"THE VERTICAL RAY OF THE SUN" "Liên, wake up." "Little sister!" "Get up!" "Liên, it's late." "Let me sleep a bit more." "No way." "Today is Mom's memorial." "You have to help our big sisters in the kitchen." "Remember yesterday when we were in Cha Ca Street?" "It was crowded." "And I had a weird feeling." "What?" "I thought that people mistook us for a couple." "Haven't you ever noticed that?" "No." "In fact... maybe that's how people always see us." "Knock it off." "Go wash up." "Let's go, big brother." "Hury up." "I'm starving." " Sit opposite me." " Let me sit next to you... so we see the same things." "You're horrible." "You never do what I want." "We look good together, right?" " Don't talk garbage." " What for?" "We were made for each other." "Eveyone knows you're my sister." "Better think about what to buy with our big sisters instead." "I don't decide what we're eating." "It's always the traditional dishes." "Exactly." "So don't forget anything." "I'm sick of running to the market for two lemons." "Probably a couple of shallots." " What?" " Nothing." "Khanh, do I throw out the seeds?" "No, cook the rice with it." "It will be nicer." "And the pate?" "One inch or two?" " Let's see." "Too thick." " One inch is fine." "Agreed." "Liên, those shallot shoots?" "My God, I forgot." " Kiên could buy some." " Let your husband be." "Writers only know about the human soul." "He can't tell shallots from chives." "But my husband, he knows his plants." "You're right." "You should send Hai." "He'd love to do it." "Okay." "If the elders are chatting, I'll send little brother." "I photographed this fruit in Huê." "I'll spare you its scientific name." "It's eaten with pickled prawns." "You only find it in Huê." "Hai, go buy me some shallots!" " Liên says you love the market." " Yes, that's right." "Kiên, can I take your bike?" " Is the cafê open?" " No, only from 6:00." "Auntie Mai, bring me two trays." "Auntie Mai, bring me two trays." "Yes, right away." "Quôc, the other day you said that apart from business... you take photos for yourself." "Why don't you show them?" "I'd really like to see them." "I'm not happy with them." "I say that because... in your photos for the Botanical Society, there are no faces." "And in your personal photos there are?" "Yes, of course." "They are mostly portraits." "But I think photos of plants give me greater pleasure." "In these pictures there is a tranquility... you can't find in a face." "It's tranquility I look for in a photograph." "I think I get you... but all the same... in my opinion, you have a real problem with faces." "I will demonstrate... that your opinion is a writer's fantasy." " This is my favorite part." " It's strange." "Satisfying and disgusting at the same time." "It's true." "We women are condemned to disgusting things." "In the old days, we couldn't touch a man's head." "That noble part of the body... must not be soiled by our hands." "But men have always liked and allowed us... to touch another thing." "Exactly." "So is that thing considered noble?" "We must conclude that it isn't since we're allowed to touch it." "It must be classified as a disgusting thing." "I don't find it so very disgusting." "On the contrary." "What do you mean?" "Oh, well, you could call it a culinary fantasy." "What?" "Listen." "I always thought that fried with a little garlic... it must have an amazing texture-- both tender and crunchy." "It's not easy to talk about a photo point-blank." "I'd accept that excuse from anyone, but not from a writer." " Words are your business." " You exaggerate." "Are you open, Quôc?" "Oh, hello, Kiên." "Come in, Toán." " Liên will make you a coffee." " No, I just came to say hello." "So, Kiên, when is your first novel coming out?" "Oh, there's no hurry." "I'm working on it." "But it's going well?" "In fact, I'm nearly finished." "There's little left to write, but I'm blocked." "It's about an encounter." "Usually, that happens at the beginning or in the middle." "But here, it's at the end." "The protagonist meets a woman." "I want to write it concisely and end abruptly." "I can't wait to read it." " Big brotherToán." " Big sister Liên." "An iced coffee?" "Make upyour minds, you two." "It's getting ridiculous." "She calls you "big brother" and you call her "big sister."" "It isn't done." "It's actually absurd." " What's the problem?" " We were born the same day." "What hourwereyou born?" "That's it." "I don't know." "I know when I was, but it doesn't help." " Nobody knows at home?" " No, nobody." "Sory, I have to help my sisters in the kitchen." "Ifyou find a solution, let me know... and I'll stick to it." "Look, here's how I see it." "She already calls you "big brother."" "Call her "Ittle sister" Ike husbands and wives do." "Who says I want to mary her?" "Just look atyou." "What are you talking about?" "The boywants to mary our sister-in-law." "Oh, yeah?" "Easy as pie." "Betel leaves and areca nuts for the engagement... then a wedding six months later." "But first he must learn to say "Ittle sister Liên."" "Okay, stop teasing me." "Where haveyou been, Little Mouse?" "I've been for a walk, and I'm going to see Mommy." "Gorgeous." "Not a crack in the skin." "Liên, let's decorate the altar for the ceremony." "The incense is burnt." "Let's carve the chicken." "Taste the wine, Uncle." "What luck!" "I was afraid you couldn't make it." "The memorial meal is a success." "We're hopeless." "We should have learned with our mother." "Not at all." "You're almost as good as she was." "Uncle Tung hasn't aged, has he?" "Want some water?" "Hai, want some?" "I ate too much." "Didn'tyou?" " Yes." " Me too." " I don't think I'll eat tonight." " Me neither." "What would you say to some snails in ginger?" "Now, that I could eat." "Me, too, come to think ofit." "Good." "That's settled." "Shall we continue?" "Start with the registy office." "So I was saying that Kiên became more and more interested... as he discovered new clues." "After examining the registers... and putting aside the unlikely ones... he arrived at the theoy that Mother's Toán... was a certain Phan Châu Toán." "Theywere at the same school for fiveyears, which supports this theoy." "Then it must be that Toán." "Why only fiveyears?" "Because Toán died ofstarvation in '43 during thejapanese occupation." "Mommywas 1 4 then." "So it was a schoolgirl crush?" "Hang on." "It's a theoy, not a certainty." "Kiên hasn't checked with this Toán's familyyet." "They moved to Saigon in '54." "He'll have to go to Saigon." "And he'll have to be lucky enough to find a relative... who may have got wind ofthis love stoy." "It can only be this Toán." "I say that because according to this theoy... it's a case ofpuppy love." "At the end, when Mom wasn't all there... and mistook Dad forToán, she was reliving her childhood." "That's why she spoke to him like a shy little girl." "She told him that she loved him so innocently... that it brought tears to Dad's eyes." "Like I said, this is only a theoy." "And I tell you that Kiên's research... will confirm what I believe." "It can't be otherwise." "It's obvious." "Me too." "I believe this version ofthe stoy." "Our mother could never have loved... any man but Daddy." "I know in my heart that she was faithful." "I'm sure ofit." "Dad and Mom were always together." "Theywere inseparable." "The proofis that a month after Mom died... he followed her." "There's something perfect about their relationship." "And rememberwhat we've said a thousand times." "Mom was one month older than Dad." "He died one month after her... which means that they lived... almost the same lifetime... give or take an hour, by our reckoning." "Poor Daddy." "I wonder how much he suffered." "Ifhe had known that Toán was a crush, it would have been different." "We should ask Kiên to stop looking." " What doyou think?" " Liên's right." "He must stop." "He'll be disappointed." "Here come the snails." "Bring us some napkins." "Please, Suong." " Liên, Toán wants something." " I'll go see." "Toán really has the worst name on earth." "I find Quôc so proper, so perfect... he's almost bland." "It's as ifevery desire had deserted his body." "Some live out their fantasies." "Others, like me, are content to write about them." "Not an ounce ofimagination." "Anyway, Suong told me that she's not satisfied." "How doyou mean?" "You know!" " I'm not surprised." " Don't show off." "You've got work to do in that department." "How annoying." "You moved it." " Should I put it back?" " Absolutely not!" "Just when did you get in my bed?" "In the middle ofthe night." "I was cold." "Next time I'll toss you on the floor." "You knowyou'd never do that." "Because ofyou I fell out ofbed this morning." "Forgive me, big brother." "It's not nice to fall out ofbed." "Oh, pooryou." "What doyou want to eat?" "Sticky rice?" "Excuse me?" "Two portions for my brother and one for me." "Daddy's going away." "He'll be back in a few days." "See Daddy over there?" " When is Quôc coming back?" " In two weeks." "The radio says it will rain." "What doyou think?" "Yes, it looks like it." "Little Mouse!" "I have an errand this afternoon." "I'll be back around 5:00." "I'm pregnant." "Is that right?" "Are you sure?" "It's strange." "All ofa sudden I'm exhausted." "I think I'll take a nap." "You go sleep." "I'll wakeyou for lunch." "You're white as a sheet." "Remember the last time I was like this?" "Yes." "When I said I would maryyou." "Haveyou told your sisters?" "Notyet." "It's our secret." "Let's keep it for a month or two, okay?" " Mom, can I draw?" " Yes, go ahead." " Where?" " On the wall, ifyou want." "Liên?" "Yes." "I'm going out now." "I'll be back around 5:00." " Okay." " Little Mouse, come here." "I want us to talk." "I can't take anymore." "This vow ofsilence" "I can't stand it anymore." "We meet again." "We love each otherwithout a word." "I know nothing ofyour life now." "I miss the days when all we did was talk." "Ifyou don't speak, I'll go crazy." "I can't stop looking atyour lips." "Haveyou noticed?" "I want to see them move." "You want to tell me something?" "Ifyou speak... one more time... we won't see... each other... ever again." "You're serious?" "Okay, I'll stop talking." "But give injust once." "I wantyou to say my name." ""Tuán." Say it." "Tuán." " Is that the 1 3th shot?" " Yes." " Nhân, you want some water?" " Yes, please." "I could do with some food." "There's nothing to eat." "Are they biting?" "Big brother Hai, turn offthe alarm." "What aboutyou?" "I'm smoking because it's raining." "In fact, I don't really smoke." "The new painting-- Is it Vu's self-portrait?" "This place is turning into a museum." " I fell out ofbed again." " Oh, pooryou." "In the middle ofthe night." "I didn't hearyou get up this morning." "Makes sense." "I slept in your bed." "Oh, so that's why." "You took up all the room in my bed." "I had to sleep in yours." "I'm sory." "Will you do my nails?" "Bring me the file and clippers." "Good thing it's raining." "I have a scene in the rain tonight." "What type ofpart?" "The usual." "The bit part that they edit out." " Don't be silly." " I'm not being silly." "This will be my 1 7th film-- 1 7 tiny parts that nobody notices." "Stop feeling sory foryourself, and tell me what happens instead." "Okay, here goes." "I'm the heroine's one-night stand." "I'm a mistake in her life." "A meaningless affair for her... nothing but the memoy ofa farewell in the rain." "That's the scene we're shooting tonight." " A parting in the rain?" " I know." "Don't tell meyou've seen it a million times." "That would be true." "No, it's lovely-- a farewell in the rain." " You think so?" " Yes, I mean it." "I really think so." "Come on." "I want to play the scene with you." "I haven't finished your nails." "It doesn't matter." "We'll do it later." "Soyou're my one-night stand." "A mistake in my life." " So, what are my lines?" " You don't say anything." "And you?" "I don't speak either." "There's no dialogue." "Then what does it say in the script?" "You haveyour back to me, you look ahead ofyou." "No, you look down." "I pull you by the arm, you turn around, and we look at one another." "Okay." "Wait." "I'm ready." "I'm ready." "I'm hungy." "The rain gives me a taste for boiled sweet potatoes." "You know, I'm having trouble ending my novel." "Finding out aboutyour mother's Toán would do me good." "It would take me away from the book... so I'd return with a fresh outlook." "I think it's a good idea." "What doyou say?" "I'll only be in Saigon for a week." "Your nails are too long." "I'll cut them foryou." "Don't wory." "Mùi and Auntie Mai will manage." "But there are a lot ofcustomers in the cafê." "I told Mùi to call ifshe needs help." "It's getting in my eyes." "I've finished your nails." " Little Mouse, doyou want some chè?" " Yes, some chè?" "What are you doing in the rain?" "I'm looking for Ho." "Haveyou seen him?" "He wasn't in class." "Did you ty his place?" "Yes." "And Cafê Quynh?" "He could be there." " Thanks." "Is Cafê Quynh that way?" " I'll takeyou." " Ah, Ninh." "Hello." " Liên." " How are you?" " I'm looking for Ho." " Want to come in?" " I'm too wet." "Haveyou seen Ho?" " Did you ty his place?" " Yes, an hour ago." "With this rain, ifyou don't find him at his place, you should go home." "Thanks, but I'll wait outside his place." "You never know." "Bye." "Did Liên leave?" "She's still downstairs." "Listen, Ho, I'm warning you." "I won't helpyou anymore." "I think it stinks." "Liên doesn't deserve it." "What did she do toyou?" "I don't know." "Just a feeling." "I'm older than she is." "But she seems more mature than me." "I still don't followyou." "You're my best friend." "I'm not ashamed to tell you." "I think she dominates me." "You're an idiot!" "Just now, I asked Liên to come in." "Luckily, she refused." "Ho heard you were waiting here." "He's busy." "He can't make it." "He'll meetyou tomorrow, 3:00 at Cafê Quynh." "Thanks, Nghia." "3:00 tomorrow, then." " That's right." "Bye, Liên." " Yes, thanks." "Let's go, Liên." "Hai, let's go this way." " Give me some." " Dream on!" "Hai, look." "You didn't believe me." "They thinkwe're a couple." "Big brother, I'm so sleepy." "We'll go home when it lets up." "That's lucky!" "Cyclo!" "No one lives here?" "No, not a living soul." "This place would suit me." "Not me." "It's too sad." "I don't think so." "One should live... where one's soul is in harmony-- where it is in accord with its surroundings." "Harmony can sometimes be a consolation." "I didn't realize you were so unhappy." "I know that living here isn't the solution." "Right now, I'm torn between two places... that pull me with equal force." "Ifl choose one place, even temporarily..." "I feel guilty toward the other one." "With time, a guilty conscience turns into sadness." "I'm sory that I can't helpyou." "What doyou do when sadness overwhelms you?" "I go down to the village to look for a woman... and I snuggle up to her." "One ofthem is sweet and she likes me a lot." "When I'm sad I send for her... and I lie down beside her." "That warm, damp flesh... those soft hairs" "All ofa sudden... a terrible pain crosses my chest." "Then I thank heaven and I fall asleep." "Ifl have the bad luck to wake in the night... and find her at my side... the sadness I feel then, nothing can make it go away." "Flight VN183 from Hanoi... to Ho ChiMinh City." "Flight timeis onehour45minutes." "We wishyouapleasantflight." "This is Bui Kim Ngân." "Did you reserve room 324 for me?" "Thankyou." "Excuse me." "Daddy!" "Daddy!" "Don't move a muscle." "I'm going back to Hanoi tomorrow." "I must speak to Suong." "Are you sure it's the right thing to do?" "I don't know, but I must." "I don't want to stopyou." "For fouryears I've held my breath... both here and in Hanoi." "I'm torn up inside, dried out." "I know." "I knowyou're no different in Hanoi." "The burden on your heart" "I'm afraid oflosing the moments when we are together." "I must speak to Suong." "Then leave tomorrow." "But don't promise me anything." "I'll wait foryou." "Ifyou come back... it will make me happy." "Kiên!" "Hiên?" "It's been ages!" "Big sister... can I ask you a question?" "Yes." "It's very important to me." "So please answer... even if it's an indiscreet question." "Okay, go ahead." "Has the... idea of cheating on Quôc ever crossed your mind?" "Why do you ask me that?" "Just because." "I was wondering... under what circumstances the thought might arise." "Does it bother you to answer?" "Does it?" "No... it doesn't bother me." "The idea of cheating on Quôc occurred to me once." "It all started four years ago... or two years after we married." "I can tell you now." "I was two months pregnant." "Only Quôc knew." "We decided... to keep it a secret... and only to tell you when..." "I was in my third month." "That's why you never knew." "Quôc was away on business and I miscarried." "He came home immediately." "And something in him had changed." "It was as if his life were on hold." "I couldn't get through to him." "And our marriage suffered." "Later, after Little Mouse was born... the situation hadn't improved." "That's just when... he appeared." "It was one morning... very early." "As soon as he entered the cafê..." "I felt a fondness for him." "It was a pleasure to wait on him." "I told myself... that I wanted him to love me." "And then?" "And then we met elsewhere." "He told me he loved me." "And it was true." "Did you and he have a thing together?" "No, obviously not." "A few kisses." "A few cuddles, that's all." "That's all." "What do you mean?" "He went back to Saigon." "He was a businessman." "He came to Hanoi... to set up a branch office." "When the work was done, he left... because I told him... that our relationship had no future." "Do you still think about him?" "Yes." "His name was Tuán." "Right." "Let's go to sleep." "Thank you, big sister." "This time you got into my bed." "You lie." "You got into mine first." "I had to take yours." "And then you came back." "That's how it happened." "I don't remember a thing." "I remember too well." "Sometimes I wonder... if it isn't time you got married." "I'm not kidding." "You're old enough." "It's not a bad idea." "First of all, I'd have to find a man." "My ideal would be someone like you... because you're good like Dad." "You really think I'm like him?" "Yes, of course." "I know you too well." "The problem is to find someone who is like you." "But what will you do once I'm married?" "Who'll wash your clothes?" "Who'll make your meals?" "If that's what worries you, I'll manage." "I'll do even better than that." "At least I won't have to look at your stained panties... next to my clean shirts when you have your period." "So ungrateful!" "You're horrid." "Baboon face." "Come and dance with me." "Suong, Quôc is back." "He's upstairs." "I'll go up." "Can you manage?" "Yes, Khanh will help me." "Go ahead." "Quôc is upstairs." "I know." "Liên told me." "Have you been back long?" "Half an hour." "Do you want something to eat?" "No." "Liên gave me some fruit." "I wasn't expecting you for four more days." "What's going on?" "You're back?" "What are you doing?" "I'm washing up and going up to bed." "I'm exhausted." "Did you work late last night?" "Worse than that." "I worked until dawn." "I put away my pen and went to the airport." "Oh, poor darling." "Do you like to kiss me?" "So, you finished your novel?" "That's wonderful!" "You've been stuck for two months." "And presto-- in two days, it's done!" "The protagonist meets a woman?" "Did you end it in 1 7 pages as planned?" "Nineteen." "It's still very close to your estimate." "You are a real genius." "Not necessarily." "I haven't reread it yet." "Maybe when it's edited it will be 1 7 pages." "Show off!" "." "Go rest." "When you wake up there will be good things to eat." "Have you forgotten to tell me anything?" "Hiên called me." "She told me everything-- what you ate... what you drank... what you talked about." "I'm very annoyed." "Why?" "It appears that you talked about the good old days... but that's not why I'm mad at you." "I'm mad because you told Hiên that I'm pregnant... when we agreed that it would be our secret." "Forgive me." "I was tactless." "It's okay." "Go to sleep." "I'm going to tell my sisters in a little while." "We've talked all night." "I've told you everything." "I'm going back soon to finish my work." "I want to know what you've decided." "For a long time..." "I've known you had a child with another woman." "I went through your things and it was easy to figure out." "In the photos you brought back from your trips..." "I watched the child grow up as if I had raised him." "In everything you've said... the only thing that matters to me... is that you can't love me anymore because of your dishonesty." "I'm not asking you to give up this woman and your son." "I know... that you love them as much as us." "In a few days, when you return... we'll start our life again." "Here's what I hope for." "I am your wife." "I expect you to love me better than you have loved me." "I want you to be the man I knew... before we were married." "That's all." "Khanh, can you help me?" "Yes, I'm just back from the market." "I wanted to tell you" "I'm pregnant." "How's that?" "I'm pregnant." "I forbid you to smile!" "It's serious, you know." "Whose is it?" "I won't play guessing games with you." "Say it!" "Whose is it?" "His name won't mean anything to you." "You don't know him." "He's married with kids, is that it?" "What does he do?" "Studies architecture." "He knows you're pregnant?" "Yes." "I just told him." "Unmarried and pregnant!" "When the baby arrives what will you two do?" " Me and my baby?" " Who said anything about the baby?" "He's not born yet!" "I meant the other one." "We haven't decided anything." "Which means what, exactly?" "Why don't you say something?" "Talk some sense into her!" "Khanh... don't cy." "I'm happy, you know." "I know it might look terrible to you." "But I'm confident." "Everything 's going to be okay." "Khanh, instead of blubbering... reason with her." "What am I supposed to say when I'm pregnant myself?" "And I suspect that Kiên cheated on me in Saigon." "Enough!" "I'm through cying." "Khanh, how do you know you're pregnant?" "What's that?" "How can you tell when you're pregnant?" "So what makes you think you are?" "Because two weeks ago... he and I... we did" " Was it the first time?" " Yes, and the only one." "So what did you do?" "Well... first, he put" "What did he do?" " He kind of put" " What?" "I don't know how to say it." "Right, that's it." "Tell me when you had your last period." "A week ago." "Tell me if I've got this straight." "Two weeks ago you and he did something." "And a week ago, you got your period?" "Yes." "Good Lord!" "So, do that mean I'm pregnant?" "What an idiot!" "It's not complicated!" "This girl is really thick!" "We're going to have fun." "Today my sisters and I are doing everything ourselves-- the memorial dishes and the meal for 30 guests." "Quôc and Kiên will lend a hand." "You're excused for reasons of incompetence." "Why is the anniversary of a death so important?" "We didn't celebrate Dad's birthday while he lived." "It was the same for Mom." "When it was their birthday, all we said was..." ""Oh, it's your birthday."" "And that was all."