Explore a topic
Stories and perspectives picked for your day.
Latest stories
At the end of the street stood a shop so narrow that even two people standing side by side had to slightly turn their shoulders. The wooden sign had faded with age, leaving only a few legible letters: “Clock Repair.” Inside, dozens of clocks hung on the walls, sat in glass cabinets, or rested quietly
Read more
The Road Home The coach dropped An off at the mouth of the alley on a July afternoon. The rain had just stopped, the road glistening with water, while banana leaves on either side still dripped onto the shoulders of passersby. She stood still for a moment, one hand pulling her small suitcase, her eyes
Read more
Once, on the far side of a mountain range swept by wind all year round, there was a village called Sunlit Patch. The village lay between two barren hills. The earth was cracked and dry, and its only stream usually ran dry before summer had passed. The villagers were accustomed to saving every dipperful of
Read more
Once upon a time, at the end of a winding river, there was a small village called Bai Lau. The river was not very wide, but every rainy season, its surface spread out like a silver mirror, dividing the village into two banks. On one side were houses nestled beneath bamboo groves; on the other
Read more
In many homes, there is often a chair beside the veranda that is rarely mentioned. It may be a weathered wooden chair, a plastic chair once brought out for hot afternoons, or a rattan chair that has sagged slightly after years of exposure to sun and rain. Sometimes no one sits on it all day.
Read more
At the edge of Van Bai Village, a stone path winds along the hillside, curving between wild-myrtle bushes and rows of old bamboo. The path is not wide, only broad enough for two people to pass each other, but long ago it was the only route from the lower hamlet to the market on the
Read more
At the bottom of the slope leading down to the river landing stood a small house painted a faded blue. In front of the porch was an iron mailbox, with a few patches of white paint in the shape of flowers still clinging to its body. The locals called it Mr. Lam’s house. He was
Read more
The Chair No One Had the Heart to Put Away At the end of the dirt road leading into the small hamlet stood a tiled-roof house faded by time. In front of the veranda, beneath the starfruit tree, there was always a low wooden chair. The chair was so old that its seat was smooth
Read more
The Lamp Beside the Slope At the edge of a village nestled in a valley, a winding slope led to an old forest. During the day, the slope was unremarkable, with nothing more than gray rocks, a few rose myrtle bushes growing along the roadside, and the calls of birds echoing through the leafy canopy.
Read more
There are families that do not often say grand things to one another. They are not used to expressing affection through overly beautiful words, nor do they always have gatherings with every member present. Love in a household sometimes appears only in the form of someone remembering to buy the exact kind of cake another
Read more
In many families, dinner used to be the most natural time for everyone to come together. Those returning from work, young children coming home from school, and someone preparing the food while recounting a trivial story from the day. The table was not always full, and the conversation was not always cheerful, but the presence
Read more
At the end of the alley where I live, there is a yellow lamp. It is not bright enough to make the whole road glow, nor is it new or beautiful in any way. The light bulb is installed beneath the eaves of a low house, casting its glow onto the patchy cement ground and
Read moreReader favorites
Modern life is often measured by the number of tasks completed. The more appointments fill our days, the more quickly we reply to messages, and the more continuously we handle tasks, the easier it is to feel that we are living efficiently. Yet behind that busyness lies a question that is rarely asked: are we
Read more
In a fast-paced life full of pressure, people often focus first on what is missing. A job that has not met expectations, insufficient money, an incomplete relationship, or plans that cannot yet be carried out can easily occupy much of our thoughts each day. Recognizing shortcomings is necessary for improving our lives, but if we
Read more
When discussing a personal birth chart, many people usually pay attention first to the Sun sign because it is the most familiar placement in horoscope articles. However, if you want to understand your inner life, how you process emotions, and what makes you feel protected, the Moon is also worth considering. In astrology, the Moon
Read more
In many conversations, we often think we are listening simply because we are still sitting there, looking at the person in front of us and not interrupting. Yet physical presence does not necessarily mean that we are truly taking in what the other person is trying to say. Sometimes our ears are listening while our
Read more
In life, questions about work often go beyond simply making a living. Many people want to know which environments suit them, whether they should develop along a specialist or management path, and why there are periods when work progresses smoothly before suddenly coming to a standstill. Tử Vi approaches these concerns through various palaces and
Read more
At the bottom of the slope leading to the riverside pier stood a small sweet soup stall nestled beneath an old tropical almond tree. The stall consisted of nothing more than a low corrugated-metal roof, a few faded plastic chairs, and a glass cabinet holding jars of sugar, mung beans, and lotus seeds. People in
Read more