"Who's there?" "It's Mui." "Ah, Mui..." "I'll open the door." "You can come in." "Follow me." "THE SMELL OF THE GREEN PAPAYA" "It's little Mui, our new servant girl." "Poor thing, she walked a whole day to get here." "If To was still alive, they'd be the same age." "Let's not talk about that..." "Perhaps she's better off where she is now." "It's the curfew soon and Trung isn't back yet." "Mother's going to bed." "I'll go up and help her." "Ah, Trung..." "Aren't you in bed yet, father?" "Go back to sleep." "The mistress said so." "I'll wake you to make the fire." "Remember..." "For this dish, the oil has to be hot." "Fry the vegetable." "Burn it for flavour." "Not too much or it gets all soft." "Then you put it aside." "You do the same with the meat." "Put that in the water." "Fat make the boiled vegetable shine." "It looks nicer." "Whether it looks nice or not, we eat it." "But the masters are different." "Once it's cooked..." "Then share it between 2 plates." "Don't forget to keep some for us." "There, grandmother has finished her prayers." "Put the vegetables in the water." "Whose mother is she?" "The master's." "Wash your hands." "She lost her husband just after the master was born." "Now, she spends all her time praying." "Quick, put some rice in a big bowl." "Is it all ready?" "Yes, it's ready." "Mui, take grandmother's tray." "It's alright, I'll take it." "Take this one then." "Father, I'm eating out with Khuyen." "Have your nap as usual." "We'll be back for tea." "And me, can l?" "No, you're too little." "Mui, go and get some more soup." "Mother would like you to keep her company during meals." "I'm going up too!" "Take this upstairs." "Eat up." "You're going to be late." "No classes now, grandmother." "It's summer holidays." "Ah yes, that's right..." "We're going, mum." "Khuyen and I will be back for tea." "Alright, I'll buy cakes." "Good-bye, madam." "Good-bye." "Mui, you can eat now." "Lam, eat up, dear." "Enjoy the meal, mum." "Here's your bowl." "Eat." "There's no soup left." "What a nuisance." "Upstairs or downstairs, we spread it out and have none left." "After, wash the dishes." "Who was that man with Mr Trung?" "That's Mr Khuyen, Mr Trung's friend." "Eat up." "Tin!" "Thank you." "Good-bye." "Good-bye." "Mui, wash your hands and go to buy 10 cakes." "In 3 months, you'll go home to visit your mother." "Thank you, madam." "Mui, hurry up." "It's almost time to light the fire." "Little girl..." "Your name?" "I'm called Mui." "I see..." "You're Mui..." "My name is Thuan." "It's almost time for prayers." "Is grandmother well?" "Yes, she's well." "That's very good then!" "Very good!" "Thank you, little Mui." "Good-bye..." "Good-bye, Mr Thuan." "Where are you going?" "For some fresh air." "Yes, in this heat, it's hard to sleep." "Watch out for the curfew." "What heat..." "My God, what heat..." "It's alright..." "You can put your things away tomorrow." "You've worked enough today." "Get some rest." "Where are your parents?" "Do you have brothers or sisters?" "My father died three years ago." "My mother and my sister are still in my village." "Will you go to see them soon?" "The mistress said in three months, I'll see my mother again." "That's good." "The mistress is kind." "Before, who slept on this bed?" "A servant like you and me." "She went home to get married." "Is the photo on the altar the grandmother's husband?" "Yes." "When he died, he was still young." "Who's the little girl?" "It's a sad story." "She was the masters' daughter." "Her name was To." "She died seven years ago." "If she was still alive, you'd be the same age." "How did she die?" "A disease." "But the master thinks it's his fault." "Why?" "Seven years ago, the master left the house with all the family's money." "It was the third time he'd done that." "Before, when he'd spent it all, he came back." "But that time, he was away longer than usual." "But the other times, when he came back, she didn't say anything?" "Nothing." "Not a single word." "She was happy." "She cried for joy." "What about To then?" "The curfew..." "There, a little fresh air." "The master must be back by now." "Three weeks after he left," "To fell ill." "And the day before he returned, she died." "He must have thought she died to atone for the sins he had committed." "That's why he never leaves the house anymore." "Right, let's sleep..." "Tomorrow, we have to be up early." "Mother..." "Mother..." "Mother..." "Get up." "It's time." "You're lucky." "At your age, you still have sweet dreams." "What did you dream about?" "I don't know..." "My God..." "I'd like to dream." "But I haven't dreamed for ages." "Let's go and wash." "Some mornings," "I wake up with the image of an old woman in my mind." "Perhaps it's because I dreamed at night." "But I don't know if the old woman is my mother or if she's me." "My God, who's in the kitchen this early?" "Mistress, are you already up?" "Any rice left?" "Just enough for 4 or 5 days." "This is for the market." "Make sure there's enough to eat for a few days." "See these earrings?" "The master has left with all the money again." "My God!" "Let's go and clean our teeth, wash our faces, hands and feet." "Then comb our hair." "And don't forget the toilet." "No, not that one either." "I'm sorry..." "It's alright." "Good-bye." "Good-bye." "What's wrong?" "I had a fight." "Who with?" "The children." "Did they hurt you?" "Is daddy home?" "No." "Go and ask Mui for some clean clothes." "When there's not enough, use a lot of salt." "That way, they'll eat more rice with the dishes." "For the boiled vegetables." "Take this upstairs." "Mother said to start." "Ugh!" "It's too salty!" "Look." "Eat." "Is it good?" "Little Mui..." "Come here." "I want to ask you something." "Thank you, Mr Thuan." "Is grandmother well?" "We're almost out of rice." "We haven't sold a yard of cloth." "Two reels of cotton..." "What can we buy with the money from two reels?" "My God..." "It's your fault." "If you'd known how to love him, he wouldn't have left with other women." "I knew from the start:" "my son would be unhappy with you." "You have a husband and you don't know how to make him happy." "Alright, that's enough." "What about the rest of the papaya?" "Throw it away." "Enough!" "Take this up." "It's alright." "You can go and eat." "Enjoy it, mother." "When will daddy be back?" "I don't know..." "Eat." "Why are you crying like that?" "Why doesn't daddy come home?" "Shut up!" "Thank you." "My pleasure." "Good-bye." "Good-bye." "That's it, money for rice." "Go and buy 25 kg of rice." "Hurry." "We have to cut the meat." "There..." "Put that there." "It's very good rice!" " We have a guest tonight." " Who?" "Mr Khuyen." "Who's Mr Khuyen?" "Mr Trung's friend, of course!" "Can I fry the vegetables on my own?" "Yes, if you want." "Three years after grandfather died, she still loved her husband and refused to marry me." "Since that day, I've watched her from a distance." "She's moved house several times and I've always followed her." "That's how we were able to meet, you and I." "Since To's death, grandmother hasn't been downstairs." "I haven't seen her for seven years now." "Tell me, little Mui, couldn't you get her down into the yard so that I can see her?" "Why don't you go to see her?" "If you hid, she wouldn't see you." "No, that's not possible." "If she saw me, it would be terrible." "No, it's not possible." "Go on, go up!" "It doesn't matter." "My God!" "The mistress is fond of these vases." "They're very old antiques." "All my savings wouldn't be enough to buy one." "You're lucky." "Mistress, wake up, quickly!" "A very valuable piece but without its twin, it's worth next to nothing...." "It's up to you." "Alright, I accept." "Trung, quick!" "10 YEARS LATER" "Mui!" "Hurry!" "My mother wants to see you." "For some time now, business has been slack." "If it goes on like this, we'll have problems." "The inner yard isn't used for anything." "We should have another parrot farm." "Yes..." "We'll see..." "In that case, I'll ask around." "Mother's talking to Mui right now." "Mui won't be that badly off with your friend Khuyen." "He lives alone and writes music..." "His parents are rich." "She'll be better paid than she is here." "I would have given these to To if she were alive." "Without knowing it, you've always been a great comfort." "Thanks to you, I feel I've had a daughter." "Lam has left." "He needs somewhere to write." "Now, you're the one who's leaving." "For a long time," "I hoped Lam would take you as his wife." "My daughter... my little daughter!" "Don't eat!" "Take me to a restaurant." "Have you got a lot done?" "Play me what you've written." "That smells good." "How's your new servant?" "Alright." "What does that mean, "alright"?" "She works hard..." "I'm not asking you that." "But it doesn't matter." "Where's the vase I gave you?" "It's broken." "Broken?" "You mean: "She broke it"!" "If I say she did it on purpose, what would your answer be?" "I wonder what percentage of women in Vietnam have never touched their fiance's head." "My mother told me that before they used to teach girls that a well-educated woman should never do it." "She also said that it's almost two weeks since you last came to see us." "Your father's surprised too." "In... my... garden... there's... a... papaya... tree..." "The papaya... hang... in bunches..." "The ripe papaya... have a pale yellow colour." "The ri..." "The ripe papaya... are sweet with a sugary taste." "We've been raising a black dog for three years now." "His body is long." "He has big feet." "His body is long." "He has big feet and big ears." "I'll start, okay?" "The spring water, nestled in a hole in a rock, shimmers softly when disturbed." "The vibrations of the ground have given birth to strong waves which crash together in an irregular swell on the surface, without cresting." "If there 's a verb meaning "to move harmoniously"" "it must be used here." "The cherry trees, gripped in shadows, spread out and curl up, sway and twist, to the rhythm of the water." "But the interesting thing is that... however much they change, they keep the shape of a cherry tree."