Windy season

- Why is the windy season so strange this year? Mom, remember to wear a warm coat when you go selling. Look how fierce Miss Ban is today.

Mom was sitting on the bed hugging her knees and laughing at the boy's comparison, then went to get the bottle of ginger wine under the corner of the table to massage her feet. As soon as she saw Mom's shadow, Ngan quickly lifted the mosquito net and walked over quietly. She reached for the bottle of ginger wine, poured it into her hand and massaged Mom's feet.

- Tomorrow after I finish taking vegetables to the market, I will stop by Mr. Giang to ask for some cactus to boil water for mom to soak her feet.

- Now go to school, don't be late again. If you keep going to school late, your conduct will drop.

- I have not had any classes yet. You are in so much pain that you cannot carry anything.

The late night suddenly became quiet, with only the sound of the wind whistling and my mother's soft sigh.

***

Ngan carried the last basket of vegetables down to his mother's stall and suddenly smiled.

- Why are you standing there laughing alone? - Uncle Mi asked Ngan.

- I feel so happy to have such a tall body so I can replace my mother in doing heavy work. In the future, I will be stronger and faster than Uncle Mi.

The little boy's joke made everyone in the early morning market laugh. Uncle Mi also just passed by and hit the little boy on the head for teasing him. But there seemed to be a bit of sadness in the smiles, especially when looking at the little boy Ngan who had just entered high school with his small body.

After unloading the goods, Ngan jumped on Uncle Mi's tricycle to hitchhike to school. The road from the market to school was familiar. Ngan no longer felt tired from waking up early like at first. Uncle Mi's strong figure blocked Ngan's vision, reminding her of a figure who once carried him on his shoulder, then that figure also disappeared behind the bamboo hedge in the village during a windy season, and has not returned yet. Ngan also couldn't remember clearly how long it had been since his father left his mother and the two brothers... The sound of the car's brakes interrupted his train of thought, he said goodbye to Uncle Mi, hurriedly walked into the school to start class.

***

Every day, Ngan wakes up at three in the morning to go cut vegetables with his mother. His mother is good at hand, the vegetable garden behind the house is lush enough to sell at the market, sometimes she also goes to get goods from the upper neighborhood to sell other types of vegetables and fruits. Around four thirty, he and his mother will push the vegetable cart to the market, set up the stalls from dawn in the small market near the river, and only after finishing everything will he go to school. Sometimes he will hitch a ride with his uncle Mi if he helps her unload fish, sometimes he will walk. After school, Ngan often stops by the market to have lunch with his mother and then help sell until the afternoon market closes, then they push the cart home together.

Today, just coming home, while Mom was busy cooking dinner in the kitchen, Ngan went to the pond in the backyard to catch fish. Suddenly remembering that in the jar behind the porch there were still a few tilapia and a bunch of grass carp that he had been given when he went to drain the pond in the next village, Ngan went back to the porch, quickly hooked the grass carp and ran to the end of the village. As soon as he reached the gate of Doctor Giang's house, he shouted:

- Uncle Giang, pack me some monkey bones. The windy season is coming, and my mother's legs are aching again.

- Come inside, I'll get you some more medicine to cook and drink. The monkey bones are already wrapped.

Ngan said yes and quickly went to the back of the house to put the fish in a basin of water. Doctor Giang's wife scooped up some hot rice cakes for the boy, put a piece of banana leaf on top to keep them from getting too hot, and put it in Ngan's hand to take home.

As soon as he got home and divided the rice cakes for his sister, Ngan put on a pot of water to boil leaves to soak his mother's feet, then put on a pot to boil medicine. While doing so, he told stories about school, the story sometimes interrupted by his sister's silly and incoherent words. When he finished, it was time for his mother to prepare dinner.

***

Ngan's father left during the windy season when he was still very young and his sister was still a baby. No one expected him to return during the windy season many years later. An expensive car stopped in front of the village gate and a man with a majestic appearance got out and walked to the house at the end of the village.

People in the neighborhood began to gather. Everyone recognized the familiar figure, though now it looked elegant and plump. Ngan's mother, still limping because of her arthritis, limped out. She did not answer when the man said he had returned to take Ngan to the city to study. Ngan was stunned when he briefly informed his mother, shook off his sister's hand out of curiosity and grabbed his hand, then said to her as if it were a matter of course:

- Pack your things quickly and come with me. What future do you have here?

- What about mom and me dad?

The man was silent. In response to Ngan was the voice of a woman ten years younger than him walking behind him: "Hurry up, honey, I don't like it here."

At first, Ngan was a little hesitant about whether to go with his father or not. Because if he changed his life, he might be able to help his mother and sister have a better future. But as soon as his father shook his hand off his sister's small hand, Ngan understood his decision.

- I don't want to go with you. I also hope you won't come here and make my mom and sister sad anymore.

Ngan's three brothers blurted out, "How rude. You're still arrogant when you're poor" and raised their hands to slap him. Uncle Mi and a few men in the neighborhood caught his raised arm:

- You were a husband and a father but you left without responsibility. What right do you have to hit your child now?

The small village suddenly became bustling, protecting the mother and her three children. The man angrily left. Ngan looked up at the man's figure disappearing behind the bamboo hedge like when he was a child. He also suddenly understood why that year when he knew his father was leaving, he did not hold him back.

A few rays of sunlight on the horizon began to cover the yard where the rice was being dried. Everyone dispersed to do their work, life returned to normal with happy laughter. Ngan saw that his parents and children were not "poor", but "rich" when the village extended its arms to protect them. The sun had returned, the warm rays began to rise, the season of unpredictable winds had probably come to an end.

Short story: LE HUA HUYEN TRAN

 

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/mua-gio-a184916.html