Free The Unwanted by Kien Nguyen

carrying her goods in this fashion, Mrs. Tam threw a small bag toward Loan. She then signaled for us to follow her.
    Without looking back at us, Mrs. Tam asked Loan, “Do you have the money with you?”
    “Yes, we do. Where are you taking us? And what is in this bag you gave to me?” Loan asked.
    “Hold that for later. I am taking you to your ride,” was all she said.
    We walked for almost an hour, carrying our luggage with great difficulty as the city disappeared behind us. As we moved into the surrounding ghettos, big buildings slowly gave way to tin shacks. Along the banks of the river, which circled Saigon, many of the shacks stood on stilts that rose from the water. At the outskirts of the city, we left the slums behind, and endless rice fields appeared before our eyes, stretching to the horizon.
    Just when my mind began to dull, Mrs. Tam decided to stop. In front of us stood a Communist military base, surrounded by barbed wire and open grass fields. We stepped away from the old lady in a panic. A herd of soldiers came out, most of them not a day over eighteen. They held their guns in warning as they saw us getting closer. Many of them recognized the old lady.
    To her, they shouted happily, “Mother Tam, how are you? Have you got anything for us?”
    My mother was too fearful to speak. She held on to my arm.
    Loan asked the old woman, “What is going on? Did we do something to offend you?”
    “Relax,” the old lady muttered, “I am taking you to your ride. Just pipe down and let me handle things.” To the soldiers, she smiled. “I bring you some pork buns, my sons.” Turning to Loan, she ordered, “Give the comrades the food, darling.”
    “What food?” Loan whispered to Mrs. Tam.
    “The bag I gave you earlier, give it to them,” the old woman whispered back to her.
    The soldiers took the bag from Loan's hand. They tore the pork buns away from the oily wrappers and ate them quickly. When the food was gone, they looked at her and smiled. The whitish residue of the bread stuck between their teeth.
    “Who are the people with you, Mama?” they asked.
    “These fine people are my friends who are in need of a ride to Nhatrang. Are there any troops leaving town this evening that can accommodate them?”
    One soldier volunteered the information, “Yes, as a matter of fact, there are. For you, Mother Tam, anything is possible. Platoon threeoh-six is heading to Hue at eight o'clock tonight. The truck can drop them off in Nhatrang tomorrow afternoon. That is, if your friends want to wait right here. You know we can't take them inside the base, right?”
    “Right, right. Thank you, sons. Excuse me for a second while I give these people the instructions, yes?”
    “Sure, Mama.”
    She turned to us and lowered her voice. “Look, I found you a ride. These are sweet kids, and they won't give any trouble. Stay right here in one group where they can see you, and don't make any sudden moves, because curfew is coming soon. Now, give me the money.”
    “Where are you going? You can't leave us here like this,” my mother said.
    “I can't stay with you. I have to get home before curfew. You just have to trust me, lady.”
    My mother reached into her blouse for the stack of money hidden in her bra. Without letting the soldiers see what she was doing, Mrs. Tam snatched the cash. As fast as it had appeared, the money vanished again.
    “Where are our tickets?” my mother asked the old lady.
    “Oh, no ticket. Don't worry about it, you are all set.”
    “I can't believe this. You are cheating us again, aren't you?” My mother swallowed. “You said earlier that it would be five hundred dong for the tickets. But instead, you took us here in front of a military base, before these guns, telling us to wait for a ride that is way past curfew time. How can we trust you in a situation like this?”
    “I said don't worry about it. It's all set.” The woman spat a stream of phlegm onto the ground. “I am doing you all a