Vica Rosario Bogaerts

Until Dawn Comes

They say the darkest hour signals that dawn is near, a burden to bear until daylight arrives. But in the Long Bien market, the darkest hour is when everything begins. As Hanoi sleeps, the market comes alive within the hours between darkness and early light. Darkness offers a space with its own rhythm, community, and purpose. The Long Bien market is busy, loud, and chaotic. But on its calmer outer edges, I found something different. There, ordinary moments stood out. People at work, sometimes quiet, often in sync. I encountered scenes of solitude, but also intense coordination and shared routine. And somehow, in the space between it all, there was a special kind of grace. I kept coming back to the market, drawn by the repetition, the way the same faces appeared each time, doing the same things in slightly different ways. And in those small differences, the market revealed itself anew with each return. By the time dawn rose over the Long Bien bridge, the market had done its day’s work. I returned home and went back to bed, still thinking about the market and its people. They would be back the next night. Maybe I would be too, once more, until dawn comes.