In the evening before Christmas Eve, a girl stepped on the foot-board of a compartment, hunching her shoulders against the cold. She looked around, noting a vacant seat beside a woman. One of her hands covering half her mouth looked pale with knuckles protruding between the fingers.

‘Is it unoccupied, sister?’
‘Please sit down. What is your number?’
Without answering, the girl plopped down.
‘Any luggage I can help to put on the rack?’

The girl held out both hands to show that she carried nothing with her. The woman cast a glance at her face, noticing one corner of her mouth was swollen with blood that seemed to be oozing out. She quickly held up one hand to cover her mouth.

It was a chilly winter evening. The street across the railings was crowded. The train began to move slowly, its engine whistle shrieking continuously to cause a thud in the chest of passengers. How many people like her were still journeying into the night? The woman asked herself.

‘Where are you getting off the train? ‘
‘At Station Y. And you?’
‘Yes, the same with me.’
‘Oh, you’re my companion. Which road do you know?’
‘No…I’m just going to see an acquaintance. How far is it from here?’
‘If the train runs like this, we may get there by about mid-night or even early dawn. Is there anyone waiting for you there?’
‘Oh, yes.’

The girl was still talking with one hand covering half her mouth, her voice a bit distorted and, worse still, her eyes glowing red under the heavy lids as if she had fallen victim to a violent attack. Maybe not…She was of small build but fairly good-looking, even when one corner of her mouth remained swollen…

After getting out of the station the girl suddenly turned to look at the woman. From the glint in her watery eyes she seemed to be plucking up courage.

‘To be frank…I don’t want you to look down on me. Do you have something to eat?’

The woman gave a start and remembered her daughter had tucked some packets of crisps into her small basket when she boarded the train.
‘Please wait a bit and let me see.’

While opening the basket she felt the girl was shivering with her eyes glued to every movement of her fingers, which startled her again. Be careful! She told herself. Especially with queer passengers like this girl. Finally, she found a packet of potato chips.
‘ Here it is. Take the chips and eat all of it. I still have some more.’

The young girl took the packet with both hands. Like a student behaving in a polite manner, which made her feel instinctually at ease. After reaching out, she withdrew one of her hands quickly to cover her mouth again.

The girl swallowed the crisps piece by piece, her eyes locked into the far distance. Along the railway tracks ran the road, by which stood a small church. The lights were already on before nightfall to brighten the church yard where a large crowd was gathering. The woman spoke half to herself and half to the girl.

‘Christmas’.

The girl nodded slightly, her face in a shroud of darkness.

‘Are you on a working mission? Why didn’t you come back earlier to welcome Christmas?’
‘No, I’m going to see my daughter.’
‘Is she married?’
‘No, my little one is living with her father.’

The girl kept silent. Some drops of cold rain came through the window. An old hit from somebody’s CD player carried the tune of a religious song. Darkness was slowly closing in from the fields on both sides of the road.

‘Who are you going to see in Y?’
‘My boyfriend.’
‘Your lover, isn’t he?’
‘Yes, my lover…’
‘Why did he come to live in Y? Was he on an assignment there?’
‘No, he is living there.’
‘In which area? I just want to know if you and I could go the same way.’

The girl appeared to be embarrassed.

‘Well, he said his house is near a lake…’
‘Which lake?’
‘ He told me so. Maybe, it is a small lake and you don’t know.’

This may be true. I have lived in Y since my childhood, but I didn’t travel much. I lived with my parents until I got married. Later I was busy looking after my little daughter and running a business. I never went far away from home…So you’re lucky. I never enjoyed a whole Christmas Eve together with my lover. Why didn’t you come earlier to see him? At least one day earlier?

‘I was tied up.’
‘What is his occupation? Any good?’
‘Well, it sounds rather good for him.’

The way the girl was talking could easily make more vigilant people keep away from her. Unless she had a bit of trust in her first instinct the woman would be no exception. But she knew too well that life is full of twists and turns and that not all vague speakers are untrustworthy, even contrary to popular belief.

‘The train is coming to a stop. It’s getting cold and you are just dressed…so lightly.’
‘Not really cold, sister.’ Her eyes were suddenly filled with light. ’I’m sure he is waiting there to see me.’
‘Oh, yes. Love it is!’
‘Do you love a lot?’

The woman let out a soft sigh.

‘I don’t know. But what do you mean "love a lot"? Love one person a lot or love a lot of persons?’

There was no reply and the woman turned to look at the girl who appeared to be very distracted from the conversation and was gazing dismally through the carriage window into the distance. The sky was so heavily overcast that the rain would fall at any time soon. Even some drops of rain would make the air feel wet and freezing cold.

A ticket-collector appeared, torch in hand, at the carriage door. The girl stood up with a start and went to the toilet. The train official came up and stopped beside the woman.

‘Is it vacant?’
‘No, there is a girl. She’s just gone to the toilet.’

A few moments later, after that man had left the girl came back, still with one hand covering her mouth.

‘Where is he, sister?’
‘Who?’
‘The ticket-collector.’
‘So you are travelling without ticket, aren’t you?’
‘No, I do have a ticket. If not, I would not be let onto the platform of that station. Only it seems my seat is not here.’
‘No problem. You can change your seat, anyway. And you’ll see there must be some empty seats on the train tonight.’

Before sitting down, the girl looked around again as if she had felt more scared than just sorry about sitting in the wrong place. For a long time there was no talk, only deep silence. The girl closed her eyes as if sleeping while the woman was dozing off fitfully…

‘Hey, sister!’
‘What’s the matter?’
‘Are you cautious about me?’
‘No, not at all.’
‘Thank you.’ Her head dropped down a bit while she pulled her shirt flaps close together with both hands.
‘Anything you want to tell me? I also have had some troubles in my circumstances. Please regard me as your sister.’
‘No, I’m really happy. Why do you ask me that question? I’m going to see him soon.’

The woman opened the basket to get the crisps.

‘Take another packet, please!’
‘No, thanks. I’m still full after eating potato chips.’

A thought flashed through the woman’s mind.

‘I nearly forgot. Are you thirsty? Take some water to kill the thirst which often comes after eating.’
‘I already had some in the toilet. Don’t worry about me! Now I must get some sleep. When the train stops at Y, please wake me up!’
‘It’s still a long way. Have a good sleep! I’ll call you when we arrive there. Don’t you remember I also get off at Y?’

The train was passing a small district-town. Many lights lit up the windows and young couples, all dressed up, were riding on the road. She told herself not to think about this night but all the things still caught her eye. Does Christmas bring joy or sadness? She asked herself. To her, however, it’s only sadness and loneliness, more often than not. The woman wished she could sleep like the girl. And when she turned and gave her a glance, she noticed her eyes were filled with tears which were dimly illuminated by the yellow light reflecting from above the window.

‘Are you still awake?’
‘Is this Christmas Eve, sister?
‘You really asked me, didn’t you?’
A hand quickly moved across her eyes and a smile appeared on her lips.
‘Oh, how foolish I am! Do you think so?’
‘Yah, it’s just because going to see your lover has made you absent-minded?’
‘Sure it has, sister! He must be waiting for me at this hour.’
‘Right as rain!’ She cracked a little joke to make the conversation more relaxing.’It would be a great joy to have a lover coming up to Y. My area, you know, is very poor. There are no other places to see apart from the main road. But lovers don’t need to go anywhere. Just sit side by side and hold each other’s hands. That’s warm enough to enjoy being together.’

‘Is that really so?’
‘If there are some things more to add like some candles, a bottle of liqueur, a CD player…that would be great on Christmas Eve.’
‘That’s right, sister! Maybe, at this moment, he is decorating the house to welcome me.’
‘Will he be waiting for you until dawn?’
‘Sure, he will. That’s certain. He’ll be sitting by the candles and looking at the clock.’
‘You are so romantic!’
‘That means "Sen", doesn’t it?’
The woman gave a laugh.
‘You, young people, have abused the word "Sen" too much. And everything beautiful will be called "Sen" soon.’

The girl smiled, leaning back against the seat. She remained silent for a long while. This time, probably, she was really sleeping. A fitful sleep in anticipation of her longed-for happiness.

The train was moving round a bend, the railway tracks shaking under its crunching wheels. The girl sat up with a start and spoke to the woman who was still awake.

‘Where are we now, sister?’

The woman strained her eyes to look across the window. The night was pitch-dark beyond the bounds of good sense. It is not unreasonable to say that they felt they were in a far-away planet without the sun, the moon or human life.

‘Well, I really don’t know. Just go back to sleep. I’ll call you when we are there. It seems you have slept for a while.’

‘Have I, sister?’
‘Didn’t you realise?’

The girl looked a bit distant.

‘Oh, yes. Sometimes I don’t know who I am.’
‘Do you still hurt?’ The woman asked on the spur of the moment, something she would rather not.’
‘Do you mean to ask about my mouth? It’s due to a motorcycle accident but it does not hurt much.’

The woman continued talking in spite of her suspicion.

‘Bad luck before going to see him!’

The girl fell silent again for a while.

‘Sister!’
‘What?’
’What is beyond Y?’
‘It is Z and farer is…well, since my childhood, Y is the farest place I’ve travelled to. Further beyond that, I don’t know anything at all!’
‘Y sounds like death.

The woman felt a shiver of horror.

‘You’re still young and should not speak of such things. How strange you are! No one like you should mention death when going to enjoy happiness with your lover.’

The girl smiled.

‘You’re right. I’m going to see him soon.’

Then came a terrible sound. The train seemed to be pulling back. The woman’s head hit the front seat hard. All passengers sprang to their feet as if there had been a tremor. The train jolted a few times more before it came to a dead stop. There was confusion and some young men were running back from the engine.

‘It seems the train hit a man.’
‘Who?’
‘He was very drunk after a lot of drinking bouts tonight. He attempted to cross the tracks and fell. So he was run over.’

The woman felt a cold shiver running down her spine. On a night like this some would feel happy but others might feel terrible. The girl remained seated, looking up at the ceiling as if she were drifting to a far-away place.

The whole train now turned into an inferno of heaving, agitated human bodies calling to one another to see the victim. The woman shook her head, a gesture indicating neither sadness nor disappointment.

‘How long will it stop here, sister?’
‘Who knows. Why are there such things happening tonight? Do you feel impatient?’
‘No, not at all. When someone dies all of a sudden I only feel quite relaxed.’
‘No more talking nonsense! Damn your mouth. No sooner had you mentioned death than it came!’
‘But death is hard to come by when one really needs it.’
‘Could you speak of something else? Why not of him as you’re going to see him soon?’
‘Now the train gets stuck here, when can I see him, sister?’
‘Not long. Rail accidents like this will be tackled rather quickly, in just a few minutes.’
‘A human death is that simple, is it, sister?’
‘There you mentioned it again!’

The girl sighed deeply.

‘Now I’m getting some sleep. Please call me when we are at Y!’

It was a good long time before the train jolted forward in a slow movement. A yellow light was thrown back from the road amidst heart-rending cries. The scent of burning joss-sticks could be smelt as it was carried through the window by the strong winds. Boom! A stone of outrage hurtled through the air and made a dent on the side of the train. Then came a shout.

‘Close the window! They are throwing stones.’

What is the point of attacking the train in a fit of rage? The long train of cold steel continued hissing and plunging itself into the darkness.

‘How long will it take, sister?’
‘We are now somewhere near the station. Get ready, will you?’

The girl got up slowly.

‘I have nothing to prepare, you see?’

‘If you are free tomorrow, ask him to bring you to my house. This is my address. I live alone. Both of you can stay.’

‘Yes, I’ll ask him a favour. To be sure, he is ready to take me wherever I like.’

‘How happy you are! Merry Christmas to you!’

‘Thanks, sister.’

# # #

The lights appeared and the train slowly came to a stop. It was really cold outside and the woman looked at the girl with concern.

‘Do you see him there? You are dressed so lightly.’
‘Is this Station Y, sister?’
‘That’s it. Please get off quick. The train only stops for five minutes at the flag-station.
‘Let me help you with this basket. Don’t worry. I’m not running away with it.’

The woman stepped down onto the wet platform. The station clock struck 12 o’clock. The girl was standing on the foot-board to hand the basket over to the woman.

‘Safe and sound journey home!’
‘Has he come yet? Why don’t you get down here with me? Why are you still standing there?’

The girl shook her head.
‘No, sister. I don’t have any acquaintance here at all. All what I told you on the train came from my own imagination. Please go home. It’s too cold to stand here.’

The woman was shocked. She shouted at the top of her voice, her hands reaching out as if she wanted to grab the girl back.

‘Please come home with me!’

The train whistled and began to move slowly with the girl still standing there on the foot-board, waving…

‘Goodbye, sister! And Merry Christmas to you!’

Translated by Nguyen Duc Phu