Memory Capsule

Chau is a teenage girl who was born and raised in the city. She wears modern clothes, has an attitude, and has always considered herself completely Hanoian. One day, her best friend comes over to help Chau move into her family’s new apartment. It is there where they have an interesting conversation about hometowns. When her friend raises a doubtful question, Chau becomes unsure of her own answer. She lets her mind wander to a recent memory.

Chau was packing her belongings one morning, preparing to move, when she stumbled upon a piece of forgotten history - her once-beloved memory capsule. As she opened the box, Chau was hit with a lingering wave of nostalgia. Childhood memories, tucked away for too long, came flooding back into her mind again with each item she picked up. Her kite brought with itself the recollection of her maternal grandfather, teaching Chau and her cousins how to make a kite out of newspaper in Nghe An. Chau’s old cooking notebook made her think of the time when her paternal grandmother kindly showed her how to make “Floating Rice Balls” - a Vietnamese treat that is popular in Bac Ninh, where Grandma lived. Finally, as Chau picked up her bamboo dragonfly and clay figurine, she found herself back on the bustling streets of Hanoi, hands intertwined with her best friend, exploring the beauties of the city - especially its toys.

At last, Chau realized that without these amazing people, neither Nghe An, nor Bac Ninh, nor Hanoi would have such a special place in her heart. Her hometown isn’t just the place where she was born. She belongs to every place that has people who have loved, nurtured, and shaped her into the girl she is today.