"You must be Kien An" "Yes, I am" "Follow me" "Here are your things" "You are here on high recommendations" "I hope you shall not let me down" "I will not, sir" "We follow strict codes here" "It is important none are violated" "Teacher Dao is not a forgiving man" "The bell rings early every morning" "The flowers must be picked and bundled to be sold in the city" "Teacher Dao takes pride in his flowers" "Customers take pride in his flowers" "Thus, you must take pride in his flowers" "Yes" "Try not to think about it" "Don't let the temple distract you" "It is important to keep busy" "You'll soon forget it's there" "It looks abandoned" "It is the Teacher's home He has not left it in years" "None of us have actually seem him" "The older women say his soul left him long ago" "Is this lake what is there as pretty as a lotus?" "Green leaves, white flowers?" "Green leaves, white flower, yellow center" "Yellow center white flower, green leaves" "It is near the mud, yet does not smell of mud" "A woman's destiny is like a raindrop" "Some fall in the gutter some fall in rich ponds" "You buy for me?" "Chewing gum... cigarette?" "Hai, I've been waiting all morning Did you bring the rubbing oil?" "Yes, the arm still bothering you, huh?" "If it's not the arm, then it's the back" "Let me have some ofthat" "Hai, maybe you can put a stop to this debate" "What now?" "You see the hotel there?" "What about it?" "I was betting Minh here..." "The towel used in there must have some kind of perfume spray in them" "Why is that?" "You ever notice the smell?" "Everyone we drive from there has a fresh smell" "Like I said, it's the smell of money" "Where there's money there's that smell" "Well, it's a waste of money Well, it's a waste of money!" "We need to work a whole month to barely afford their cheapest room" "Four stars, five stars they can't match my thousand stars deluxe" "What's your thousand stars deluxe?" "From my bed, I see a thousand stars No roof, just a thousand stars" "At least you have a bed" "Are you still reading that old book?" "You sure are persistent" "You haven't fixed that?" "It's gonna get you one day" "Come back here!" "I need a ride!" "Let's go!" "That was close" "What happened?" "Just watch the street" "Don't ask questions" "Drop off at the Marquis Hotel" "Damn, my lipstick is all smeared" "They should know better I never let anyone take me home" "It was great to see the look on their faces" "Thanks for the fast legs" "Should I wait?" "No, it'll be a while" "I don't mind" "It'll be hours." "I'll get another ride" "Fresh white lotuses!" "Fresh white lotuses!" "Fresh white lotuses!" "Wait a minute..." "Splendid, the white lotuses have arrived" "You must be new" "I've not seen you before" "Yes, sir." "I started this week" "These are nice flowers your teacher sells" "May I have a bundle?" "Smells wonderful" "So beautiful..." "How much?" "5,000" "Thank you" "Fresh white lotuses!" "You again." "Why are you here?" "I'm here to give you a ride" "I said you didn't have to wait" "I didn't mind" "You're not expecting more money, are you?" "I was just making sure you had a ride" "Alright." "Take me to District Two" "Tomorrow I will work at the Majestic" "There are wealthier guests there" "They know how to treat a woman" "I'm tired of cheap bastards" "You got a cigarette?" "You got a cigarette?" "No" "It's too damn hot for a smoke anyway" "I could be in a cool room now if I wanted to" "I'd just have to do nightovers." "I don't though" "Sometimes I wish I could fall asleep on the large bed and let the air-conditioner run all night until I want to wake up" "That's what they all do up there" "I could use a drink right now I bet you don't drink" "No" "What do you do then?" "You don't smoke, you don't drink..." "What the hell do you do?" "Besides waiting for pretty girls" "Damn it!" "Not another blackout!" "It's the third time this week" "It's damn hot on nights like this" "What's the problem?" "Where are you headed?" "Taking her home" "It's all right." "She lives here" "Let them go!" "Our block hasn't been safe during blackouts" "Some streets have it worse though" "Stop at the lamppost ahead" "Yellow center, white flower, green leaves" "It is near the mud, yet does not smell of mud" "A woman's destiny is like a raindrop" "Some fall in the gutter some fall in rich ponds" "Can anyone ever know how many stalks are in a rice field?" "How many bends are in a river?" "How many layers are in a cloud?" "Can anyone sweep the leaves of a forest?" "And tell the wind to shake the trees no more" "How many leaves must a silkworm eat to make a dress of colors from the past" "How much rain must..." "Don't let them bother you" "For years the old women have sung the same songs" "They've been here so long they think they own the lake" "I didn't know" "How could you?" "Let's go back to work" "Lack of work makes Mr. Huy look bad to Teacher Dao thus the punishes severely for it" "After all these years I still can't stand this heat" "You just have not to think about it" "Throw up a bag of nuts for me!" "I'm waiting for the day that corner of ours is replaced by a hotel" "It's so crowded, wejust have to live with it" "I hope when I'm theirage I'm still not waiting around to give rides" "Tell me something" "You ever notice the American over there?" "I've been watching him He's been sitting there for days" "Just him and his cigarettes..." "Days?" "Days?" "He's been there for weeks Someone in the hotel told me" "He sits there smoking all day" "He just stares at that restaurant across from him" "A lot of Americans used to be on that street" "Bet you didn't know that" "That used to be a G.I. Bar" "I got struck driving him around town last week we went around looking for a young woman in a photo I personally think he's nuts" "Let's go back to our corner and join the guys" "Kien An" "Get dressed" "Teacher Dao would like to see you" "Thank you for coming" "Do not be alarmed" "I have a simple request" "Your song from this afternoon tell me where you learned it?" "From my mother" "She sang to me when I was a child" "I would like you to sing the song" "I don't understand" "You were not brought here to understand" "Your song from this afternoon..." "I want you to sing it" "Can anyone ever know..." "How much stalks are in a rice field?" "How many bends are in a river?" "How many layers are in a monsoon cloud?" "Can anyone sweep the leaves of a forest" "And tell the wind to shake..." "You buy, you buy?" "How much?" "Right here" "Stop!" "Stop!" "Hey, woody!" "Do you want?" "Pay money!" "Pay money!" "You want?" "Pay money!" "How much?" "When I fall..." "To Saint Peter I will tell Another Marine reporting, sir..." "I've served my time in Hell 1/9 1st Marine Division, 68-69" "Is this shit for real?" "Where did you get this?" "I'll give you 50,000 dong for the lighter" "How about it, kid?" "Hundred thousand Dong?" "You got to be kidding me." "I'll give you 60" "I'll give you..." "You know what?" "Forget the lighter, how much for all..." "I'll tell you what, have a seat" "Buku dong" "How long have you been on the streets?" "She's here, somewhere" "I've never seen her" "I get a letter that her mother had died" "I figured it was time to find her" "She looks like me." "Doesn't she?" "I just know it's time to find her" "Maybe make some sort of peace with this place" "Go ahead, it's alright." "Nobody here gives a shit They're all lost in their own world" "This is just between you and me" "You're all right, kid" "Have you seen my case?" "Mr., have you seen my case?" "I hope my private thoughts have been entertaining" "I'm sorry." "I will leave immediately" "How much of my work did you read?" "Enough" "Is that right?" "Enough to know your pain" "What do you know about pain?" "I too have had a hard life" "I too have been alone..." "Do you know what it feels like to have children point and mock as you walk down the street?" "Or when they see you coming to have people close their doors and windows?" "Is that why you hide in the shadow?" "I am not hiding" "They say you have not left this temple in years" "More nonsense!" "Every morning my ears escape these windows to embrace the songs of the birds my nose pierces these walls and naps in the fragrance of my lotuses" "With every sunrise and sunset my eyes flutter into the air" "And my heart..." "My heart has transcended above the bondage of man" "Until you have traveled far" "Do not come back here" "On fully flapping wings fly" "Chasing chubby, lazy clouds across the sky" "And herding evening breezes through plains and meadows" "To visit the Seas my fluttering sails I set" "Brother to the Marlins together in the night" "Peeking at the moon, her reflections on waves' crests" "I raise my bardly whims on the rising tides" "Oh rise, gentle sun, golden in your reach" "And weave, dear Moon, your silvery filaments" "Unveil away the darkness that over me hangs..." "Over this funeral cloth my sky, my predicament" "Upon a lake a lotus wish I be" "Scenting the day's breath with fragrance and poetry" "Searching in the wind for traces of my former spirit..." "The discovery my reflected present" "Can I see..." "That was the last poem I wrote" "Before I lost my fingers" "You may leave now" "I will lend you my fingers" "You do not want to be bothered with a bitter man's thoughts" "I would not be here if it was bother" "You should leave before others begin to worry" "Wait" "Maybe we could start tomorrow" "We shall start tomorrow" "Have you shined any shoes for an American with a wooden case?" "I haven't shined one shoe in this rain" "You're not following me, are you?" "You said you would start working here" "Yeah, so what" "That didn't mean for you to be here" "Did you wait in front all night?" "I just thought you might want a ride" "There aren't too many safe cyclos at this hour" "Yeah, well how do I know you're one of them?" "Pull over right here" "This is for you" "Please, I can't take it" "Take it" "I'm usually not so generous" "What are you doing?" "It's too hot to sleep indoors" "You're crazy" "I'd trade places with you anytime" "So pale was the moonlight it could not shroud the pallid lake" "Yet I have found joy amidst searing pain" "And I have seen a rainbow amidst a withering cloud" "To write these words is like striking a note" "Plucking a chord vibrating a stream of light" "Its melody echoes from my forlorn heart" "Did you get all that?" "Yes, I have it all" "Good" "That will be enough for now" "I could go on further" "Unfortunately, I cannot" "I am out of words for now" "Do you ever plan on leaving this place?" "I sometimes have this dream..." "I dream my fingers have grown back ...and the swelling on my face has subsided" "I dream that I have with me a dozen baskets of my best white lotuses ...and travel to the floating market of my youth" "As I approach the women..." "I would free all of my lotuses into the water ...and watch them float through the market like a white river" "It would be then, that I had finally returned home set free and pure" "Then I would wake up into the black night ...and realize it was simply a dream one of many that will never be fulfilled" "It's not too late" "It is late" "It is later than you realize" "Don't come back until you find it" "Have you heard?" "The cyclo race is on afterall" "Who's my challenger this year?" "You know Khoi over there?" "Is he the one to beat?" "Not only is he entering, but he's betting he'll beat you" "And you, are you entering?" "I don't think so" "You'll think I'm crazy..." "What did you say?" "I said I really enjoy the heat" "To most people it's unbearable" "I remember going to school and wearing a white Ao Dai ...and near our school were rows of Phuong Vi trees with red flowers that blossom during the warm months" "All the girls would put them in their hair..." "After waiting a long time for them to fall" "But if we were lucky, a boy would give them to us" "And we would dry them as bookmarks" "So we wouldn't forget the boy" "You must have gotten a lot of flowers" "Miss..." "How much do you charge?" "Charge for what?" "To spend an evening with you" "Fifty dollars" "But as you know I don't do overnights" "Why?" "You have some new clients for me?" "No." "Curious, that's all" "Hey, don't think I'm going to be doing this forever" "I have plans, you know" "There are other ways to make money?" "Yeah, like what?" "Like my mother who died breaking her back for her family" "What did she get out of it?" "That's not going to happen to me" "Have you been in one of these hotels?" "No" "It's a different world in there" "They are not like us" "They have a different walk, a different talk" "The sun rises for people like them." "Not us" "We live in their shadows and it grows bigger with each new hotel built" "Next time pay close attention to who comes through those front glass doors" "How many do you see like yourself?" "One day I will remain in that world" "Even if I have to marry one ...to become one of them" "I'm not so sure that's the solution" "Yeah, what do you suggest, marry a cyclo driver?" "Here are yourf lowers" "5,000, Miss" "Thank you" "Could I have some flowers?" "You're selling, aren't you?" "Yes, I figured you wanted the..." "Plastic lotuses?" "I want no part of it" "They're popular." "I've had trouble selling my flowers all day" "I've yet to sell one" "People have been giving in to their convenience" "They are large and white like yours" "And they won't wilt or die" "They even spray the flowers to make them smell real..." "These days that seems to be the trend for everything" "Give me a couple" "How much?" "Thank you" "Is that you, Woody?" "I'm being chased" "Quick, get on" "Causing trouble again?" "Where's your case?" "It was stolen" "Have you given any rides to an American with a case like mine?" "I haven't seen anyone with a case like yours" "And in this rain, it's hard to see anything" "Stay out of trouble, Woody" "I'll find you if I see him." "Go on" "Watch out for the motorbikes" "Don't disturb my restaurant again!" "I'm sorry" "Teacher Dao has terminated your meetings with him as of today" "Mr. Hyu, is it something wrong?" "Teacher Dao no longer has any poems ...for you to write." "How is that possible?" "We just started writing He can't be out of poems" "It is not for me to question the teacher" "Could I speak to him?" "That won't be possible" "If you just let me talk to him..." "I'm sorry but his request is clear" "Enough." "I recommend you return to the sleeping hall" "Is everything okay?" "Are you all right?" "Please I have to go now" "Hey." "It's you, what are you doing here?" "What's the matter, kid, you're staring at me like I'm a ghost or something" "Where's my case?" "You took my case" "Beat it!" "Quit bothering the customers!" "He says you took his case" "What case?" "At the bar" "You've got to be joking" "What happened?" "He say you make him offer then up and left with his case" "If anyone ran out it was you, when I came back out you were gone" "I don't know anything about any case" "You see." "He says he didn't take anything..." "I'm sorry about your case, kid, but this is my last night here" "So I'm going to drink and forget this place" "I want you to leave... and don't come back here!" "I'm gland you could make it" "That's what Binh said last year right before I beat him" "Riders, are you ready" "On you mark." "Get set..." "Go!" "Look, I no longer need a ride from you" "It's better for both of us" "Is it something wrong?" "Just won't be needing a ride anymore, all right?" "Did you see me race today?" "No" "I won" "Congratulations" "I'll follow you home" "I have 50 dollars" "Should we get started now?" "Wait!" "I've something for you" "What is this all about?" "Open it" "Wait..." "I want you to put it on without your make-up" "Look, what does it matter?" "Please, I've already bought this for you" "Walk back and forth for me" "I want you to sleep" "I just want to watch you sleep" "Can I have some flowers?" "How much?" "5,000 dongs" "Thank you" "Please, sit back down" "Thanks for coming" "Any drink?" "No, thank you" "I umm, I know how difficult this was to finally agree to meet" "I made many mistakes in my life" "Most of which I'll have to live with" "When a chance comes around to make a wrong, right" "That's quite impossible" "About meeting you today I hope I've make a wrong, right" "I'm sorry." "They're for you" "I saw you here before" "But that was a long time ago" "I'm not the same man I was then" "A lifetime since then" "I was a young marine." "And this is where I met your mother" "Hello" "What are you doing here?" "I've..." "I've been waiting at the Hotel but you haven't been around" "Didn't I tell you..." "I no longer need a ride from you" "Besides, I don't work there anymore." "Please leave" "What do you want from me?" "I did what you asked." "Why can't you leave me along?" "I want to spend another night with you" "I'll pay you again" "Wait here" "Here, take it." "I don't want your money" "I don't deserve it" "We didn't make love" "So you owe me nothing" "No, you do deserve it" "You have given me more than you know" "What are you trying to do to me" "Why me?" "Have you forgotten that I've been with many men?" "Not with you the way I have" "Open your eyes, Hai" "Can't you see who stands before you?" "I am a whore and you were just a cyclo driver" "That's all" "Nothing more" "It's alright." "Let her in" "Why?" "There was no need for you to know" "Why now, when you have fought so long?" "Do your words mean nothing to you?" "I have hidden from Death long enough ...to welcome it as my final guest" "Do you know why..." "I made you sing ...the first night you were here?" "The song you sang out in the lake that afternoon had crossed my ears before" "...of the women of the floating market of my childhood" "I had forgotten my youth" "The only time I was pure and whole your song" "I would like you to sing that song one last time" "Can anyone ever know" "How many bends are in a river?" "How many layers are in a cloud?" "Can anyone sweep the leaves of a forest?" "...to shake the trees no more?" "How many leaves must a silkworm eat to make a dress of colors from the past?" "How much rain must fall from the sky before the ocean overflows with tears?" "How many years must the moon..." "In the middle of the night, the moon comes and waits nearby..." "He who can steal my heart..." "I will forever sing joyful songs..." "Hey Woody!" "Come join us!" "Are you in?" " Yeah, I'm in" "Woody!" "What's taking long?" "He will see you now" "Thank you for coming" "Please have seat" "Thank you, sir" "He wanted you to have this" "The teacher was a handsome man" "When the leprosy spread to his face it devastated him" "He blamed himself and lived a life of self-punishment" "The photo was taken on his 23rd birthday" "Six months later he was sent to this compound" "The photo has remained hidden until now" "His words will not fall on deaf ears" "If there is anything I can do for you do not hesitate to present your request" "There is one thing" "You don't have to pretend anymore"