A New Home for an Old Friend

A New Home for an Old Friend

From Ngọn Gió Thơm, a collection of short stories by Madame Huyền, Co-founder of Salinda Resort

The old red frangipani tree stands in the open-air courtyard, just outside Salinda’s main lobby. Guests can admire its weathered trunk and two gracefully curved branches, patiently bearing delicate blossoms in a soft, velvety pink.

It is one of the original pink frangipani trees dating back to the French colonial era. Once found throughout Vietnam, these varieties have gradually become rare, overshadowed by the abundance of grafted red frangipani from Thailand.

At Salinda, we have made it our mission to seek out and preserve these original trees. The one beside the lobby was the last we found, and perhaps the one with the most remarkable story.

One afternoon, our landscaping team called with news.

“There is an original pink frangipani tree in a small village in Quang Binh. It is very old, though no one knows exactly how old. Its owner, an elderly gentleman, says the tree was already grown when he was born. And he is now over eighty.”

“Let’s buy it immediately!” came the reply.

But the old man refused to sell. Not for any price.

A day passed as we waited, hoping for good news.

Then, at last, the call came.

“Success! After three visits, we finally persuaded him. We spoke of the tree’s future, of how much he loved it and how important it was to think of what would become of it one day. We told him that when he eventually departed this world, the tree would be left behind, alone. Who would care for it, love it, or talk to it? At Salinda, it would be looked after, admired and cherished by guests from near and far.”

The old man offered a quiet, reluctant reply.

“I know. But this tree has been my childhood friend. My parents are gone, my children have moved away to make their lives elsewhere. This tree is all I have left beside me.”

There was a moment of silence, filled with understanding and tenderness.

As though worrying more about the tree than about himself, the old man finally made his decision.

“Very well. Take it somewhere people will care for it and admire it. I am getting old, and I cannot look after it for the rest of its life. But I have one condition…”

“Of course, please tell us!”

“Every year, you must take a photograph of the tree and send it to me.”

Everyone erupted in a mixture of joy, surprise and emotion.

And so, the old frangipani was transported on a special journey, across the waters to its new home on the island.

For the first two months, it continued to bloom, sparsely but faithfully. By the third month, however, not a single flower appeared.

Worried, our team called the old man, hoping he might share a secret to caring for the tree.

He burst into laughter.

“What do you expect? It isn’t blooming because it misses me! There is no gardening technique that can fix that!”

There was little anyone could do. But perhaps, just as people do, the tree needed time to adjust to a new home. And perhaps it, too, could feel sadness.

With time, it would learn to belong.

Eleven years have now passed since the frangipani found its home at Salinda.

It seems to have settled in. Its trunk has grown older with the years, yet every season, it continues to bloom with the same quiet patience.

Guests still sit beneath its weathered branches, enjoying their coffee, gazing at the old tree with its two curved limbs, like the arms of an elderly friend gently cradling blossoms of velvety pink.

When they ask about the tree, they hear its story. And something in their eyes softens. A moment of reflection, a quiet appreciation, a tenderness that needs no words.

And perhaps, knowing that its story is still being told, the old frangipani finds the strength to keep blooming, patiently, season after season.

Somewhere in Quang Binh, an old man once asked only for a photograph each year. At Salinda, we like to think that every blossom is also a small promise kept.

Inside Salinda

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