Kien first met Lan when he was in training as a soldier. He and his battalion were stationed in the small hamlet where Lan’s family lived, and the men got to know their hosts fairly well. Lan was just a young girl at the time, but she remembers Kien when he returns for a visit after the war—he’s the only soldier to ever come back. Before he leaves again, she tells him that he’s welcome to come back whenever he wants: if he doesn’t find another way to live, they could be together and lead a peaceful existence on her family’s tranquil land.