The red shoes

[b]THE RED SHOES[/b] Mr. Hoang Phan is sitting there under the willow tree before his villa with his mind deep in reveries. The willow tree is his favorite spot every time he wants to relax, recalling all his memories. Now and then you could hear him sigh, which to him indicates a mixed feeling of relief, nostalgia and regret. He remembers the hard days when, during the war, he had to march without knowing when and where he could stop. He lived a life of too much hardship and not enough nutrition. His life was dyed with too much blood and not enough peace. That is why now he hates anything in red, especially red shoes. Perhaps the scarceness of red shoes makes them look more awkward than others, and therefore Mr. Phan hates them more than other red coloured beings. He saw a lot of blood but he himself was lucky because, for his ever lasting life of marching and fighting, he never lost his blood, except one tiny drop that keeps haunting him for the rest of his life. It always comes vividly in him the day he had to march South, leaving his lover with the unborn child in the North. That day gave him a sense of the most insecurity of his life. Covered with tears, he could only say to her “tattoo our child with a star on its sole”. Only if that day hadn’t happened, or only if he knew where his child is, his life would be complete. Now that he had too much wealth with only one daughter to inherit. His wife is too used to living a silky life. He is tired of her. Whether it is worth sacrificing a happy marriage for wealth that is up to everybody to view. At the end of the day he is lucky to have a beautiful daughter who takes after him not only his gentle appearance but also his intelligence. The only thing he finds constantly annoying is that she does not vision well enough of her situation and her position, a beautiful daughter of an upper class, well-educated family. Why on earth, he thinks, does she have to go out with a carpenter who earns not even enough to feed himself two meals a day and to buy some decent outfits. Plus the boy, of whichever name he cannot be bother to remember, is an orphan, and for god sake Mr. Phan cannot bear the thought of having his grand children bearing an uncertain surname. He can foresee the inevitability of the eventual non-existence of such a relationship between his daughter and that orphan. It is about time that he needs to stop this before it worsens. It is Saturday again and Minh cannot wait to see his girlfriend. Even though he works over time everyday, he feels greatly relaxed and relieved every time he sees Thuy Vy, his beloved girlfriend. Perhaps that is what keeps him motivated and makes his time so precious. He is grateful to have her. He thinks he is the luckiest person in the world. After all he never had a person who really loved him. He never knew what his parents looked like, he never had a relative, so having Thuy Vy to look after him, not only emotionally but every little thing that she does for him, is like to cool down a burning desire in him that forever yearns for caring from a mother or a sister. Thuy Vy is therefore more than a girlfriend to him. That is all that he needs, he can overcome anything to have her love. So the fact that her father does not appreciate their relationship gradually does not concern him too much. It is not that he likes the feeling but there is nothing he can do about. He is forever an uneducated carpenter and her father will forever dislike lower class people. So this last Saturday of the year he is again eager, with a rose in his hand, to see his girlfriend. He has some things new to wear today too, even though they are not considerably priced but at least they are new. He does not like them that much but at least he can afford them, a pair of red shoes. But before he can put his feet down in the front of Mr. Phan’s gate, he realises he is to face Mr. Phan’s serious facial expression, right there in front of him. He realises that this time it is much more serious than other times. Mr. Phan not only stops him before saying a single word, he has with him these two giants with steel bars of considerable size in their hands. Mr. Phan keeps it short and succinct “son, I have told you that there is no such relationship between you and my daughter. Can you not realise your position? Can you not see that you do not fit it? For the last time, I am warning you, never to see my daughter again”, and with that Minh feels his chest hurt when a steel bar makes contact without warning. He tries to stand still even though his eyes blur, not only because of the physical punishment but more importantly, because of the emotional tribulation, while Mr. Phan and his two mammoths walk back to the mansion. Having realised that he has forgot something, Mr. Phan turns his head and raises his voice to the poor boy “and one more thing, next time if I see you with those red shoes, I will not hesitate to cut your legs off”, and with that he and his “buddies” disappear rapidly. It is a nice Sunday morning, Mr. Phan can see the sun rays trying to squeeze through the gaps of the willow, leaving tiny golden spots on the ground. It is a sort of morning that Mr. Phan would ideally like to spend under the willow tree, especially after solving a major problem of his life yesterday. Having with him a cup of coffee in one hand and a book in the other, he walks slowly to the willow tree. Only then he realises that something, much heavier than a normal willow branch, is swaying back and forth. He tries to walk closer, wiping his eyes, putting on his glasses, when he realises that it’s the body of Minh swaying gently like a clock pendulum. He jerks back to the direction of his gigantic bodyguards and screams in panic. To worsen his feeling he sees Minh having his red shoes on. Being so allergic to red shoes he cannot stop shouting “take the damned red shoes off, take them off”. His order is then carried out in no time, together with that one of the two bodyguards recognises something abnormal on the sole of Minh, “a star”, murmurs he. [b]Thuy Sy, 30/07/01[/b]