(QBĐT) - In the midst of a busy life, sometimes I wonder: How many flower seasons have passed that I have not yet recognized, have not yet loved? Perhaps, in a certain land, a certain flower is still waiting for me to find, leaving once again, my heart filled with memories, youthful emotions and nameless nostalgia.
1. Spring has come, and the Dong Van stone plateau (Ha Giang province) is in full bloom again. In the bitter cold of late spring days, amidst the vast gray rocky mountains, the bright yellow mustard flowers, the pink late-season buckwheat flowers, and the pure white pear and plum bushes are still in full bloom, bringing brilliant colors to the land that seems to have only rocks and wind.
I have been to many lands but no place has moved me as much as Dong Van. Here, the flower season is not only a story of the land and sky but also a story of people - resilient people like the flowers blooming on the rocks, no matter how harsh the situation is, they still grow, take root and show their beauty in the land and sky.
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I remember the first time I set foot in Dong Van on a late spring day, when the mist was still lingering over the rolling mountains. From the road along the mountainside, I looked down at the brilliant yellow mustard flowers, nestled between the jagged rocks. The sight made me wonder: How could those tiny green buds survive on this barren land, where there were more rocks than soil, where rainwater could be blown away by just a strong wind?
People here say that plants and people in the rocky plateau, no matter how harsh it is, only need a little soil and water to take root and grow. For generations, the Mong, Dao, Lo Lo people... on the rocky plateau have been accustomed to a life of carefully gathering every handful of soil between the rocks to grow corn and sow cabbage, and then when the flowers bloom, the whole plateau seems to put on a bright coat, covering the aridity of the gray rocky mountains.
2. I remember one afternoon wandering along the small roads around the village, I came across a group of children playing on the hillside full of buckwheat flowers. Their faces were dirty but their eyes were bright. Their bare feet ran happily on the paths full of sharp rocks but no one complained. They picked each small flower, strung them into bracelets, and then laughed loudly in the afternoon sun. I suddenly thought: Is that the beauty of life here - a simple but intense beauty, a tenacious vitality like those flowers?
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In Dong Van, after every bitterly cold winter, flowers bloom brilliantly. The yellow mustard seeds must be sown when they are still freezing, then the soil must be mounded day by day, waiting for each drop of rain. Only when the weather warms up a little will the flowers bloom. Just like the people in this gray rocky land, living on the rocks and growing on the rocks.
Dong Van does not have fertile fields, only small corn fields nestled between the mountainsides. People have to fertilize with wood ash, dig holes in rocks to get soil to sow seeds, and then patiently wait for the sprouts to sprout from the rocks. They live a hard life but never give up. Like the fragile but still strong buckwheat flowers, the people here have never succumbed to the harsh nature. They still climb steep mountainsides every day to plant rice and corn. They still carefully save every drop of water from streams, still carry soil from one place to another to have more land to grow vegetables. And they still maintain an optimistic spirit, a love of life like the flowers blooming among the rocky plateau.
I left Dong Van on a misty morning, when the yellow mustard flowers were still trembling in the early morning wind. On the way back, I carried with me the image of small people amidst the vast grey rocks, but as resilient as the flowers blooming on the rocks. Spring will pass, the yellow mustard flowers will fall, the buckwheat flowers will fade with the sun and wind, but on this rocky plateau, vitality still exists. When the rainy season comes, people sow new seeds, take care of the mustard beds and corn fields, so that when spring comes, the flowers will bloom again, once again turning the grey rocky mountainsides yellow and pink.
3. My friend - Giang A Phon - was born in the sunny and windy land of Quang Binh but was destined to be in the northernmost region of Ha Giang. Because of love, he came and stayed, Phon chose a small hill for himself, built a homestay, and gave it a very affectionate name: Hoa Mountain. This season, Hoa Mountain looms among the vast peach and pear blossoms. The flowers are in full bloom, like pink and white clouds drifting on the hillside. When the early morning sunlight spreads through the branches, each fragile flower petal shimmers in the morning mist, creating a poetic scene that touches the heart.
In Hoa Mountain, each season has its own beauty, but spring is probably the most brilliant and romantic time. Not only peach blossoms and pear blossoms, but also rows of yellow mustard flowers spread out like a shimmering carpet at the foot of the hill. Perhaps, that is also the reason why Phởn - a child of the remote Central region - decided to stick with this place, to welcome the sunrise on the mountainside every day, to see the flowers bloom, and to hear the wind sing in the vastness.
On the day of parting, the hills of Ha Giang seemed to be lit up by tiny, fragile yet vibrant flower petals. I stood for a long time in the middle of that flower forest, to feel my smallness before nature, to feel my serenity amidst the hustle and bustle of youth. The flower season of the rocky plateau left an impression on me like a peaceful moment in the middle of a long journey. One day, when the flower season returns to the rocky plateau, I will return, stand among the hillsides filled with spring colors, listen to the singing wind, to once again feel the magical beauty of Ha Giang's land and sky.
Dieu Huong
Source: https://www.baoquangbinh.vn/van-hoa/202502/di-giua-mua-hoa-no-2224682/
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