Photo: Lychee in my summer memories

Lychee, summer sweetness in Vietnam. Photo: Silvia Nguyen.

I'm very pleased with how this photo turned out. So clean and minimal. It also has a visual rhythm.

I felt the need to shoot some photos of lychee this summer, because next summer and some years later I may not be here to enjoy the sweet scent and taste of lychee anymore...

Mùa vải, season of lychee, has arrived. It's June again. This year, it's not scorching hot as usual in Hanoi. The weather is oddly comfortable, as if it knows I'm leaving and gives me a treat.

The earliest batch of lychee was a bit sour, as always. The following batches are filled with sweeter juice and tend to have smaller seed. Trust me, I'm not a farmer but I've been a consumer for over 20 years.

I remember grandma peeling it for me when I was in preschool. We both loved lychee. She removed the seed for me and ate the "ugly" ones I refused to take. In a visit a few years ago, I also peeled lychee and removed the seed nicely for her. She still loved it and kept asking for more. I wish she could have lived with us and I could have given her more delicious food.

It's been long since the last time I saw her in my dreams. Maybe she has managed to leave for Nirvana. That'd be wonderful. I hope she forgot all about this depressing world and returned to her true nature of utter peace.