Stories

The Child by Nguyen Quoc Thanh

My name is Trang and I am 2 years old. I come to the park with my mummy and my grandma.

I like our park, because here I can stay with my mummy and my grandma all day. I used to live in a village with my granddad, far away from my mum. But now my older sister Nuong is there because she has to go to school. My mummy took me to Hanoi a few months ago. This is my home now. We live in a small room, just enough for a big mattress and our things in the corner. My grandma, my mom and I sleep together. Our place is so small that I can always smell the steamed rice when my mummy is cooking. Our home in a village is ten times bigger.

My daddy is a taxi driver. He is always at work. I only see him when he comes home to take a nap at lunchtime. I miss him at night. My mum is young, but she is cleaver, and she knows how to repair bicycles. When she fixes them, I like to be around her so I can help her. She likes to teach me things, like how to keep the park clean. I know how to put rubbish into the litter bin. If you don't put rubbish into the bin, our park will get dirty and my friends will stop coming. My grandma sells hot tea, cigarettes and candies. She makes the best tea in the world. She told me she has been coming to sell tea in the park everyday for more than ten years now. People seem to like my grandma's tea and talking with her. I get bored though and don't understand what they are talking about. I think people like it when I help grandma and I bring them cigarettes and sunflower's seeds. I like sunflower seeds too. I enjoy helping my grandma as she says I am a good girl when I do. She is old and she has lines by her eyes when she smiles but she still works hard so to help my mummy and daddy send my sister to school.

Our park is really beautiful, that's why many people come here to take a rest during the day. I often see young couples sitting close together. Some people just have a little sleep, I sometimes sleep on the bench too. Small children like me also come to play here. But I like the old men the most. They often sit together on a bench. They are old friends. I have a friend too. People think he looks strange, because he has lost some of his teeth, but at least he knows how to play with me. There is also a bicyle man who sometimes drives me around the park. Its one of my favorite things to do.

I like that I can play all day in the park, but I only have one toy, an orange lantern. But most of all I like to draw with my friends. I have a book with many flowers in different colours. Some of the flowers are empty and I like filling them in with beautiful colours. I wish the park has flowers at this time of year.