In a hut temporarily roofed with leaves, Nguyen Van Su, born 1922, in Duc Hoa district of Long An province, could be seen recently lying in a hammock. Closing his wrinkled eyes, he enjoyed the cool breeze carrying the rice scent of the surrounding fields.

The roaring sound from a motorbike broke the quiet space. After realizing that someone had arrived, he got up and instructed the guests to temporarily park the motorbike next to the small house surrounded by corrugated iron on all four sides.

This is where Su has been living along with seven graves for many years.

Inside the dark house are four red-brown marble-covered tombs. There is also an altar with photos of the deceased.

A small bed is at a corner where Su can relax. At the opposite corner, Su has a gas stove and an electric cooker.

Poiting to the graves, Su said: “This is the grave of my older brother. He is a revolutionary martyr. The next is the grave of my mother. This is the grave of my father and here is my wife, who died some years ago."

Behind the house, there are graves of his two sons and his son in law.

Previously, Su did not live in the house. After his children got old and died, he left the land, and built a provisional house to live in.

Su has one living daughter, but the woman is over 70 years old and too weak to take care of her father. So, he decided to live alone in the house he built.

His daily main work is burning incense, sweeping graves, and worshipping the deceased. At the age of 100, the man is still strong. Except for bad hearing, he has no other serious health problems.

Every day, he cooks, washes clothes and cleans graves. He only needs help from local people and relatives when he needs food and medicine.

“I enjoy the life here because it is very quiet,” he said. “I cook once a day and it is enough for the whole day. In the evening, I burn incense to worship my parents, brother, wife and children before going to bed."

He is happy because he feels useful when taking care of the graves of his relatives.

He is not afraid of living with the graves, but he believes that the deceased help and support him. He doesn’t intend to leave the place. He plans to stay there after he departs from this life.

Phan Dau