It has been 13 years since the day Tram Anh (Binh Thanh District, HCMC) ran away from home and started a new life with her lover. Tears streamed down her face while this 31 year-old woman recalled her escape.

As the youngest daughter of a rich family who ran a fresh food business in Binh Thanh District, Tram Anh was overprotected by her mother, who loved her too much to let her do anything. The young girl was not allowed to go out with friends and had to return home immediately after school.

In love with a childhood friend

Anh was a pretty girl in her late teens. Many gentle rich men dreamed of being her sweetheart and came to ask her parents for permission to marry her. However, Anh refused all of them. She only thought of Minh Dang, who grew up with her and lived on the same street. They were also classmates in secondary school and fell in love when they were in grade 10.

Dang was the fifth son of a poor family who sold Hue beef noodle soup to earn a living. When Anh finished high school in 1998, her mother discovered the relationship and did not let her see Dang anymore. Nobody in Anh’s house supported the young lovers. They were afraid that the 19 year old man, who was still unemployed, could not bring happiness to her.

One afternoon, when her mother went out, Anh ran away to Dang’s friend’s house. She was in a hurry and had only VND 60,000 in her pocket. She and Dang decided to run away together. “Three days later I was extremely anxious. I was worried each time I heard footsteps coming near,” Anh said.

Early in the morning of the fourth day, they secretly left Sai Gon for Hue. It was near the Tet holiday. “I knew my mother would never forgive me. I tried to stay calm. I thought that I could only live with Dang if I left Saigon. That thinking comforted me,” Anh said.

However, when she was on the bus to Hue, she was scared. It was the first long journey for the young woman. She worried that her mother would find her. She also feared for the future. “I had no clue what was waiting for us. I didn’t know if I could get used to this strange place or what we would do to make ends meet. We were too young…” Anh shared.

Ten days later, Anh’s mother found them in Hue. After looking at her daughter’s room, she burst into tears and begged her daughter to come home. When she failed to persuade Anh to go with her, she promised that she would let Anh and Dang get married if they came back to Saigon. Anh was so happy. However, right after she arrived in Sai Gon when she was kept in her room and barred from meeting Dang.

Hardship and the happy ending

One afternoon, Anh escaped and ran to Dang’s house. “I just ran and ran. I only wanted to escape from my mother and prove that I loved Dang. I can stand the hardship as long as I can live with him”, she recalled thinking that afternoon.

Dang’s mother let Anh live in her house. She believed that the young girl could not live in poverty for long and would give up soon. Anh lived in the shabby old house with Dang’s family while helping his parents sell beef noodle soup.

Anh tried to get used to the new life. She got up at 4am to prepare and had to work until 7pm. After that she did housework. The first two years (2000- 2002) were the hardest for the young woman. She experienced the difficulties of a life which she had never thought of before. Anh still slept with Dang’s older sister. After two years, when Dang’s family finally reazlied that the young couple was serious about their relationship, they made a small room for them. Anh and Dang became husband and wife without a wedding party.

The young couple found a new place to sell beef noodle soup. They spent three years working hard under the blistering sun in the summer, suffering the flooded road when the rainy season came. “The memories of those days always come back every time we pass Phan Van Tri street”, Anh smiled with tears in her eyes.

Dang gave his wife all the money they earned after a working day. He got up at 4am to help his parents set up the kiosk. At 10am he went out to collect waste materials. He returned home to help his wife when the shop was crowded at noon. Then he continued his work and returned at 6pm. Dang saved some money to buy motorbike parts. After two years, he managed to have enough for a motorbike. At night, he continued working as a motorbike taxi driver.

“Despite the great difficulties, I never cried. I chose to live my own life and I am always happy with that decision,” Anh said

For five years, Anh was too afraid to return to her mother’s house, though she greatly missed her family. She often returned home when her mother was out and left before she returned. It took six years for Anh’s mother to forgive the couple and think of Dang as her son-in-law.

Dang has been a real estate broker for eight years now. After saving some money, he invested in real estate and has become very successful. Now Anh and Dang live happily with two children in a big modern house on Binh Loi Street, Binh Thanh District.

“Even now Dang still says that he did not believe that I agreed to marry him. I never regret becoming his wife. He is a caring husband, a devoted father. He always respects me and has never yelled at me. Sometimes I wake him up at night when he is having bad dreams, he smiles and says that he loves me,” Anh shared with a happy smile.