She stood still, letting the cool breeze caress her skin, carrying with it the faint scent from the marigold garden on the porch.

She stood hesitantly before her mother-in-law's portrait, her heart calm, like the times she faced her mother-in-law when she was alive, she always felt peaceful, not arousing any inhibitions, as her friends had shared. "How can there be such a peaceful mother-in-law and daughter-in-law?" - did that peace become different? She did not know. But in the eyes of her friends, being divorced and still having an affair with her mother-in-law was definitely different. The mother-in-law was the grandmother of the children, not a stranger that could easily pass each other by?

One day, while she was in another city on a business trip, her son called her, his voice trembling: "Something's wrong, Mom, come home!"

She returned on the next morning flight, but it was too late. Everyone said that she had gone peacefully, without spending a day in bed, without bothering anyone. But she still wished she could have come back sooner, to hold her thin hand with its prominent blue veins. Who knows, she might have felt warmer on her final journey.

***

Her daughter-in-law thought differently. Right after her grandmother's funeral, Ha went to the nail salon, painted her nails bright red, and dyed her hair blonde, Ha said to celebrate Tet. At that time, it was just the beginning of autumn.

The news that Ha went to get her nails done right after her grandmother's funeral spread quickly. They said she was a playboy with no feelings.

When she decided to move to Thu, she intended to bring her mother-in-law to live with her after her life stabilized, but she did not dare invite her to come along when she was just starting out. She stayed in her house, lonely and alone. Her son ended his marriage with her in joy, because he had a "second wife" for a long time. He seemed to be waiting for the procedure to be completed before he left. Her mother-in-law was silent and could not say a word to her son. She had been used to being quiet like that for many years.

Yet the day she heard the news that her sister was taking the child away, she sobbed. Her cry was also very light, fading into the night, mixed with the sound of the early crowing rooster.

In the morning, when she woke up, she did not go straight to the vegetable patch, but lingered on the steps. She understood her feelings, sat down next to her, gently held her hand: "I will go first, and when I am safe, I will come back to bring you up to us, okay, Mom?" She blinked slightly, as if agreeing.

The luggage she prepared was also very light, she did not want to leave any empty space in the house and in her heart. Life could not stop the emptiness that blew like a wind into every corner of her heart, she did not want to bring more sadness to her. The night before leaving, Hai suddenly sat down at her feet, while she was leisurely pouring a cup of tea for her after the meal. He said: "Let me stay with Grandma, okay, Mom!" She was so surprised. The most enthusiastic child on this journey, yet he made the decision to "change direction" so abruptly. But she thought it was reasonable. Wasn't she also worried about her grandmother being alone in the big house? Hai had just turned 18, he was healthy, knew how to help with farming and housework, and was affectionate and thoughtful. With Hai staying with Grandma, she felt more secure.

Hai got married, so she had a daughter-in-law. Ha was a city girl. On the wedding day, the neighbors gossiped: "With such long nails, will you be able to bathe your daughter in the future?"; "Hair is loose all day, and what about muddy farm work?"; "Wearing a tight skirt and high heels, when it rains, the muddy road will slip and fall, what a pity"... She ignored all the gossip about her city daughter-in-law. Only once did she call her grandson, the boy turned on the speakerphone, allowing her to hear the whole argument between her son and his wife.

Ha said to her husband in a harsh voice: “Always saying ‘Grandma, Grandma,’ to tell you the truth, my parents, I can’t even cook a decent meal, why do I have to cook for them every day? If you love them, then go into the kitchen and cook for them yourself.” Immediately after that, there was the sound of broken pieces hitting each other. The anger of the normally taciturn Hai made the child cry out in fear. The phone went dead amid the chaos of sounds.

She returned home the next morning. The person she wanted to see was not her children and grandchildren, but her grandmother. She wondered if her grandmother had heard the argument between her two grandchildren, if the words of her young and thoughtless granddaughter-in-law had hurt her.

She sat in her usual corner, sipping tea, her figure like a question mark in the light of the street lamp that had not yet been turned off. Seeing her, her eyes lit up with joy.

All day, she was busy with cooking and housekeeping. That night, she asked to sleep in the same bed with her. She lay against the wall, leaving her a large space. The mother and daughter still did not say anything. She slept until morning, and when she woke up, she saw her busy in the kitchen making a pot of tea for the whole family to drink. Hai said he was used to drinking her tea, without it it tasted bland. And every day she boiled tea for the whole day. She also remembered the gossip of the neighbors, that such a "traditional" man chose a modern wife, making it difficult to get along with.

She ignored all the news that the neighbors said about her daughter-in-law. After all, she had already stepped into her own house and become her own child, so she had to protect her first. If her child was naughty or thoughtless, she would slowly teach him later. She thought so, so this time she came back, intending to have a serious talk with her daughter-in-law, but when she woke up, she saw that Ha had already left a glass of honey and ginger water for her husband. Last night, Hai met his school friends again, drank too much and got completely drunk. She suddenly stopped, thinking that Ha was just a child, but she was really smart and devoted to Hai. That's it, what more could she ask for? In this life, each person just needs to do their part well, that's enough.

***

She died when autumn had just begun. The fallen leaves, without her sweeping them every morning, were scattered like a carpet on the side of the house.

One morning, Ha's 3-year-old son suddenly asked, "Where did grandma go, mom?" When he toddled down to the kitchen, he didn't see his grandmother give him the hot, freshly boiled egg or the piece of liver she boiled after her morning market visit.

Hearing her child ask, Ha felt weak, hugged her child and pointed to the floating clouds: "Grandma is up there!" That day, Ha called her sister. She called without any content. Usually, Ha only called her sister when she had something to do. Her sister gently asked if there was anything at home. Ha said: "Nothing", then hesitated: "I came back from the market, on the Ngang River, I saw people planting marigolds, Mom". She remembered the marigold garden that her grandmother used to plant every Tet holiday.

She showed Ha where her grandmother kept the marigold seeds. After each marigold season, her grandmother picked the old flowers, collected the seeds, dried them, and put them in a cloth bag to store away, to sow the next year. This year, her marigold plot was dry and barren.

Ha followed her mother-in-law’s instructions and found her bag of seeds in the same place. She soaked them in warm water and then dug the soil as the late autumn winds rustled the leaves of the trees behind the house. In late winter, the marigolds emerged from the ground and sprouted healthily. Everyone who passed by looked at Ha’s marigold garden and pointed: “The flowers were planted so late, how can they bloom in time for Tet?”

It is true that when spring comes, when all the flowers are in full bloom, Ha's marigold garden will produce its first buds. Ha searches online for information on how to care for flowers. They say that if you want the flowers to bloom quickly, you have to water them regularly. On sunny days, the plants absorb water very quickly. Ha has to water them regularly every morning and afternoon. Ha no longer wears flowing dresses, she changes into her home clothes. The outfit her mother-in-law made for her right after the wedding, Ha opens it, and sees that it is very country-style: camouflage fabric, the pants are not too short, not too long, just past the knees. She almost wants to throw them in the trash, but luckily she only puts them in the bottom of the drawer. During the days she takes care of the flowers, Ha only wears the "lucky outfit" that her mother-in-law made for her. One time, Ha took a selfie with the flower garden, she recognized the outfit, and smiled slightly.

One morning in late spring, Ha sent her mother a photo she had just taken of a garden of marigolds, golden in the early morning sunlight. She touched the screen, feeling the soft, cool petals on her fingers. In that space, she imagined her grandmother bending over every morning.

She returned when the marigold garden was in full bloom. Spring had passed, but it didn't matter because there were many beautiful springs ahead.

La Thi Anh Huong