Long time no see!

The greeting brought back so many memories and a period of time that we had missed. The last time I came here was probably almost a year ago. The coffee at her shop was quite good compared to the average of this small city. Her shop only sold coffee and a few types of juice, mainly for take-out. She had many "regular customers" - including me.

Many times before, I stopped by and the shop was closed - the closing rhythm was irregular, there was no daily or evening pattern, every time I slowed down and saw the door closed, I knew that she was closed today. Later, I found out that she was sick, she had all the diseases of old people: blood pressure, high cholesterol, joint pain...

I sometimes called her by the phone number on the sign to ask about her health - she was resting at home or hospitalized. Sometimes she answered directly, sometimes her son - the same age as me - responded on my behalf. The relationship between the host and the guest became closer because of that. Every time I visited after that, she often told me about her family, about her son changing jobs, about her grandson's first day at school, about what she saw and encountered while sitting here yesterday that made her panic...

I haven't stopped by for a whole year, due to the pace of work, the change in the direction of the road, and the presence of coffee shops and take-away carts in every direction. But she just greeted me and was as cheerful as before, she didn't ask any questions or complain: "Why haven't you stopped by for so long?". She didn't ask that, perhaps so that I wouldn't be confused or upset. She just asked, cared, and told stories that made me happy from the moment I first stopped by until I left, and even while writing these lines.

In other relationships, I am sometimes not so lucky. I have received questions, reproaches, and judgments instead of greetings: Why have you been so quiet? Why haven't you called?... As if keeping in touch, continuing conversations, and nurturing a relationship were my responsibility alone. They jump into your inbox, send you a reproach instead of a greeting, forgetting to look back at who the last text message from three or four years ago was from. In public, they shake hands, laugh heartily, and blame you vaguely: "I'm so angry with you, it's been so long since you've come out to play with your friends!", as if they remembered the fun times last year, last month, last week... and warmly invited you!

Every time I see a generation of students off to school, I often hear the saying: We will definitely miss our teachers, we will definitely come back to visit our teachers! I believe that, for sure, they miss their school and their teachers. It is just that in a new environment, they have new tasks and are busy, so they cannot stop to come back to reminisce. Like a former student who called me and burst into tears. That day was the afternoon of November 19, the wide streets were full of flowers and gifts to celebrate Vietnamese Teachers' Day. He came home from work, exhausted in the middle of the colorful flower street and missed his old school, his teachers, his friends, and remembered the times when he practiced performing arts until 9 or 10 pm. But this year he cannot go back to school, tomorrow, November 20, is still a weekday, he has to go to work like any other worker.

There are also senior students or someone who once exclaimed: "So we won't see each other again". How could we not see each other again! There are people who wanted to avoid each other for life, but then the "road builder" kept cutting across a warm home, so that every morning and evening a single person had to pass by a happy family. Then in the virtual space, social networks, every now and then a connection suggestion would appear that the account that we had unfollowed a long time ago. Or we are also convinced: As long as we have "the internet", we can still find old pictures and old acquaintances.

Yes, there is no way we won't see each other again. Surely tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, everyone will say in their mind or on their lips: Long time no see! The only difference is: after that, will we remember a series of beautiful memories or vague, lingering sad memories.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/lau-qua-khong-gap-185250719181122794.htm