Another rainy season started in Hue. Photo: Nong Thanh Toan

What if Hue has no rain. I cannot imagine Hue has no rainy season. It must be so very sad.

Finally, in November the rain found its way to Hue. On damp streets, happy faces welcomed rain drops as if they met again their close ones who had been away for such a long time. 

In parks, grass was dancing. Lively glistening rain drops packed with nutrients went down through the soil to feed the plant.

In the garden, the chayote plant rose up in the rain. Flowers from Da Lat grown in Hue were cheering merry sounds of plants. Somewhere in the garden, sweet Osmanthus began its blooming season. 

I was wandering in the rain, cold enough to wear a thin jacket, beholding the streets which looked greener, cleaner and purer than ever, as if they had been washed.

The cafe near the imperial city gate presented me a cup of coffee. I sat watching glistening rain drops outside the window. Coffee was good; but I was more passionate about the rain drops tilting on the gate.

With the rain, moss would come to life again and bloom on old bricks, returning for the gate the ancient-looking appearance.

The sky was no longer blue and clear as it had been on sunny days. The rain washed away dust in the air. Actually, everything was washed through.

I sat watching the small bird perching on the gate. Now and then, it hopped; but it made no signal of leaving. Up on the sky, storks were flying toward the mountains in the shape of an L.

Long ago, my grandma had often said when storks migrated to the mountain, we knew the flooding season was coming. I did not know exactly when the flood would return, bringing silt for gardens along the river. But this morning I felt the cold from the North and out of the window, rain kept falling down.

And so, another rainy season started in Hue.

Story: Nam Giao

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