Chapter 4: Chapter 4 – Wonder Who This Woman Is

After having taken a bath in the river, while I'm still lying down on a pile of leaves to dry myself before going home, I feel sleepy and doze off.

"Hi Mai! Glad I found you," a woman says in a chirpy voice.

WHAT! I lift myself up into a seated position. A woman is standing beside me, smiling. Despite scattered strands of gray among her jet-black hair, her skin has the smoothness of youth.

Ha! She's the old woman who sells all kinds of merchandise, including freshly brewed coffee and tea, at Good Choice Flea Market located on the side of Khe Sanh road leading to Cu Chi City.

But why is she here? It's hard work walking through the undergrowth to get here. She might have been watching me coming here, and even have discovered my bathing haunt. Also thinking about who else might have come here, I'm nervous and upset. Where will I go for bathing after this?

I tug at my damp blouse clinging to my body. "Excuse me, ma'am, but are you OK with plodding over the rough ground?"

She says, "Don't worry, I'm so used to plodding around here, so I never think anything about it. Besides, you get used to it after a while."

She hands me a square package wrapped in beige paper, with a handwritten name MAI in pink letters on it, saying, "I really have come here to give you this. I hope you'll like it. Open it and see the contents."

I rub my hands against the fallen leaves, to rub the dirt off my hands, and then tear off the wrapping paper. She has given me the very thing I need - a new outfit contained in a clear plastic bag with adhesive on the flap. I want to take it home right away to show Mom.

The woman beams with satisfaction when I accept the clothes with delight and an enthusiastic expression of gratitude. She says, "Wait a minute. I intended to tell you that the Good Choice Flea Market is hosting the 'World's Greatest Yard Sale.' There're a lot of unusual things that would pique your interest. Come and have fun."

"Thank you for letting me know, Mrs. uh…," I say. "Excuse me, but I don't even know your name!"

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With pain in her voice, she says, "I'm sorry. Forgive me. It bothers me to keep my name secret from you, but I can't reveal my name."

"What should I say to my mom when she asks me who gave me the clothes?" I say.

"I guess you could say an old woman vendor at the flea market gave them to you," she says. 

Upon reaching home, I dash to where Mom sits, cooking. I stop behind her and flap the clothes bag on the top of her head. "Ta Da! Mom, look what I got!"

"Why are you home already? Who'd you get this from?" She peels open the flap of the bag.

I giggle. "There was a bomb at the school overnight, and school was dismissed, so I played at the river. That nice old woman vendor at the Good Choice Flea Market came and gave brand-new store-bought clothes to me!"

"Beautiful. Put them on," Mom says.

I've put my new clothes on, and come out to show Mom. She brushes her hand up and down the fabric, saying,  "It feels soft and silky."

I change back into my patched outfit to do chores around the house. I carefully store my new clothes.

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