Butterfly Yellow

Hằng wakes up on the couch in Mr. Morgan’s house, the cowboy whose ranch she and LeeRoy have been living and working on for the past nine days. From outside the house, she can see her brother’s bedroom window on the neighboring property. Mr. Morgan has hired them both as summer help despite Cora, Linh’s “Mama’s” protests. Mr. Morgan is training them both to care for his cantaloupes and horses. Hằng plans to save the money she makes to pay LeeRoy back for indirectly damaging his truck. Chú Quốc offered to pay on the condition that Hằng returned with him, but she refused.

Hằng wakes up LeeRoy who is asleep in the back of his truck, to hurry up and help her prop a ladder against the fence. She climbs it to try and catch a glimpse of her brother. His bedroom curtains are drawn open, but he is already gone. They hear voices and run inside, to find Linh talking to Mr. Morgan. Hằng observes her brother’s close-cropped hair and remembers how she and Mother shaved their heads before their escape.