The Antique Box

For those who are international student like me, you will definitely know the feeling of seeing your family after a long time. Right after my finals ended, I traveled back to Viet Nam, such a nice feeling when you are back to your home country like the smell of the fresh air, smell of the about-to-harvest rice flowers, and of course the hot air from a humid country. Met my parent at the arrival gate, hugging, kissing, my mom was like all over me, crying happily because she just missed me so bad.


Arrived at my house after an hour sitting behind my dad seat, I felt like I am in heaven, there is my room, my bed, my teddy bear. This is home, finally. After a few minutes enjoying my old, comfy bed, my parent called me to the living room.

- “So what is your plan this summer?” – My dad asked.

- “I don’t know yet, but I would just love to spend my time with you and mom, and Hien” – I told my dad after he asked me right away.

- “If you want, we can travel together this summer, since me and your mom already retired, and your sister can get sometimes off from her work.”

- “Yes dad, I would love to travel” – I answer with a smile, even thou in my heart, I was screaming out loud.

- “Hey, why don’t you come over here, I will show you something.” – My dad wanted me to go with him to his study room.

I followed him to the study room. I saw something on his table, it’s a box. “Maybe it’s a gift for me. Yes!” I was thinking and smiling at the same time. He told me to sit down, and he brought the box closer. That’s a big antique box. He told me to open it. There are a lot of junk stuffs inside.

- “That’s all the stuff that your mom and I have been collecting when we traveled since we retired from work.”

My dad emotionally told me that. I felt bad because I thought they were junks at first.

- “Your mom and I had been travelling alot since then, but I would love to have a whole family trip now, since you are back for the whole summer.” – Dad said.

- “Of course, dad. It’ll be the most memorable trip ever for me.”

I excitedly told him, of course, not without asking him about all the collected and antique stuffs that he had in the box. He told me every single little detail about how he got that, and this. He seems so happy when he told each of the stories. There are a black statue African women with long-ear that he got during his trip with the Red Cross to Africa, a strange women head made of clay, a small hand-made wallet from Mongolia that he got since he like how strange it looks, a beautiful rug (I mistook it like a table cloth for awhile), a small boat made from a tree from India, and a strange wood guy playing drum from Japan I think. My dad sure does love collected strange but interesting things. Then I found a smaller box inside, thought that my dad got it somewhere that he travel to.

- “Dad, where did you get this?” – I curiosity asked.

- “At the market where your mom go grocery shopping every weekends” – my dad asked and tell me look inside.

I thought he collected somewhere else, but no, it’s from where I lived. But when I take a look inside, there is more things, now I can tell these things are the things that he collected but it’s breakable, so he has to put it somewhere else. There is this little stone stamp from China, it look breakable to me, a small green glass jar with a cover, a small plate made of clay, a souvenir house from Spain, a coin collection from Singapore, and this three little rocks.

- “Dad, why is there a coin collection in here?” – I wasn’t thinking and asked.

- “Oh, that one, I was looking for it so I can give it to your sister, she was born in the year of dog, don’t you know? We got it during the trip to Singapore.” My dad told me, and looks at the three little rocks that I was holding. “You know what that is?” he asked.

- “Rocks?” I was clueless and answered at same time.

- “No, they are chestnuts, but I left it there for so long so it look like a rock now, your mom picked it when we were at the Europe.” My dad was laughing so hard.

- “Dad, what is my old ruler doing here?”

- “Oh, I used it to draw a line from our country to where your mom and I had traveled to before”

Then he pointed to the world map over the corner, where my study table used to be at. Things have been changing so much since the last time I went back home. My dad and mom love travelling now, my older sister is busy working, and of course I do change too. But I know that the love from them to me will never change.

- “So dad, where do you think we should go this summer?” I asked

- “Umm, my mom and I were thinking that we should go to somewhere have such a nice weather, places. How about we will go to America?”

- “What? America? Dad, really? America? No, not America, no, please”

I was screaming out loud to him. But then I heard nothing from his reply even though I can tell that his lips are moving. There is some noise in the background. That’s my alarm clock from my phone that’s ringing. Why alarm clock? Closed my eyes, and opened it again. I am not at home, I am actually at the Miller Center, the library. I just woke up from a nap. I was studying for my finals, and I just too tired so that I felt asleep. That was just a dream. It’s only a dream.

- “Oh well,” I was thinking, “I will go back to Vietnam soon anyway after the final, so no need to worry, but I will definitely warn my parent about going for summer vacation in America, because that’s where I lived. That’s ok if they want to go, because I will enjoy a lot of fun time with them anyway.”

I was laughing and writing an email to my parent at the same time.

- “What a strange dream, when I go back, definitely I will ask daddy about that antique box.” I am thinking and smiling.

by Ha Le

Inventory List

1. Ruler
2. Stone stamp
3. Coin collection ( year of the dog)
4. Cloth
5. Wallet ( from Mongolia0
6. A boat (Indian tree)
7. 3 little chestnuts
8. Women head
9. Wood guy doing drum
10. Small green glass jar
11. Small plate
12. Souvernir house from Spain
13. A black statue with long-ear (lady)