her granddaughter.

Invigorated by their explorations the previous day, Bà wakes at six o’clock the next morning with a long list of places she wants to visit. The driver takes them to a bookstore where Bà finds books on tape, and Mai finds a book about the natural history of Vietnam that includes an entire section on frogs that she thinks Út will like. She ponders what it would be like to be fluent in Vietnamese. Next, they go to an open market that Bà used to frequent when she lived in Saigon. Mai purchases sunshades for Anh Minh’s glasses and face masks and sun protection gloves for Cô Hạnh and Út. A fierce rainstorm breaks out, and Mai runs for cover from the large, painful raindrops, but Bà stays out in the rain, basking in its fury. “Bà holds out both hands to form a cup; her face tilts up even more. The more her cup fills, the gentler her smile” (234). Mai worries her grandmother will catch a chill and ushers her back to the cyclo.

The next day, Mai awakens exhausted from all the work of watching out for Bà. Still, they go out into the city again, and she watches as Bà goes to many more temples making offerings of incense. When they return to the hotel, there is a message from the detective saying he will pick them up the following morning to view Ông’s words. The next morning, Mai and Bà eat and dress quickly before meeting the detective. Though Mai is thrilled they have finally arrived at the last step of the journey, she is sad her father is not there and that the detective still has not been able to locate him.

On the long van ride to the site, the detective explains to Bà why it had been so difficult to gain permission to see Ông’s message. Mai notices that Bà is nervous and sweaty as they finally arrive at the Củ Chi tunnels. Bà becomes emotional realizing her husband walked on the same ground many years before. A van arrives, and when Mai’s father steps out, she runs to greet him. Men in uniform along with workers holding shovels stand around as the family is reunited. One uniformed man explains the process they used to widen the passageways and ventilate them properly so the family could go inside. They have devised a pulley system to aid Bà in safely maneuvering through the narrow tunnel.

At first, they say Mai cannot go along, but Bà insists she be allowed to join them. The officer still protests, but after her father speaks to him privately, all three family members prepare to descend into the tunnel. After they crawl and struggle through the tunnel, the guard directs them to a space with dirt and concrete walls. When he shines his flashlight onto the wall, they can see letters scratched into the concrete. Bà reads the message: a list of their children’s names, which Ông used as the last line of every letter he sent home. Mai, her father, and Bà all touch the words at the same time. Mai thinks, “While I stand there, nothing else matters, not the heat, the air, or the stench rising above the floral spray. Nothing matters as long as I can hear Bà’s breathing elongate into full, satisfied breaths” (247). Bà takes a handful of clay from the tunnel with her. They crawl back out of the tunnel, and Bà gives white envelopes to the detective and the guard and gives money to each of the workers. They bid goodbye to the detective before leaving in the van. While riding, Mai hears her grandmother chanting “Mãn nguyện” (247) which means content and satisfied.

Mai’s father tells her she can book her plane tickets home immediately, and while she is on the internet, she checks her social media account and sees that her crush sent her a message. He says he will see her when she gets home and signs his name, Kevin. Even though she is anxious to get home, Mai thinks that Bà is not ready to leave her village. When she asks her what is wrong, Bà says that she wants to give Ông a proper burial in his village. Mai tells her father she can wait to return home so she can stay with Bà. They hold a ceremony the following day, and Bà buries the clay along with a blue tile from the mosaic in the plot near Ông’s parents. They light incense sticks and place them on the burial mound before leaving.

Despite her wishes being granted, in the days that follow, Bà seems very sad and tired. Mai’s father announces that he must return to his clinic to see the remaining 14 patients awaiting his help. He tells Mai she can leave for home with Bà as soon as her mother can book the flight. Mai thinks that Bà would probably rather stay and wait for him to return so they can all fly home together, but she tells her father that Bà will not tell her the truth. She expresses anger that her family often withholds information from her, like what happened to them after the war. Her father explains that he never wanted her to worry and only wanted her to have a good life. He never told her about the horrible things that happened because he felt guilty that he made it out alive and others did not. He tells her that when they were being evacuated in the helicopters, he saw a boy fall to his death. He now understands that he cannot shield Mai from all the pain in the world. Mai decides she will commit to spending more time listening to her parents to understand their past.

Cô Hạnh hosts a goodbye lunch for everyone, and Mai distributes the presents she purchased in Saigon. Before the party, Bà and Mai sit by the tree in the center of the village, and Bà runs her hands over the bark, saying that Ông had also touched the bark. She explains to Mai that at one time, she thought the grief of losing him would overtake her, but over time the burden became easier to bear. However, sometimes the grief wells up inside her again, and she knows she will never fully heal from her loss. Bà says to Mai that she wants her to listen carefully and learn how to handle loss and the emotions that come with it.

Everyone in the village attends the party, including the detective and Anh Minh and Lan, who now call each other names that mean they are in love. Mai is most excited to have more time with Út, and after the party, the two friends escape to the porch where Cô Hạnh has fashioned them a double hammock. Mai gives Út the book she bought her in Saigon, and they sit together taking turns reading to each other, Út reading in English and Mai in Vietnamese. Út wants to become a frog scientist, so Mai agrees to teach her to speak in English. In return, Út says Mai can name one of her glowing frogs. Mai decides that she can wait to leave until her father returns in 12 days, thinking it would be nice to have more time for Bà to recover from seeing the message and for her to have more time with Út: “Maybe I can stay and maybe I would enjoy it. What’s in Laguna that’s so urgent?” (257)

The girls spend the rest of the afternoon reading and talking in the hammock. Mai shares about the first time she spoke to Kevin after he read an e.e. cummings poem. Út knows the poem because they read it in her English class. Realizing how much she will enjoy the next 12 days with her good friend, Mai asks Út to teach her to read in Vietnamese.