Love that lasts…
She was too bright and shiny. How could he stare at her for long? And yet as they walked, he couldn’t take his eyes off her. And so he glimpsed at her on and off, like the one who catches the beautiful fluttering glimpses of the midday sun that flows through the gaps between the trees while walking in the forest.
When love starts, it flows too quickly and sometimes risks itself into evaporation. She, though younger, understood this very well! And she wanted the love, the troth of incense, to last the entire life as they dreamt of and promised each other under the full moon.
As they ran through the paddy fields, coconut trees that touched the sky waved to them alongside the wind and welcomed them under. The shade offered them a moment to exchange their hearts. A butterfly on the nearby flower caught Nhan Đức’s attention. “How tender!” he exclaimed. “Like your soft cheeks” he added.
She took this moment to clarify it all. “Love can be so vast and mighty, my prince, and so when it floods, it may cover the entire kingdom with ease. But can it tend to the tenderest plant that is opening itself from the seed? Can it breeze over the softest grass without plucking them out?”
And looking at the butterfly she continued: “By its looks, if you think that this butterfly is so tender and delicate — What to mention about the heart she carries inside?”
[…]
©️ Excerpt from my novella “Butterflies that land on the moon” (set in the Lý dynasty of ancient Vietnam). More soon.
