A short story in Vietnamese by Trần Băng Khuê
Translator: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm
Photography: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

1.

Came summer.

And to leave this heartless life a person took their last breath.

On the damp mouldy bed, his face blue drained of colour, he opened his eyes awkwardly to meet mine, with not a word. It felt like he wanted to announce his impending death.

Morning. It rained as usual.

On rainy days, I never leave the house. I hate the rain. To affirm unequivocally, the rain is an extremely inconvenient condition for me. Hence, it’s best I stay inside the four walls, and make sure I won’t get wet. The raincoat is nothing but a layer of plastic. They can only give short term protection. Then, they would rip soon enough. Nothing lasts forever. The raincoat would eventually deteriorate and perish.

I…