When Xuan first encountered the attack during the Vietnam War, she thought the sound of the rockets and artillery was caused by thunder. Xuan, along with many other children in her neighborhood would innocently look for bullet shells or chase after the leaflets of propaganda falling from the sky, not knowing the imminent danger surrounding them. One might think whoever lived in Vietnam during the war would constantly worry about death, but through the eyes of a child, the war and politics were irrelevant.