“Patience and time do more than strength or enthusiasm.” (La Fontaine)

It was late and cold at night when I got home. Alone with the towering apartment on the 14th floor, in this apartment, not many people know me other than my family.

Unlike usual, it’s late, but my auntie picks me up. I asked in surprise, “Where did uncle let him wait for me like this?”

– He’s sick, uncle! So does my nephew!

It was late at night, there was no rush, so we went straight up. I am surprised:

– Why did I see that my uncle and the boy were normal this morning?

The aunt bowed her head and said:

– It’s a long story, man! The two of them kept trying, but the disease had been incubated for a long time, so now they fell out. For a long time now, my grandfather and nephew have taken on all the heavy work, except when they are too busy to support me. Fortunately, there is still one person in the house, otherwise it will be miserable and do not know what to eat.

Uncle turned back inside, eyes filled with tears, quietly continued.

– Uncle, each tree, each flower, each house, each scene. It’s good to be like your family. It’s like I’m alone with no one to take care of me, to share when I’m sick, so sometimes I feel very sorry for myself. Where is your family from? – I suggest a story, hope to share with you a bit.

Her eyes warmed up a little and looked into the distance… In a gentle, slow voice of an acquaintance who worked in the dark, she said:

– My husband and I live far away, all the way to Saitama – Japan. We were young and healthy that day, very good-looking. Before coming here, we were thoroughly trained physically and technically to stay awake and healthy to work. In addition, we are also trained in soft skills, always welcoming and cheerful to customers, defining our mission as serving. The couple works well together. He was on duty below, I waited above, when he was busy carrying bulky goods, I carried people around. Being able to serve everyone, I’m so happy that I forgot about not having a single child to rely on in old age.

I am surprised:

– Oh, so that nephew is not your son?

– He is the son of my brother-in-law. His uncle moved to Korea about 15 years ago and gave birth to children there. Before, only my husband and I lived here, so when there was no work, it was very sad at night. When the State of Vietnam added regulations on fire prevention and fighting skills that my husband and I were not trained in before, our grandson was sent, so we were happy. He is trained to serve in a fire, equipped with armor to walk, has 1 hour fire resistance and continuous smoke. Since it is equipped with a water-resistant armor system, it doesn’t matter if water is sprayed on it. Their younger generation is much more well-trained and equipped than we are.

Uncle continued:

– When we first arrived, this house had little girls and boys who were carried by adults with bowls of porridge and cups of milk. We drove up, went down to eat it all. It was a bit annoying at first because it was so different in Japan. But hey, joining the customary, I work as a waiter, so that’s it. Besides, seeing the children happy to eat delicious food, even though it’s tiring and costly, it’s still fun.

The worst is my grandfather. Loving me as weak women, so at night he let me sleep and he alone served. There was a man on the 13th floor who would come home drunk every night, curse and vomit, and even peed on my grandfather.

I have to accept that, but I don’t know… It’s my duty to serve. So the place he used to urinate became chronic and inflamed until he had a perforation in his stomach once. People use granite to patch, so it’s fine. Fortunately, the emergency is timely, otherwise you will die!

– How do you work so hard? – I ask

The aunt sighed again.

– According to the prescribed regime, it is fully visible. Periodic health care is provided every one to two months, up to a maximum of 2 months. The tonic regimes, screenings … according to the announcement are all available. But in reality, that’s not possible. Sometimes there is, sometimes not, but if there is, it is also a bit over the top, getting a few bottles of overdue supplements, a few incense sticks. Fortunately, when the inspection team is about to come back, it will be a little neat, and then it will go back to the same thing: advertising paper, garbage, candy, diapers … throw socks on our heads.

But I also feel sorry for my fate. The other day, some sisters of the same era in Japan sent photos, seeing them healthy and young. Don’t make up for it. Europe also is fate. My grandfather also encouraged me all the time, telling me to try to repay the debt in this life because my previous life must have been bad.

Returning to a sad state again, the uncle said: “I don’t know, I have paid a lot, but today he and his nephew were two maintenance men who came and whispered to each other: Let’s kill two elevators. This is to go to the repair price to get money for Tet. It is true that disaster has fallen from the sky.”

I felt so angry: “Damn it, why don’t you tell everyone?”

Letting out a sigh, he replied: “We have low throats, no one will believe us even if we say it, sometimes we are even called lazy and talkative. You are a kind person, so I dare to speak today.”

I promised him: “Okay, tomorrow I will report to the Building Management Board to thoroughly solve this problem. You have to make it right, bro!”

Uncle said: “Yes, you try to help us. Anyway, I have to go back to see the pot of onion porridge cooked for my two grandchildren to eat and then take medicine. Take a break.”

– I gave you two the new year calendar of my new Japanese partner who worked with me this afternoon, there are a lot of Japanese landscapes in here.

His face beamed with happiness, he quietly left. Outside, the wind was still howling. It’s starting to rain…

Slow down a little, listen a little and be ready to share a little, we will find around us many stories like that.