Da Lat Night

 Nights invariably bring about indescribable mixed feelings, like a chaotic melting pot excessively pouring into my mind. I have gone through several unforgettable nights walking on several streets and experiencing the coldness of being unfamiliar with surrounding things. This coldness by then is warmed by emotional sharing of companions - the ones who momentarily go with me on the lengthy road of life.

 Standing on the third floor of a mid-market hotel looking at the flickering lights of diminutive buildings and further the broad night sky partly covered with a few lonesome stars, I temporarily wandered in my inner thoughts of DaLat, the so-called City of Pine, which is a must-go travelling destination in Vietnam. This is my first trip to this city and probably the last one, so enjoy it, I muttered to myself with an immature mindset of a 17-year-old boy. A breeze smoothly slapped my face, bringing about the distinctive taste of the city - sweetness and charm of a modern city in harmony with an inexpressible sensation of nostalgia.

 We were about to go to see Xuan Huong Lake. “Ready to go ?” my chubby cousin, Vien, whose voice was somewhat like a bolt breaking the silence of the night, piercingly asked everybody in the hotel room, including my grandmother and me. “Sure,” I confidently replied after taking a shower in hot water, washing away the biting coldness that I had yet to get accustomed to. “Put many coats on so that you guys will not be frozen when we get back,” my grandmother, a strong-willed and foresighted woman, gently said. Her skin became coarser and darker, and her black eyes narrowed, but still looked shining with many creases alongside her eyes and on her forehead as a result of strenuous years managing to make ends meet for ten children.

 Then, we enthusiastically headed for DaLat Night Market on a seemingly never-ending and narrow road, which was blurrily lit by the reflection of the branch-shaped street lights after a typical light rain in Da Lat. Here, the frenchy houses in the evening dew are romantically covered with verdant mosses like luxurious gentlemen putting on a nature-made coat in order not to be frozen. Several travellers slowly walked on the pavements, whose softly exhaling breath, along with the smoke emitted by the street vendors’ malls, created an even more enigmatic atmosphere.

 Step by step walking on the watery pathway for about one mile with the instruction of the middle-sized smartphone, there we stood beneath a huge pine-tree decorated with sparkling colorful lights at the center of the city, extending our horizon toward the heaven-like spectacles in front of us. There, the surface of Xuan Huong Lake, placid and quiet, encompassed the whole universe with glittering petite stars and the wavering image of the city in the night as if we could come across a parallel world through the giant mirror. Along the bank of the river were stone-built benches scattered that some in-love couples sat on and whispered melodious words into each other’s ears.

 Then, we quietly sat on the bench of stone, looking far away into nothingness. Seemingly knowing what I was thinking, my grandma with a moderate tone and husky voice said, “That is the way it is. No matter how close one can be to you, there comes a time when everything familiar heartlessly distances themselves from you, and you are the one to deal with your own life. That might sound cruel, but the time you realize how fortunate and cozy it can be to be with your beloved ones, you reach your maturity !” I pretended not to hear what she said and looked at strange couples, though I know, from my inner mind, how puzzling and despondent it is to be on the point of being thousand kilometers far away from my family and turning over a new leaf of life in a completely exotic land. After that, I did not exactly remember what we experienced, as my grandma’s words appeared to be stuck in my head and unable to escape away from the imaginary walls of my contemplation.