Trang Ha with invisible tears

(Baonghean) - Tears can flow because of a pain hidden deep in the heart, or a suffering about life, because of some urge before the life that is mostly miserable. But now I rarely see tears like that. Walking along the street, meeting thousands of people passing by, for many years I have not seen a woman crying.

1.When I was a young girl, I once walked down the street with tears streaming down my face because of some emotion.There was also a time, returning home at nightfall, I saw a hard-working woman cycling in the same direction, crying.

Sometimes along the sidewalk here and there, there is a woman sitting on the ground, resting an old hat on her feet, bowing her head and wiping her tears on her knees, old pants, moldy shoulder poles, a hot lunch filled with the sound of cicadas.

And in the old days, sometimes I saw a woman walking slowly, her eyes red.

Tears can flow because of a pain hidden deep in the heart, or a suffering about life, because of some urge before the life that is mostly miserable. But now I rarely see tears like that. Walking along the street, meeting thousands of people passing by, for many years I have not seen a woman crying.

Or are tears no longer visible?

Illustration: Nam Phong

2. There was a reader who followed me through many meetings, book signings, talks at companies and coffee shops, she did not miss a single one. One fine day after half a year of meeting, chatting and listening to me, getting to know me, she wrote me a letter saying that she was a victim of her husband's punches, kicks, slaps, kicks, and sticks. She had to be very brave and fight for a long time to dare to tell me the truth, to ask me for advice, for help.

There is another old reader, I have helped her many times, and once called on the whole community to send money and gifts to help her through her difficult time. I thought her life would get better. But the other day I heard her say she had lost everything, her husband had an affair and left, took her two children to raise, and the court had ruled. I asked her why she did not seek help from the social organizations that protect women and children who she was working for, why she did not go to court, denounce to the government, why did not she cry out to be treated like a woman? She just kept silent.

3.It seems that tears flow somewhere in this life, but never stop flowing.

How can we make women cry out when they see suffering? How can we make them dare to shed tears in front of a stranger? How can we make them believe that if they cry, a stranger will stop and ask, why are you crying, can I help you?

How can we stop women from believing that society is a helpless mass of tears? Have you ever cried while walking down the street?

Trang Ha