The Spy Who Loved Us_ The Vietnam War and Pham Xuan An's Dangerous Game ( PDFDrive )

254 THOMAS A. BASS
a quick clip toward the garden. “My youngest son will be late
from work, and it’s time to feed the cocks,” he explains, as I trot
to keep up with him.
The night is sweet and balmy. A breeze has come up to
chase away Saigon’s diesel fumes and dust. The moon is nearly
full, suffering only a small dent in its otherwise brilliant face,
and the stars are out. Thu Nhan’s flower beds are planted with
Spathiphyllum. The white flowers and their spiky, creamcolored
pistils shine in the evening light over a bed of dark
green leaves. At the back of the garden two cocks stare at us
with beady eyes. They are caged separately to keep them from
killing each other. An begins talking to them in a low, reassuring
voice. He fills a small bowl with corn and places it in the
first cage. He repeats the process for the second bird. An’s
movements are swift and assured. I am reminded of the comparison
he once made between birds and journalists. He used
to feed the latter with the same care and precision, but the food
he fed them was information.
Ten months after my trip to Poulo Condore, I pull the bell
on An’s green gate for what will be our last visit. I arrive at
half past six in the evening, when An says it is easier for him
to breathe. Thu Nhan opens the gate. Her round, normally
placid face is drawn with worry. “It is nice to see you,” I say.
“How are you?”
“Not well,” she says, on this humid night in January. She
bustles through the garden and excuses herself after leading
me into the salon. The room has been rearranged. In the place
where An’s desk used to be, under the window to the right of
the door, stand a hospital bed and wheelchair. An is resting in
bed on his side, with a fan blowing on him. His skin is so
translucent I can see the blood coursing through his veins. His
ears protrude from his skull. His Adam’s apple bobs up and
down as he gulps for breath. His white pajamas billow around
him as he sits up and reaches for a cup of ginseng tea. An tells