A deserted spot on the sidewalk

(Baonghean) - In the morning, the cold wind peels off each layer of clothing, seeping into each pore. 5:30, every day at this time I run around the neighborhood. I've gotten used to seeing faces, I greet everyone I see or sometimes just nod. The cyclo driver, the early morning fish seller, the sticky rice seller, the crazy old lady selling flowers and bananas... But today, why can't I see this crazy old lady?

The old woman has been sitting on that sidewalk every morning for many years now. A pair of shoulder poles, a red plastic pot with a few roses or chrysanthemums, a small tarp with a few bunches of bananas and a bunch of vegetables. Every morning is the same.

They called her “crazy” and “crazy” because she often laughed and talked to herself. Sometimes, some people who had too much time or too many trivial matters stopped to talk to her. There was a time when I became that kind of person, bought her a rose, asked her random questions, then continued jogging, and then quietly put that flower in a half-open window on someone’s sidewalk, when the outside light was not enough to get into the house.

Photo for illustration purposes only

The old woman had been occupying the sidewalk at the beginning of this alley for a long time, ignoring what anyone said. Several times, the security guard at a nearby bank chased her away because she was scattering leaves, vines, and newspaper scraps all over the place. She would leave for a few days and then return. The police occasionally came to clear the market, sometimes she would run off to grab her fruit basket, other times she wouldn’t even bother running, just stood there grinning, her teeth black and yellow with holes.

The old lady told her whole family to go sell flowers on the street, waking up in the morning and each person carrying a basket on a street to “drift”. Her flowers were few, ugly and expensive, whoever bought them was fine, but if they didn’t buy or bargained for a better price, she would curse, curse them all, curse them profanely and sourly as if possessed. One day, a woman from Hue was cursed by her and could only stand still and cry…

Yet she patiently carried on with her poor stall until late at night. When there were no customers, the old woman would just talk to herself. No one paid any attention to what she was saying. At noon, when she had not eaten anything, the sticky rice seller would bring over a cold package of sticky rice with peanuts, telling her to eat it. She would not take any money, but the old woman insisted on paying her, no matter how little. Some days, she had not sold a single coin, so she paid with a few bananas. When it was late at night and the flowers were still there, wilted, she would push a bunch of mixed colors into the sticky rice seller's hand, telling her to take it home for her daughter.

There were days when I came home from work late at night and saw her sitting in the rain on the street wearing a hat. When I greeted her and she didn’t say anything, I knew for sure that her business was slow that day. I teased her and she got angry and cursed like a trance. There were also days when I teased her and she didn’t say anything, just sat there leaning against the electric pole like a dry banana leaf.

This morning, I saw that the sidewalk at the end of the alley was deserted. Maybe she was chased away by the security guard yesterday, or is she sick, or is there something at home?

Maybe tomorrow she will come back to sell her goods, but why do I feel so restless? This crazy old lady, without her the sidewalk suddenly seems so empty! In the middle of a cold winter morning like this, if only she were sitting there with a few bouquets of flowers that were as bright as sparks of fire…

Thai Quynh