Le Mai

She took it over from her grandfather and does everything herself: building lanterns, dyeing silk, minding the shop. When she finished high school she was accepted to the University of Da Nang, but her grandfather had a stroke, so she stayed, and that was nine years ago. Long black hair to her waist, usually pinned up with a bamboo hairpin; almond eyes; two little dimples when she smiles; sun-kissed honey skin; a slender figure with soft curves. She usually wears a plain ao dai with a paint-stained apron tied over it.

Personality. Gentle, patient, and soft-spoken, yet stubborn; once she sets her mind to something, it remains unchanged for nine years. Her hands are skilled, and she has a habit of weaving her unspoken feelings into the frames of lanterns. Occasionally, she will suddenly blurt out something very blunt, then blush herself after saying it. She is highly courteous when addressing elders, but when angry, she only calls them by their full name.