(Sequel to the short story "New Friends and 17 Mango Trees" published in Binh Thuan Weekend Newspaper No. 7689 - September 27, 2024)
It was a rosy Sunday. The rising sun shone brightly across the village. The morning dew was like a blue silk strip gradually melting into the sky and earth. The wound had healed, Phuong's calf was healthy and whole. She came to my house and invited me:
“Mr. Phuong! Today is a beautiful day, let's go play on the happy dragon fruit hill.”
My heart was filled with joy and excitement at the name of the new land, so interesting and strangely attractive. Starlings were hopping from branch to branch on the cool canopy of mango, banana and jackfruit trees. Two little friends like starlings were walking hand in hand on the grassy path.
“Who named the land?” “Yes, it’s Tuan. He is a gardening artist with the “magic” to make the garden soil blossom with poetic ideas. Plants sing. Sun and rain dance. Sweet fruits laugh heartily.”
I stared at Phuong with wide eyes. My mind imagined her as the female writer from the countryside whom I admired so much. Phuong's forehead was as bright as a small sun. Her nose was pretty and ivory. Her round cheeks were sparkling. Her heart-shaped mouth had a rhythmic voice like a lullaby. Phuong walked quickly on the winding slope. Her hand held mine tightly. I strode after her, following her. My mouth hummed the lyrics of the song "Countryside Painting" by musician Van Phung:
“The sky is a vast blue. The clouds are pure white. The sunlight shines brightly on the golden rice fields. Flocks of birds are chirping and singing. They spread their wings and fly lightly over the branches…”.
The sign points in the direction of the arrow, across the cast iron bridge over the stream with a sign reading “Binh An Stream”. The gentle slope, the green grass along the roadside is soft for the footsteps of the two young friends. The beautiful garden hill sparkles in the pink morning sun. The white cotton clouds in the sky spread their shade and drifted slowly across the hill. A few stone benches placed in the shade of green trees halfway up the slope have the inscription:
"Please sit down and rest!"
Here, the farmers are friendly, protective, and maintain the security of the agricultural ecological environment. Separate trash baskets are labeled:
“Organic.” Or “Plastic Packaging.” The small sign hanging at the farm gate reads:
"Please pick and eat the delicious, sweet, ripe dragon fruit!"
Phuong and I happily and joyfully walked in to admire the garden of healthy dragon fruit trees with their canopies blooming and lined up neatly on the top of the hill. Phuong showed me how to skillfully lift the dragon fruit, gently twist it away from the branch with its rows of sharp thorns, peel the dragon fruit, the soft flesh with tiny seeds melted in my mouth. The green dragon fruit mixed with the red dragon fruit and the yellow dragon fruit tilted their heads, pricked up their ears, and opened their eyes wide to invite the young couple to enjoy the sweet, cool, refreshing flavor.
Dragon fruit products here meet 3 criteria: "Delicious. Clean. Beautiful". Engineer Tuan is a pioneer in proposing methods of agricultural security cultivation. He is a pioneer in the innovation and sustainable development of fruit growing. Farmers in the hill garden communicate in the group "Happiness Dragon Fruit Hill" on Facebook managed by Tri Nong group, exchange and practice new knowledge in agricultural production, and have achieved effective environmental protection benefits. Notably, the mobilization of 3 pesticide trading points in the village to work together.
Phuong told me that early spring morning, the highland village was filled with colorful flags and flowers. Banners hung with slogans:
“Green, clean, beautiful garden hill.
Dragon fruit is delicious, sweet and healthy.
The marching music played loudly to open the collection point for plastic shells and pesticide packaging. Agents were responsible for paying 500, 1,000 and 2,000 VND for small, medium and large packaging. Whoever sold 100 packages was honored as a “Volunteer Customer for Environmental Protection”. On the opening day, 5,599 plastic shells and packaging were purchased and destroyed according to proper techniques, a success beyond expectations. The environmental protection program for agricultural production was widely launched throughout the district, setting a model for rural areas to follow. Dien Quang Light Bulb Manufacturing Company also launched a program to buy back damaged and old dragon fruit garden light bulbs to preserve the ecological environment.
I told Phuong about my dream on the hill. The details of the dream were so vivid that they seemed real. I made friends with a green queen ant with crystal-clear silk wings. The golden ant wing pattern was sparkling. The left silk wing had the ant’s secret code symbol, the image of a pair of bright round eyes with moving legs. The right silk wing had the calligraphy of the two words “survival” like a flying dragon and dancing phoenix.
I was sitting reading a book on the fork of a mango tree, when suddenly I heard a group of ants chattering... chirping... at a low frequency. The flexible antennae of the ants rubbed against each other to transmit orders. The queen ant's antenna vibrated continuously. The electromagnetic pulse of the stratum sent a danger signal. The queen ant spread her wings and wanted to fly. But her belly was like a drum, so she couldn't fly. The ant's belly held eggs to preserve the species. The queen ant - who introduced herself as Quan - communicated with me:
“Mr. Phuong allowed the yellow ant clan to reside on the highest hill in the mango garden. If an emergency occurs and the mango garden is flooded, the ants will climb up the mango tree to build a nest. The ant clan would like to thank you.” I happily waved my hand:
“Uncle Quan, please spread the message widely calling on the ants to come and live in the mango garden, it is not a favor!” The ant queen vowed to reward the man:
“The yellow ant clan will try their best to capture and kill the destructive pests. Worker ants pollinate the mango flowers to produce many fruits. Male ants inject acid to beautify the mangoes.” I smiled and nodded in agreement.
The ants, led by scout ants, marched fearfully towards the mango orchard hill, lining up with their antennae raised and their enthusiasm to work in the new land. Humans and weaver ants lived in harmony, preventing the borers and leafhoppers from causing damage. The healthy, beautiful mango orchard stretched its green tower into the sky.
Phuong listened to me tell the story of the dream on the hill, she said: “Uncle Tuan told me that yellow ants are natural enemies that protect the mango season and many other fruit trees. In the Southwest, farmers raise yellow ants all over the garden so the fruit is clean, beautiful and delicious. Yellow ants are honored by farmers with the title “Brave pest killers”.
I continued my dream. The queen ant's antenna picked up the storm's frequency quite accurately. The ants were waiting anxiously for the queen to give the evacuation order. The unseasonable storm in the East Sea was moving southwest. The storm was forecast to hit the South Central Coast. Phuong's face was tense:
“Do you remember the yellow ant nest under the stream, near the Barringtonia acutangula tree?” The stream was the floodway of the Blue Lake on the mountain. The queen ant knew well the unpredictable danger of “First water. Second fire. Third bandits” threatening the survival of the species, and gave the order: “Rirr… rirr…! Urgent! Urgent!”
I saw with my own eyes the extraordinary action. The ants crossed the stream. The suicide ants jumped up to grab the reed grass. A powerful image of courage and sacrifice. One, two, three… many weak worker ants slipped and fell, drowning in the rushing flood water. The urgent rescue continued. The guard ants used all their strength to jump up and grab the grass. The ants' skinny legs held onto each other. I heard the ants shouting in unison: "Hi...go...! Hi...go...!". Immediately, a golden ant bridge was established on the reed grass. The guard ants escorted the queen ant across the stream, up to the high mound before the flood water level rose. I shook hands with Uncle Quan - the queen ant, congratulating her on escaping the pirates. Phuong breathed a sigh of relief.
The flood raged in the downstream area of the Green Lake. The Binh An stream was no longer peaceful! The spillway was releasing the flood. The dense forest of wild trees growing in the streambed prevented the floodwaters from flowing out to the river mouth. The flood was overwhelming. A large area of land became a sea of water. The low-lying agricultural land was swept away by the flood and had to be abandoned, with weeds growing everywhere. That was the reason the ants had to sadly leave their nests to find a place to live.
The dream on the hill kept repeating itself during the flood seasons. I was sad. She was sad. Uncle Tuan was sad too. The neighbors by the stream stayed awake all night listening to the heart-wrenching flood. Two houses in the mango garden had two late-night lights, looking at each other worriedly. The flood licked the bamboo bushes. The flood submerged the stream bank. The flood overflowed the mango garden. The flood was hovering over the porch. The flood rushed into the house. The neighbors called out to each other to move the furniture to higher ground. I helped my sister Phuong raise the bookshelf high, protecting valuables from being destroyed by the flood.
After the flood, the water receded. Tuan and everyone else investigated the current state of the stream. The thick growth of wild trees blocking the water flow was the cause of the flooding. Tuan and the farmers in the village consulted with a talented person who loved his homeland to carry out the task of clearing the obstructions under the stream.
The work was not difficult with the solidarity of everyone. In the dry season, the water stopped flowing. The new day was bright. The flag fluttered. Three initial cannon shots rang out. The troops marched out with heroic spirit. Bulldozers lined up, reaching out their iron arms to clear the wild forest and garbage under the stream, collecting piles, burning, and destroying them. The physical design widened the stream bed. After a week of hard work, the stream was more than a kilometer long, becoming an effective flood drainage route to the mouth of the big river.
Phuong and I follow the renovation work of Binh An stream every day. On the first day of the new year, starlings, bulbuls and larks sing together to welcome the stream back to its spring. The beautiful stream smiles, its youthful body returning to its original state, shyly and timidly hiding its pure and charming shape next to the green grass hill. The stream bed is wide and open, without any obstacles. The wind from the mountainous region blows over the gentle water, rippling a few leaves along the stream. The view is vast and far away. The green bamboo canopy holds the land firmly on both banks. The water is crystal clear, showing round green, white, purple and pink pebbles. Schools of fish with sparkling silver scales swim and play in the rippling water.
Binh An Stream shows off its fresh and beautiful appearance. All the creatures living by the stream happily welcome a peaceful life, no longer threatened by floods. Phuong and I hung hammocks and swayed, watching the stream forever without getting bored. Sleeping peacefully on the happy dragon fruit hill, I dreamed of Uncle Quan - the queen ant shaking my hand to say goodbye, leading the ant colony to move back to their nest, building and developing a peaceful, prosperous and happy rural society.
Source: https://baobinhthuan.com.vn/giac-mo-tren-doi-thanh-long-hanh-phuc-128074.html
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