The day of the changing seasons

I like to follow my neighbor to exercise in the foggy mornings. People just a few steps away from each other can’t see their faces clearly, but just by looking at the silhouettes hidden in the fog, hearing the voices and laughter, even just a cough, we can recognize each other. The street is as intimate as a small village. It’s not like what people think of as a street, with people being strangers to each other. And along the walking path every morning, just looking at the green buds and young leaves makes me feel as if heaven and earth have given me a priceless gift.

Vinh Street this season is most beautiful with the colors of trees and leaves in the early morning mist. It is the jade green color of young banyan leaves shining with vitality hidden in the mist. Busy adults rarely pay attention to the quiet banyan trees on the street, but the children do. Many children are fascinated by the overwhelming green color of the young banyan leaves, determined that this is when the banyan trees are most beautiful. Next to the banyan trees, there are green royal poinciana and purple-flowered lagerstroemia trees along Quang Trung and Dao Tan streets stretching out their healthy branches, birds chirping from branch to branch. And this season, the ancient rice trees have produced clusters of tiny buds high up in the sky, sowing a promise that March will be the season of burning flowers very soon.

But the most special thing about these days is the bright yellow color of the series of Barringtonia acutangula leaves that have just shed their leaves like a proud, beautiful rain on Nguyen Nghiem and To Hien Thanh streets near my house or on many street corners and small alleys in Vinh city. The trees quickly shed their leaves in just a few days. And just a few weeks later, the leaves have put on a fresh green coat, turning a deep green. While passersby are still amazed by the vibrant beauty of the green Barringtonia acutangula canopies on the small streets, the trees have suddenly budded and produced splendid, radiant flower chains... Barringtonia acutangula of Vinh city sows freshness on the streets on the first and second days of the month when the mist is still lingering.

From young people to the elderly, there is still a habit of meeting up at coffee shops along Nguyen Nghiem Street, where you can see the leaves of the Indian laurel trees changing this season even before the dew has cleared. Choose a small corner to sit on the sidewalk, even though sidewalk coffee has never been the impression of Vinh Street. The weather is so gentle, the colors of the leaves are so vibrant, just sitting and watching a small street makes the cup of coffee taste a million times better. The street is hazy with mist, but the bright yellow colors of the Indian laurel trees still stand out like small, cozy sparks. My romantic friend, who is sometimes sad about this and that, one day becomes a philosopher when she sees the Indian laurel trees changing their clothes: "Looking at the falling leaves, I don't feel sad, I feel happy. The leaves flutter as if singing, beautiful even in the last seconds of their life when they land on the street and even when... the janitor sweeps them into the trash can. So why do we waste the minutes and seconds of our lives on sad things?" And you smile, a peaceful smile at the beginning of the new year, leaving behind all worries and sorrows on the other side of the old year.