Read Online Small Bamboo by Tracy Vo - Free Book Online

parents and his brothers and sisters all loved her. And she really enjoyed herself with the Vo family too. Their dinner was typical of a Vietnamese family gathering—if it’s not big and loud, it’s boring.
    Later, Grandma sat down next to Dad and said: ‘Son, I know you like to play around. But it’s time for you to settle down and get married. Lien is a good woman. You should marry her and marry her now.’
    Dad knew his mother was right but he wasn’t convinced. He was only twenty-two, though it was a suitable age to marry in those days, and he hadn’t really thought about settling down. The war had only ended a year before, and no one knew what effect the current political climate would have on the future. And as much as Dad liked Mum, he had other plans which he hadn’t discussed with his mother—plans to escape Vietnam.

    Those months and years after the Fall of Saigon were very unstable, and the South Vietnamese had to take every day as it came. For many of the wealthy, their comfortable living situation was quickly erased. Many people fell into a deep depression; some turned to drugs or alcohol, and ended up on the streets. The one thing on everyone’s minds was how to escape Vietnam as soon as possible. All over the South people secretly made plans to leave. Both my parents had opportunities to escape Vietnam when they first started dating, and there was an implicit understanding between them that they would not hold each other back.
    Mum was given the opportunity to leave about two months into their relationship. A friend of hers had paid someone who was organising a small boat to take about twenty people to a bigger boat that would be waiting in the ocean. Mum prepared to leave, but after a month of waiting, with no word from the friend’s go-between, she gave up. Mum never found out why the escape didn’t eventuate: it could have been a scam, or it could have fallen through for a number of other reasons. Getting out of the country was like winning the lottery—even though everyone was trying to escape, it was so difficult that most people didn’t really believe they would.
    Then, in November 1977, only about a month after Mum met Dad’s family, my father got his chance. Uncle Five had long been planning an escape with a close friend—working out how it would be done, when it could be done and how many people he could take. Finally Uncle Five’s friend came to him and said he had organised a big boat through a friend of a friend. It sounded legitimate and they would leave in a few days, but he could only get two spots for Uncle Five.
    Two spots wasn’t nearly enough. Uncle Five could not go without his family so he decided to send his youngest brothers, Tai and Ut. He also knew that if these two brothers got out safely, they would succeed wherever they were and be able to help the rest of the family leave too. When Uncle Five told him and Ut about the escape plan, Dad agreed that it was his family duty to go. He would be sad to leave his new girlfriend Lien, but he also hoped that perhaps he would be able to send for her once he was safe.
    After Uncle Five had explained the plan to them, Dad asked him, ‘Brother, how much did you pay for this?’
    Uncle Five would not say how much he had paid, only that he could afford it and that it didn’t matter how much it cost if it meant his family could get out of Vietnam and have a better life. He also told Dad that he wished he could get a spot for Lien as well, as he knew how much they wanted to be together.
    That night Dad had dinner with Mum and told her the news. She was sad but of course she understood. Any opportunity to leave had to be grabbed.
    ‘You have to go,’ she told Dad. ‘And I would never stop you. If you can build a better life elsewhere, you need to do that.’
    Dad was relieved at how understanding she was and promised her that if he survived he would also help her leave Vietnam.
    ‘I will track you down again,’ he said. ‘Then