0:00 The little paper boat glowed on the dark water.0:04 A tiny candle flame flickered inside.0:07 It looked like a floating star.0:10 This is a very different kind of light than the bright, dancing colors we saw at the festival in the mountains of Peru.0:22 Here, the light is soft.0:24 It whispers.0:25 All around us, hundreds of lanterns drift down the river, a silent, glittering parade.0:33 Welcome to Hội An, in Vietnam.0:36 The air smells of smoky incense and a sweet, gingery soup called chè.0:42 Old, golden-yellow buildings lean over the narrow streets, their wooden balconies strung with silk lanterns.0:53 Red, yellow, blue, green.0:55 A rainbow hanging in the night.0:58 We need one of our own.1:00 A special one.1:01 We walk past bubbling pots of noodle soup called phở, the steam smelling of star anise and cinnamon.1:11 We pass vendors with carts piled high with crusty bread for delicious sandwiches called bánh mì.1:20 But we are on a mission.1:22 We are looking for a story.1:25 And then, we see her.1:27 An old woman with a kind, wrinkled face, sitting on a tiny stool.1:33 She is surrounded by lanterns of every shape imaginable.1:38 There are fish with shimmering scales.1:42 Dragons with fierce paper teeth.1:45 And there, tucked in the back, is a beautiful lotus flower, its paper petals still closed like a bud.1:54 She sees you looking at it.1:57 She smiles, a gentle, knowing smile.2:00 "That one holds a good wish," she says, her voice like rustling leaves.2:07 She tells us that tonight, every lantern carries a wish up to the heavens.2:14 She points a finger toward the bright, full moon hanging above us like a giant pearl.2:22 "Do you know who lives up there?" she asks, her eyes twinkling.2:28 She tells us the story of a boy named Chú Cuội.2:32 He found a magical banyan tree whose leaves could heal any sickness.2:39 But he was a bit careless, and one day, the tree began to pull its roots from the ground, ready to float away into the sky.2:50 Chú Cuội grabbed the roots, trying to hold the tree down.2:56 But the tree was TOO strong.2:58 It pulled him up, up, up… all the way to the moon.3:03 And he’s still there, sitting under his magical banyan tree, looking down at us.3:11 Waiting.3:11 We look back at the lotus lantern.3:15 The old woman gently takes it and unfolds its paper petals, one by one.3:21 Inside is a small, unlit candle.3:24 "The lotus grows from the dark mud at the bottom of the river," she says softly.3:32 "But it pushes its way up, toward the sun, to become something beautiful." She hands it to you.3:41 It feels as delicate as a butterfly's wing.3:45 She strikes a match, and a small, brave flame appears, lighting your face with a warm glow.3:54 "Now," she says.3:55 "Make your wish.3:57 Send your light to Chú Cuội, so he isn't lonely." We carry our glowing flower to the river's edge.4:06 You kneel down, your hands cupping the lantern, protecting its precious flame from the breeze.4:15 You place it carefully on the water.4:18 It joins the river of floating stars, a constellation of wishes drifting slowly toward the sea.4:27 Your light bobs and dances in the darkness.4:31 It was just a piece of paper and a tiny flame.4:36 But now, it's something MORE.4:38 It's a story.4:39 It's a hope.4:41 Remember the bright woven blankets of the alpacas in Peru?4:46 The flash of brilliant color in the festival dance?4:51 This is Vietnam's light.4:53 It's quieter.4:54 Softer.4:55 A single flicker of hope in the dark.4:59 Some lights in the world are for celebrating loud and proud.5:04 And some… some are for finding your way home.5:08 As our little lotus drifts away, we know its light is now a part of us, too.5:16 A tiny star we can carry in our hearts, wherever we go.5:21 Always.
