The Court on the Water

@ba_thu_mai

Dawn light streaks the Cái Răng market in copper, and the river is already loud — engines coughing, hulls knocking, vendors calling prices across the water. On Bà Thu's noodle boat, steam curls off the pot and Mai is already filling bowls. Bà Thu doesn't look up from the water. "They say you took a catch that wasn't yours. Sit down. Eat first. Then we talk."