The woman was startled by something and opened her mouth wide

As you walk through the Cholon district of Ho Chi Minh City, time seems to slow just a little. Fruit shops open from early morning, lanterns swaying gently in the shade of storefronts, people sitting on low stools, deep in conversation — each scene feels like a fragment of everyday life, threaded through the gaps in the city’s usual bustle.

In front of one shop, an elderly woman sat on a small stool. Beside her were a few plastic chairs; beyond the doorway, tiled floors and, above a mirror, a small statue that seemed to serve as a household shrine. It felt less like a shop and more like a home seamlessly intertwined with a place of business.

She appeared to be chatting with a friend. At one moment, something caught her by surprise — her mouth opened wide in reaction, with no trace of self-consciousness or exaggeration. There was a purity in her expression, something childlike and sincere.

Even with the passage of years, daily life still holds room for the unexpected. To be genuinely surprised by what one sees or hears — not as a fading remnant of youth, but as a human response honed by time itself — perhaps that is its own kind of wisdom.

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