The Canal Bank Gradually Disappears - Short story by My Huyen

Liu Ly stood by the fence surrounding the canal, the moonlight reflected off the two metro rails high above, shining down on the water. The scene of the night sky about to light up was strangely quiet. Strange because the alley always had noise coming from the other side of the canal. At this hour, the noise was still in the blanket, sleeping soundly. Liu Ly reached out to touch the vegetable beds from the canal bank, reaching up to the fence, green under the moonlight.

More than 10 years ago, when the neighbors around her did not take care of the canal banks, Luu Ly often cleaned up the floating trash that overflowed the banks. This was just a boarding house that she loved very much. Even on rainy days, water flooded into the house, kitchen utensils floated out onto the street, and trash from the street floated into the house. The green and red pots of latex floating around the house reminded Luu Ly of her childhood, making her remember the colorful handmade paper boats floating by the canal. Luu Ly's dreamy summer days were filled with the laughter of children who later went their separate ways to work in the city.

Bending down to pet Leo, the dog who was happily whining and begging his owner to run away, Luu Ly cleared her throat to calm Leo down and make him sit still. The new neighbor across the street had once beaten Leo for wandering around the neighborhood. Bending down low and then standing up suddenly made Luu Ly feel a sharp pain in her chest. Out of habit, she touched her right breast, but her hand didn't reach there because it was empty.

***

More than a year ago, the doctor announced that Luu Ly had breast cancer and needed early surgery. Two months later, her husband of three years moved out. They didn't argue much. When Luu Ly received the biopsy results from the hospital, he tried but couldn't find any words to comfort his wife. He was a man of few words, and had always listened to his wife. When he came home that night, he read the hospital's results, sighed, and threw it aside after an hour of pondering. His wife sat there sobbing, he threw back a sentence, opened the door, and went to the canal to think:

- Don't be so negative. If you're sick, just treat it. You won't die. The most important thing about your illness is your spirit. You have to be optimistic to get better.

Yet Liu Ly saw him move out because "we were not compatible". After five years of knowing each other, three years of marriage, he realized that "we were not compatible". Liu Ly and her husband planned to have a child the following year, but he left before Liu Ly had finished her last pack of birth control pills. Having never been a mother in her life, Liu Ly tried to cling to her belief in a miracle. That day has yet to come.

- I haven't had a baby yet. If I have surgery and radiation now, I won't be able to have a baby. Even if I go to the hospital to freeze my eggs, I still won't be able to get pregnant. I'm out of options! - Luu Ly sobbed and told her friend. They both cried because her friend didn't know how to help Luu Ly.

- I'm going to the hospital for surgery, I'm here, we'll get through it together.

Just hearing those words made it feel like someone was by her side in the hospital. Liu Li quietly entered the hospital alone. She arranged herself to go to the operating room. After the surgery was completed, she quietly completed the discharge procedures. Her friend still had the burden of a disabled husband and two small children, how could she bear to let her suffer any more. Liu Li wanted to call her husband, after all, they had not completed the divorce proceedings yet. But remembering that she had called him the day before, the phone message said "This subscriber is currently unreachable". She did not know if he had locked his phone or blocked her number, how could she have enough money to pay for their joint health insurance. Liu Li needed to pay for her insurance in full, her illness had consumed most of her savings. He knew that better than anyone.

***

The city developed, so the canal bank gradually became the lungs of the residential area. When Luu Ly first moved in, the stench of the canal wafted into the house with every gust of wind. In the hot summer, the air in the house was filled with the smell of the canal even though Luu Ly was closed all day. The government renovated it several times, and the stench has lessened a lot. In recent years, the canal bank has been given a new coat of paint. Every three months, a garbage-cleaning boat plops on the river in the early morning. Every time she turns over and hears the sound of the boat plop, Luu Ly smiles in her sleep.

Before getting married, Luu Ly was happy that "her life was like a renovated canal". During the rainy season, the residential area along the canal bank was less flooded. Neighbors also stopped dumping garbage into the river. Neighbors pooled money to pave the potholed alley with cement, and every house bought ornamental plants to plant in front of their doors. Her husband bought Luu Ly a mai chieu thuy tree. She no longer had to sweep the canal bank every time she came home from work. She took care of the mai tree and adopted a puppy, naming it Leo.

A few years ago, the news that the metro was about to start operating. Neighbors gathered to discuss, the house under the banyan tree had just been sold at a bargain price. In the morning, the land brokers came to drink coffee at the alley entrance, and approached the lady selling vermicelli soup and rice rolls to ask: "Is anyone in the alley selling a house? I have many customers asking. The price is good now, sell it now". After only a few months, everyone was familiar with real estate, the ladies selling breakfast in the alley naturally became land brokers, worrying about prices and forgetting to serve food to customers.

In just a few years, many luxurious three-story houses have sprung up in the alley. New people have moved in, old people have moved out. The canal bank is no longer a public garbage dump, new neighbors have bought seeds to plant. Purple water spinach flowers are mixed with yellow mustard flowers, the gourd and squash trellis that normally shade the hot afternoon sun is now heavy with dew at three in the morning.

Liu Ly was also about to move out, just waiting for the announcement of the demolition of the row of houses next to the canal before she had to move to a new house. The house she was renting was in the demolition zone. The landlady told Liu Ly: "All three houses in this alley are being demolished, you should find a new place to rent. But now it's hard to find a spacious, affordable place like my house." Liu Ly thought to herself, the affordable rent of the landlord ate up half of her income, rich people talk differently. It's better to move out, she often takes sick leave, not knowing how long her boss's kindness will last before letting her go. If she's unemployed, finding a place to rent for workers for one and a half million a month is enough. The tenants in the neighborhood are also gradually moving away.

Luu Ly was immersed in the movement of the morning glory flowers dotting the rows of vegetables that spilled out into the middle of the canal. The strong vitality of this vegetable always made her admire it. From the small rows that the neighbors picked bare near the roots, it has now expanded along the canal, about to reach the other side of the bank. "But no matter how strong it is, it will still end up in people's stomachs," her silent thoughts continued to flow. Yesterday morning, she heard the neighbor on the other bank confide: "When the morning glory grows over to my side, I don't have to go to the market. Morning glory has now become a common property in this embankment residential area. Any family that wants to eat it just needs to go to the canal to pick it." She also said that the other bank is imitating this bank to grow vegetables, with a green space overlooking the canal.

***

The wind blew from the other side of the canal, hitting Luu Ly hard when she was only wearing pajamas, numbing her chest that was always burning hot. Caressing the scars crisscrossing her chest, she wished she knew the quiet scene of the canal between late night and early morning. She probably wouldn't have to cry all night long this year. This quiet, lonely space was as familiar as when she was little. Her parents woke up early to go to the fields, not forgetting to remind the sleepy Luu Ly: "Sticky rice in the basket, remember to bring it to eat when you go to school." She heard her parents' footsteps gradually fading away in the quiet of the night. Now, insomnia often made Luu Ly irritable. The private hospital where she trusted to perform surgery on one breast had also lost a bit of her trust.

After the surgery, Luu Ly received a consultation from the health insurance company. The doctor did not need to cut off one side of her feminine symbol, they only needed to separate the tumor from the chest muscle. Despite Luu Ly's combative nature, who had won countless arguments, the hospital only indifferently issued a response notice: "Our hospital has fulfilled its responsibility and medical ethics in this surgery. We have applied the optimal treatment method for the patient. We hope the patient will continue to maintain her spirit to carry out the next procedures with us."

Liu Ly could not afford plastic surgery, so one of the breasts of the girl in her early 30s was covered with scars. Trying to put aside the thought of having to return to the hospital the following week for further treatment, she went to find a sense of peace, opened the door and walked out to the canal. The dew-laden flowers swayed in the wind. If only she were as light as a flower petal. Liu Ly was also a flower, she was also a flower. But the life of flowers and grass was so light.

***

The dark clouds gradually drifted away, revealing a layer of bright clouds in the sky. The sound of shops preparing for a new day excited Leo, who was sitting and dozing next to his owner. Looking up at Liu Ly begging, the dog ran out to the alley when his owner nodded. Leo was as eager and enthusiastic as Liu Ly on her first day in the city to study. The old bicycle followed her around the city. Every day, she ate only instant noodles and sticky rice, but the skinny girl had the strength to cycle from the university lecture hall in Thu Duc to Binh Thanh and District 3 to earn money to teach extra classes. At that age, she knew how to worry about her parents struggling to pay for her tuition and accommodation. Now that her parents were old, Liu Ly did not dare to tell stories about her illness, nor did she dare to tell stories about her husband.

Yesterday, Liu Ly's mother called:

- It's been a long time since you two visited your parents. What have you been doing? Are you busy? When are you not busy? Tell me. If the wife can't come home, the husband should come home and ask about his parents, right? Tell him to talk to me on the phone. I just called him, but does he still have a phone? Why doesn't he pick up? You two, I'm running out of things to say.

Liu Ly knew that her mother blamed her husband and her for not coming home to visit because she was afraid that her daughter would no longer care about her. Her parents knew that the pandemic had been going on for years, and that the economy was going down, so they told her not to send money home. The fields and gardens had been left unused for a long time because people were cutting them down and planting them according to the trend. Her parents were old and didn’t have time to change with people. This whole year, her hometown had a drought and saltwater intrusion, and her parents spent a lot of money buying fresh water but they didn’t tell her. When she read the newspaper, she didn’t dare call home to ask. Luckily, her father’s knee pain was gone and she didn’t have to spend money going to the hospital anymore. But I’ll probably have to tell my parents about my condition all the time, because if I die from cancer, they won’t be surprised.

Liu Ly called Leo back, it was already morning. The canal bank was shimmering in the early morning sunlight thanks to the natural green mist. There were people getting up early to exercise, the murmur of voices took away the peaceful scenery of the embankment. The canal bank woke up, bringing the bustling sound to the rare small corner of nature in the crowded, dusty city. Leo was excited about a morning that was gradually becoming bustling, suddenly screamed, and ran home.

Liu Li's husband was standing at the door, trying to calm the dog's excitement. He looked at her and bent down as she approached.

- I have to leave, I can't go home. I just borrowed some money, you take it. When I have more money, I'll send you more money for medical treatment...

Her husband shoved an envelope into Luu Ly's hand, not looking at her. She didn't say a word, unlike before, she always talked about work, the market, friends... He was silent like before, both of them were shy, but it was hard to let their thoughts come out of their mouths. After a year apart, the two of them had become strangers. They both looked down at their feet in Leo's surprised eyes. He stammered for a while before he could form words:

- I'm sorry for not fulfilling my responsibilities to you. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, my company has been losing money. When I left home, I closed the company. I went out to sell inventory, and I tried to hold on, not knowing how long. I didn't have the courage to endure so much pressure at once. I didn't have the courage to tell you that I was weak, even though I knew you were very sad about me. I hope you're stronger than me to fight the disease. Whenever you need me, just call me, I've turned my phone back on.

He took his bike to the canal bank and stood there for a while. The canal bank had become greener and more beautiful since the day he left. He regretted something as he stared at the squash trellis where Luu Ly had placed two bamboo chairs beside it. On Saturday evenings more than a year ago, he and his wife often sat there to enjoy the cool breeze. Suddenly, he hurriedly got on his bike and sped away.

Liu Ly tightly held the envelope of money her husband left behind, tears streaming down her face as she looked at his figure, she just wanted to say: "Thank you for having the courage to tell me the truth". Leo the dog also looked after his master until his car disappeared down the alley by the canal. She faintly heard the sound of the neighbor's TV "At the moment, the West is gradually entering the peak of the flood season. The life of the people in the fields is also gradually becoming more bustling...", Liu Ly reminded Leo: "Hurry up and go home so I can call grandma".

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/bo-kenh-dan-xa-truyen-ngan-cua-my-huyen-185241214192206799.htm