DAY EIGHT: So long, farewell
I've invited Ryan Pierce on the show as a guest blogger to write about Day Eight. Enjoy.
I awoke lying on a thin mattress in the upper attic area of our host's home, surrounded by a mosquito net, as a heavy rainstorm pounded the roof. I looked over to see Diane out cold on her mattress. There was no window, but peeking through cracks in the wood-planked wall, I could see the river we explored the day before flooded well beyond its banks; surely, Diane wouldn't ask to play that river rapid game today. Mama was downstairs, seemingly unphased by the deluge of last night's rice wine. After a few minutes, a groggy Diane explained that after I went to bed, she had given her watch to Mama in a ritual that apparently brought us formally into their family. I wandered down and explained that Diane wasn't feeling well, and helped myself to the resulting surplus of pancakes. Our guide, My, expressed concern about Diane, and I insisted I check on her myself before the family made its way upstairs.
Diane was motionless. Diane! Diane! Not a sound. How would I explain this to her American family? I had just gotten my story worked out when Diane suddenly twisted around, smiling, and exclaimed: What did I miss? She then peered over the balcony, through wooden slats, into the dining area, and cried out, like a baby bird - one that can speak - Ma-ma! Ma-ma! Ma-Ma! Mama rose her head in relief and joy.
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Above: Our proud adoptive parents prepare to say goodbye.
Due to the rainstorm, we could not hike to the higher mountain village as planned, so we trekked with My to the main road, where a van waited to return us to the main town. At our hotel, our hostess Nguyen embraced Diane like a long-lost sister, perhaps having heard tales echoing through the countryside, village-to-village, of the daring young woman who in only 24 hours, had built a dam, braved the rapids, rivaled Mama's capacity to consume rice wine, joined a new family, and even brought them the miracle of modern timekeeping.
We enjoyed a final dinner in Sapa, had our laundry done, got foot massages, and prepared to leave Sapa in the morning for our next adventure.
Ryan-I'm very curious what the story was that you had "worked out" to tell us...
ReplyDeleteHey this is Ryan and here is his story, which I myself am anxious to know:
ReplyDeleteWhen the monsoon hit our village, Diane and I went immediately to help the villagers. I was building a levee when I looked over my shoulder to see Diane swimming into the river to rescue two children. I ran to the river bank in time for Diane to hand the children to me. I turned to place them on a high rock, and when I turned back, Diane was gone. I jumped into the river, swam as deep as possible, and could barely see her blue I mean red shoes. I held my breath as long as I could, finally reaching the shoes... but she wasn't there, only the shoes. Then I passed out. I awoke later, washed up on the bank, a kilometer downstream, and there next to me was Diane's lifeless body. I paid a passerby a handsome sum to try to revive her using CPR as I tried to explain what CPR was, but she never woke up. She was buried in a shallow grave in a rice paddie.