Uncle Hung

Sometimes, there are people in the family who feel like they are isolated from the rest of the world. They kick and scream, and shout at the top of their lungs, but to them, they feel as if they were mute and non-existent. Imagine little Hung, drowning at the bottom of a pool, kicking and pushing while gasping for air, but no one will rescue him. Only he can rescue himself. No one will save him. He carries the weight of the world of his shoulders, in seclusion, but he is happy because only he can make himself happy.

Uncle Hung, the second youngest person in a family of 7, has always been the outcast of the family. He ate dinner by himself, unless his second oldest sister was not too busy taking care of the rest of the family. She loved him to death, just as she loved everybody in the family. Chi Huong, elder sister, would always be looked up to and would always be respected, because she gave him unconditional love. He loved his older siblings, regardless of whether or not they paid attention to him. They loved him too, but living in a communist regime, everybody had their minds set on making a living. His parents, on the other hand, was a different story. During dinner time, there were ten pieces of glutenous tofu for the whole family, and a small portion of rice for everyone. If Hung was lucky, he'd be able to enjoy half a piece of tofu with a small portion of rice. Neglected, and ignored most of the time Bo and Me (mom and dad) would forget to buy him toys, but spoil the rest of the children. Forced to use his own creativity, he played with pots and pans and rubbed the grease and ashes off of them to use as makeup.

Back in 1979, all 7 children were living under the same roof, just a year before departing to the land of opportunity. The whole country was beginning to feel the affects of the Communist regime that had recently reigned over. It was time to leave. It was time to be a part of history, what is now known as “The Boat People”, the second wave of Vietnamese immigrants to leave the country after the war. As lonely as he already was, the departure of his siblings would make him even lonelier. At the age of 10, he was not ready to leave the motherland. They all left, one by one. For Hung, it was hard to see his older siblings leave. Having his siblings around was the closest thing he had to being existent, because even the slightest acknowledgement of such thing would be important to him.

One day, Si, a brother only one year older than he, was the only remaining elder sibling left. Hung clenched onto Si, in ecstasy that his only older brother stayed behind. He buried himself under his older brother's arms, feeling protected as if he was under a dragon's wings. One afternoon, they trailed off into the distance towards the local train tracks, an area that little children often played around.

Hung asked, "Anh Si, why are you holding that bag? What's in it?".

"Em, it's just some toys I brought along for us to play in", Si replied with remorse and sorrow.

Hung grabbed his brother's arms tightly, blissfully walking towards the train tracks. Maybe there are some people that care about him. A boisterous noise thunders from a distance. Slowly, the sound is getting louder and louder. Hung looks behind him and notices a black monster coming their way, blowing grey smoke out of its head. As it comes closer, he notices its a train. They both can see a massive amount of people sitting in a claustrophobic manner. Some looked as if they were suffering from the severe heat. Some, suffering from a lack of breathing space. The train passes by them. A loud horn sounds twice. Hung sees the people's faces, anxious to reach their destination. Looking at the direction towards which the train is going, Hung realizes its the train to the nearest shore. They were part of the boat people. The end of the train was coming near. Hung, so excited to begin his playtime with his big brother patiently waits for the train to pass. Suddenly, Si hugs him tightly, like a father would embrace a son, kisses him on the forehead and runs towards the train. He runs with all his might, throws his bag onto the top of the train, and jumps onto the back. Si, was on his way to America. As Si is standing on the back of the tip of the train, he looks back to see if his brother is safe. He sees a little boy, no bigger than four feet tall running the life out of him, bursting into tears. He yells and screams, but nothing is heard. Tears gush down his eyes in thoughts of never seeing his older brother again, not knowing where he'll be and why he left. He only sees his older brother drifting into the distance. Hung is alone now. This time, he has no one to turn to.