"Go to old book heaven"

(Baonghean) - This weekend, I promised my colleague's little daughter to take her to the bookstore. The bike rides, somehow, led me to Nguyen Van Cu street. As if calling from somewhere, I heard the voices of my high school friends: "Let's go to the old book paradise!". I suddenly realized that there are habits, dreams, and memories that "live together" with us no matter how far away we go.

For the naive country students who came to the city to study at Phan High School about five or seven years ago, Vinh was too spacious. I was also that country student with two strange braids riding my father's old motorbike to Vinh to enroll in school. The pothole at the intersection of Le Hong Phong and Nguyen Van Cu that year startled me.

I looked at the signs, at the passing cars, at the “urban people” who seemed busy, who seemed indifferent, and I missed my hometown and my mother so much that my heart ached. My father held my shoulder tightly in front of the Phan school gate: “Go in, study hard!” In my whole life, that was the most “emotional” sentence my father had ever said to his daughter... I never expected that my “encounter” with the most memorable street during my high school years would be like this...

12th grade students of Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted choose books on Nguyen Van Cu street (Vinh city)

Then, in no time, Vinh became familiar to us. But more than familiar, more than soulmates, more than flesh and blood, were Vinh's old book stalls. For many years studying far away at university, I closed my eyes and drew Vinh in my mind, always seeing Nguyen Van Cu street - a paradise for young students and book stalls not only for people to come to find knowledge but also to find a unique reading space, to find stories, handprints, handwriting... that made us dreamy or amazed when we touched it.

I once asked my friend from Vinh, whose house is right on Nguyen Van Cu Street: When did these old book stalls start to appear here? My friend replied: I don't know exactly when the first old book stall in Vinh City appeared. I only vaguely remember that around 1999, a shop with the sign "Old Book and Newspaper Shop" appeared before my eyes. Since then, as a trend, the second, third, fourth shops... appeared. At that time, the shop owners named their shops like Huong Tho, Thong Tam... And from that moment, Nguyen Van Cu Street officially became a paradise for old books.

...And now I am looking for the old signs, telling the little girl following me: Let's go look at some old books! The little girl nodded her head in confusion. Perhaps, she was wondering why I was looking for old books? My old paradise bookstores now only have a few left among the more than a dozen that once existed gloriously in the past. They are hidden among the high-rise buildings, the fashion stores that are "expanding" with bright, eye-catching colors.

The old nameplates, faded by the sun and wind. I also wonder why they still exist amidst the many changes of life? Are there still many retired old men who love books, poor students who read for free like us in the past, or are those bookstores waiting for our feet to return one day with nostalgia in the middle of the bustling streets. Are they trying to preserve the memories of our youth?

Look up each shelf to find the book you need.

If the large, beautiful, and proper bookstores that open on many streets attract people with the smell of ink, the pages of books waiting for people to discover for the first time, the newest books with covers that are more creative after each publication, reprint... then these old bookstores that look quiet create a different space, more peaceful, more quiet. It seems to have its own choice of "customers".

Don't think that old books don't have their own scent. Many times I smiled when I remembered the folk tale of the blind man "smelling literature". I also closed my eyes many times, touching the old and shabby shelves to feel: this is definitely a children's bookshelf, with comic books that were once popular: Vietnamese Prodigy, Doraemon, Detective Conan... And here, the bookshelves lead us to a world full of beautiful romance, adventure or emotion: Scarlet Sails, Black-eared White Bim, Robinson Cruso... In the innermost corner are textbooks, reference books from the Education Publishing House, the Pedagogical University Publishing House... and clearly, the scent of those books is also different. I think, every student back then could "smell" the scent of old books...

And in that narrow space, a vast world opened up before my eyes. I had sent so many dreams, so many youthful dreams of mine into the pages of old books. Even the dream of success. Attached to that were worries, concerns about each exam...

Surely, you will also feel like me, when suddenly finding in those bookshelves, a precious book that you are looking for. That is the feeling of happiness, discovery, emotion. A book of the history of the homeland, a map of the old Vinh city...

Once I picked up from those pages a half-pressed flower petal, a line of markings, careful notes. There were also lines of addresses, dates of purchase, and bookstores. Were you moved when you read the lines that had begun to blur: “Hanoi, a rainy day in August 1982”; “Giving you the book we both love”; “Hope this reference book will help T. get into university”; “Remembering the time I went to Vinh Bookstore, thinking a lot about M, September 1990”… Was it once the work of a dreamy girl, a romantic guy, a cautious old man, or a teacher and student struggling during exam season?

It has brought to me today stories about life's journey, messages about love. I often silently look at the "handwriting" left on the pages of old books to imagine the story of the book, and the stories of the people who held it in their hands. It is not uncommon to unexpectedly encounter books with dedications written by the author himself. Why, what brought it to this old book stall?

There are books that have traveled a long way, moving from old bookstores on Lang Street in the capital to Vinh City, some books were bought from scrap dealers, and some books were brought by the previous owner to exchange for the books he needed... And then on these wooden or iron bookshelves, they rest side by side, seemingly silent.

And one more thing, I want to come back to this place because I want to see them again, the old shop owners. Some of them were difficult when we students took out books to read and then didn't know how to put them back. Some of them seemed indifferent and didn't care about us.

There are also friendly and open people... Ms. Huong, Ms. Tam, Mr. Tho... who have been selling used books for decades, at most 20 years. What they have in common is that these people who do business in this special item originate from their love for books. They act as if they are indifferent, not paying attention to the poor students who love to study and read, who are sitting all day at the counter, trying to hide their faces behind the high shelves to "read for free".

Who knows, behind that indifferent look is full of understanding, affection, love. Just realized, Vinh city people are not busy, not indifferent like the country child I used to think. Behind those streets are so many deep thoughts, still the roots of human love...

...and quick research.

Then, I don’t know if it was by accident or on purpose, but right next to the old bookstores on Nguyen Van Cu Street, there are a lot of snack shops for young people. After many hours of burying oneself in books, when stepping out of the old bookstore, the stomach starts to “speak”.

The aroma of fried onions, the sweetness of the fragrant fish sauce, the chewiness of the clear white tapioca flour, the rich flavor of the shrimp filling or simply the sweetness of a cup of sweet potato dessert makes you want to immediately rush into the famous banh beo and sweet potato dessert shops located right next door.

Now, Nguyen Van Cu street has more snack shops, fast food shops for young people with all kinds of dishes, and also accepts delivery within the city. Moc Quan, Moon, grilled food, or western cake stalls opened right at the intersection of Le Hong Phong and Nguyen Van Cu...

And I, after years of studying at university, have managed to return here to the same street. In the middle of the street, missing the street. In the middle of the street, dreaming of the past days. Luckily, my paradise is still there. Paradises that bear the old marks, and I still see the silhouette of a white shirt among the high stacks of books.

Which student is sending his dreams and aspirations behind each page... Hello you, or also hello me of an old day. Vinh Street, thanks to that, is so much more dear...

Vinh - Thanh