(BGDT)- Mrs. Nhi staggered and almost fell in the middle of the yard when the neighbor informed her that Tu, her son, had been arrested by the police for gambling. Luckily, at that moment, Sang, her grandson, Tu's son, ran from somewhere and held her up with both hands.
Mrs. Nhi slowly sat down on the steps, her eyes filled with tears. Her thin face, high cheekbones, and wrinkled skin looked pitiful. Seeing her grandmother crying, Sang lifted the hem of his shirt to wipe her tears. Mrs. Nhi hugged her grandchild, her throat choked with bitterness, unable to speak.
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Illustration: THE SAGE. |
It has been 3 years since Tu went to jail for gambling, Mrs. Nhi's hair has more silver strands. Her back, which used to be curved like a boat, now looks like a lonely question mark in the storms of life. Her hands are more calloused, her feet are more cracked. Mrs. Nhi still quietly cherishes every bit of love, taking care of her little grandchild on behalf of her children.
Mrs. Nhi's youth was not as beautiful as that of her peers. While her friends were getting married one after another, she was still single. Because of her "high cheekbones", every family and every person refused to accept her as their daughter-in-law. Luckily, happiness finally smiled on her, letting her meet the man of her life when she was middle-aged. Mr. Hoat was the same age as her at that time. When he met Mrs. Nhi, he truly loved her. Because of his sincere love, he disobeyed his parents, voluntarily registered his marriage with her, and the couple packed up and left their hometown forever.
After 10 years away from home, one day, the villagers saw Mrs. Nhi bringing a child of about 9 years old back to the village, who looked exactly like Mr. Hoat. But Mr. Hoat was nowhere to be seen. They only saw Mrs. Nhi holding a tightly wrapped box in her arms. When asked, they learned that Mr. Hoat fell off a scaffolding and died while working as a construction worker at a construction site. The box Mrs. Nhi was holding was her husband's ashes.
Over the years, Mrs. Nhi has always been tormented, regretful and tormented herself because she thought she was the cause of her husband's death. She told herself that if Mr. Hoat had not loved her and had not married her, perhaps he would not have died, perhaps she would not have had to carry the title of "husband killer" until now. Since her husband died, Mrs. Nhi never thought of remarrying. She stayed single, taking her husband's place to raise her children.
Remembering her husband's last words before he passed away, that he wanted to return to the place where he was born. Then, when he was still alive, Mr. Hoat had told her many times that if he passed away before her, she and her children should return to their hometown to live. Because there was no place like home. Mrs. Nhi arranged everything and the two of them took him back to his hometown. Mr. Hoat's parents had passed away a long time ago.
When relatives heard the news, they came to scold and taunt her. They brought Mr. Hoat's ashes home to bury and burn incense. They acknowledged Tu as their own flesh and blood, but they were determined not to accept her as their daughter-in-law. Mrs. Nhi silently accepted. As long as Tu was recognized, she would be satisfied. As for her, she was not married by her husband's family. She did not feel sad about that. Instead, she took her child's joy as her own joy, accepting the loss to take care of her child.
After finishing 12th grade, Tu applied for a job at a stone art workshop at the end of the village. Tu told Mrs. Nhi that he wanted to stay close to her to take care of her, make up for it, and show filial piety to her. Mrs. Nhi felt relieved when she heard what her son said.
At first, Tu worked hard. He sent his monthly salary home to his mother to help him make ends meet. A few years later, Tu got married. His wife also worked at the same stone factory as him. She was a good-natured person, so Mrs. Nhi was very pleased. The two got to know each other and fell in love for about two years before becoming husband and wife. When his daughter-in-law gave birth to a son, Sang, Mrs. Nhi was very reassured to see that her son was working harder and taking care of his family. However, life has many turns, and not all of them are as good as we wish.
Drawn in by bad friends, Tu was gullible and soon fell into gambling. Tu quit his job at the stone factory, all day long he just gathered around to eat, sit around, and gamble. Mrs. Nhi advised him but Tu ignored her. When his wife tried to stop him, Tu cursed and beat her up, making her want to run away with her child many times. Mrs. Nhi loved her daughter-in-law and was angry with her son, so every night, she took a flashlight and went around the village looking for her son.
However, once gambling has become ingrained in one's blood, it is difficult for one to give it up. All the capital and savings in the house followed Tu out one by one. When he ran out of money to gamble and drink, Tu forced his wife to give him all the money she had saved to raise the children. His wife refused, so Tu smashed things, punched his wife, and then left to borrow money from this person and that person to satisfy his passion. Just like that... Tu slid into the dark mud that he had created himself. Every day, two or three groups of people came to his house to demand that Mrs. Nhi pay her debt.
Unable to influence her son, Mrs. Nhi reluctantly accepted to let her daughter-in-law go abroad to work. Partly because she did not want her daughter-in-law to suffer further abuse from her son, and partly because her family was in difficult circumstances and did not know how to pay off the debt of hundreds of millions of dong.
The daughter-in-law said that she would go there to work and send money back to her mother-in-law every month so that she could take care of little Sang and gradually pay off her husband's debt. With tears streaming down her face, she kissed her sleeping son on the forehead and cheeks and said goodbye to him. She held her mother-in-law's hand and told her everything, then ran away in the dark night. Mrs. Nhi stood by the door, absent-mindedly watching her daughter-in-law's figure, feeling guilty, heartbroken, tormented, and tormented by her conscience.
Since his wife left home, Tu has fallen deeper into vices. Little Sang, when he was still very young, every time he saw his father stagger home drunk, muttering curses, he would be scared to death and run to his grandmother for protection. When he grew up a little, he told his grandmother:
- I don't hate dad. I just hate alcohol and gambling. Because of alcohol and gambling, dad became like that. I hope dad changes. I miss mom and hope she comes home soon.
She hugged her grandson and comforted him. The more she loved him, the angrier she became at her son. She felt guilty towards Mr. Hoat for not being able to raise him properly. She felt helpless in the current situation.
The day Tu was arrested and sent to prison, Mrs. Nhi was extremely heartbroken. But thinking back, she thought, it would be better to let Tu go to prison, pay for his wrongdoings, who knows, maybe later, he will reform and change.
During the years Tu was in prison, Mrs. Nhi and little boy Sang still came to visit him regularly. She told Tu that every time her daughter-in-law called home, she would ask about her husband's health. The money Tu owed people, over the past few years, the daughter-in-law had saved up and paid almost all of it. Sang hoped his father would come home soon, because his classmates always teased him because his father was in prison. Tu looked at his son and then at his poor old mother, and he couldn't help but feel regretful. Hearing his son say that his grandmother was often tired these days, Tu looked closely at his mother. On the outside, she always smiled and encouraged Tu, but in her eyes there was always a faint sadness. When he sat in the four walls of prison, he realized the boundless love his mother had for him, the care and sacrifice his wife had made for him. And most of all, how much his son needed him. Yet he had the heart to destroy that sacred thing just because of alcohol and gambling. Questioning himself, Tu told himself that he would be determined to reform, determined to rebuild his life.
Every time he had no friends to play with, Sang would look for his grandmother and beg her to tell him about his mother. Every day, seeing his friends whose mothers came to pick them up from school, and their mothers buying them ice cream, guava, and cakes, Sang wished he had his mother by his side. His grandmother had told him that his mother worked far away abroad and sent money home every month for his grandmother to take care of him. She also advised Sang to be good and his mother would come back soon. On summer nights, the two of them would spread out a mat in the middle of the yard and she would whisper to Sang about all sorts of things.
She told of the love of Sang's parents in the past, of the happy moment when the whole family was about to welcome Sang into the world. She recalled happy memories when Sang's father was not yet addicted to alcohol or gambling, when Sang's mother was still at home... She comforted Sang that one day Sang's family would be reunited. Sang's mother would buy him ice cream, take him to school, and his father would teach him how to catch fish, swim, and fly kites. Sang smiled happily, nodded slightly, and leaned against her. It was the wonderful things she told him that helped Sang slowly fall into a deep sleep.
Then Mrs. Nhi's daughter-in-law also returned after more than three years of working abroad. Little Sang was happy to see his mother again. He clung to her like glue. He held her hand tightly and begged:
- Don't go far away, Mom!
Feeling sorry for her daughter-in-law who had worked hard for many years in a foreign land, now witnessing the mother and daughter happily together, Mrs. Nhi could not contain her emotions.
There were still a few months left before his 5th year in prison, but Tu was granted early amnesty because of his good behavior. Tu returned home but did not tell his mother, wife and children. Standing outside the alley looking in, Tu saw his wife busily washing clothes by the well, and saw his son and old mother sitting picking vegetables on the porch. Suddenly, the corners of Tu's eyes stung. Tears of late repentance rolled down his cheeks. After a moment of hesitation, Tu mustered up all his courage and walked into the familiar alley.
Seeing her son, Mrs. Nhi ran to hug him. Sang ran to his father's arms and cried.
When his wife saw Tu again, she remained silent, not saying anything, just looking at him with tolerance, generosity, and forgiveness. The three generations of the small family stood there hugging each other, tears welling up in their eyes.
At the family dinner to welcome her son back, Mrs. Nhi felt happy. Looking at each loving face, Mrs. Nhi's heart, after months of sadness, was now bustling again. As people say, where there is love, there is a happy family. Mrs. Nhi's happiness is just that simple.
Short story by Xanh Nguyen
(BGDT) - Minh had just stepped out of the car when a crowd of motorbike taxi drivers and taxi drivers surrounded her, inviting her to ride… There was a guy who was quick-witted and chatty:
(BGDT)- Every afternoon, my sisters and I often looked up at the distant Sac Phat mountain covered in clouds all year round, waiting for a brown-robed figure to emerge from the dense white clouds. My sisters and I would rush out, bursting with joy, shouting happily: “Ah! Mom is back! Mom is back!... Mom is back!...”.
(BGDT) - Phien pushed the gate into the yard. The moonlight shone through the canopy of the Barringtonia acutangula tree, casting a wide beam of light onto the yard. At home, the father and son must be tired from drying this huge pile of rice. Luckily, Khanh had finished his exams so he could help his father.
(BGDT) - Finally, I arrived at Bai Cao, a place that many people consider strange in the most remote and poorest commune of the remote district of Thach An.
(BGDT) - "Let's go to the farm first, then go to Mr. Doi's house." Cuong told Ta - the person who went with him. "You from the province find it strange, but I'm very familiar with this place." Cuong had been to a few farms but just listening to Ta's brief talk on the way made him excited, the farm had a very suggestive name - King Mountain Farm.
Bac Giang, Simple happiness, love, family, short story, gambling, police, happy family, love
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