Story #5: [Letting go] The Vietnamese Tale of the Mosquito

There are very few things in life that I am obstinate about. But the people who I met in my childhood is an exception. I’ve always struggled to walk away from these people, even in situations where I knew it would be extremely unhealthy. When I was much younger, I thought it was a pity when former lovers did not keep in contact with each other because surely, it would be a shame to let someone who you once cared about so much exit your life. But I have gradually came to realise that this idea was sheer and utter, folly.

I still believe that one must work hard to keep people in your life; but the critical prerequisite is that both parties must feel the same way. Failing that, it will become an one-sided endeavour in vain.

The story that I want to share today is a Vietnamese tale that illustrates the important lesson of letting go in life. I stumbled across this story when I was still in high school and occasionally I think to myself, if only I could have remembered this lesson in my later events in life because perhaps I would have chosen differently.

—

Once upon a time, there was a fisherman and his wife living in a fishing village on the coast of Vietnam. The couple lived in poverty but they were in love and that was all that mattered. But fate was unkind and after a few years of bliss together, the fisherman’s wife died from a plague outbreak.

Consumed by grief, the fisherman was determined to find a deity or a magical being who could restore life back to his wife. He journeyed far and wide and endured many hardships until finally at last, moved by his dedication, an ancient fairy on a mountain took pity and appeared in front of him.

The fisherman threw himself at her feet and begged the fairy to restore life to his wife. The fairy shook his head sadly at the fisherman and said, “Drop three drops of your blood in the mouth of your wife and she will come back to life. But I must warn you that she may not be the same person who you loved. If you ever regret bringing her back to life, ask her for your three drops of blood back.” The overjoyed fisherman barely heard the last sentence before rushing to back to his wife’s grave.

Remembering the fairy’s words, he pricked his finger and dropped three drops of blood into his wife’s mouth and lo and behold, his lovely wife was restored back to full health from the dead. The couple embraced and everybody was astonished by the miracle.

But alas, good times never last. The fisherman’s wife became a different person after being brought back from the dead. Instead of being grateful and content, she started to make comparisons with others and felt unhappy at the lack of material wealth.

One day, when the fisherman was out at sea, a rich man saw her sitting at her boudoir window. The rich man fell in love and asked her to come back with him in his richly furnished home. Dazzled by the riches in front of her, she agreed to leave the poor fisherman.

When the fisherman returned from his fishing excursion, he discovered that his wife had left him for another man. And he remembered at last, what the mountain fairy had said to him before he left the cave.

Desperate to restore everything back to the status quo, he went to meet his former wife. He pleaded with her to change her mind, to return back to his side and tried to remind her of their past love and promises to each other, but it was all in vain.

In the end, he sadly said to her, “When I bought you back to life, I gave you three drops of my blood. Give me my three drops of blood back and I will never disturb your new life again.”

His former wife laughed and said “What is three drops of blood to me? Begone beggar!” And on those words, she took a pin and pricked her finger on top of his outstretched hands.

On the departure of the third drop of blood from her finger, life also departed her body. The folklore ends here with the wife turning into a mosquito and that is the reason why the mosquito is always looking for human blood because she thinks it will restore her back to life in human form.

—

The story ends without an ending for the fisherman, but I like to think that he ultimately returned to his village a wiser and better man, having learned the lesson that one should not force things to continue beyond its natural conclusion. For, it is folly to try.

There are aspects of the story which I don’t agree with. It is questionable whether he should have asked for his blood back — is it not true love to sacrifice for the other without asking for anything in return — but, that is not the main point.

I think the main learning is that one should not force things to continue beyond its natural conclusion.

That is something easier said than done. I am perhaps more guilty of this than what my pride would allow me to admit. But I will do my best. One must let go of the past and instead, focus on the future which lies ahead.