1. Kien's repair shop is located right at a crossroads on the national highway, exposed to the dust and scorching sun of Central Vietnam year-round. Most of his customers are long-distance truck drivers who drive at night and need their tires inflated, or people going to the market early in the morning who have flat tires. Kien is thirty-five years old, but he looks much older than his actual age. His hands are constantly covered in oil and grease, with thick calluses, and his fingernails always have a dark, unsightly border that can never be cleaned off.
Fifteen years ago, when his father died in a traffic accident, Kien was the pride of the whole village for graduating at the top of his class in engineering. But looking at his three younger siblings and his mother, who was constantly ill, Kien quietly tucked his university acceptance letter at the bottom of an old wooden chest. He went to the end of the alley, borrowed a set of tools, and put up a sign out of cardboard: "Motorcycle Repair."
Under the low, cramped tin roof, scorching hot in the summer , Kien painstakingly raised his three younger siblings, providing for their education with meager earnings. His two younger siblings graduated, established careers far away, and eventually started families. Only Tu, the youngest, most intelligent and ambitious, remained, and Kien devoted all his efforts to him. Tu finished university and then secured a master's scholarship in England. On the day Tu left for the airport, Kien stood hidden behind the glass doors of the international terminal, hesitant to approach and hug his sibling, fearing his faded clothes would embarrass Tu in front of his friends who had come to see him off.
Tu returned to Vietnam after two years, joining a foreign corporation. He had a refined demeanor, always impeccably dressed in a white shirt, and smelling strongly of cologne. And Tu was about to get married. His wife was the daughter of a wealthy family in the city.
2. Two weeks before the wedding, Tú rode her expensive scooter to the repair shop to find Kiên.
"Kien..." Tu began, his voice lowering amidst the roar of the passing trucks.
Kien looked up, wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, and smiled gently:
- Oh, you just got back? How are the wedding preparations going up there? Do you need any help?
Tú looked at his brother's dark, stained hands, swallowed hard, and hesitation was clearly visible on his handsome face:
- Yes, everything's settled, sir. The bride's family took care of everything from A to Z, and the event was held at a five-star hotel. The only thing is… the matter of the groom's family representative…
"Well, you're the eldest brother, so you'll be the one to officiate the ceremony, right?" Kien honestly replied.
Tú lowered his head.
- Kien... My wife's family are all intellectuals and big business owners. They pay close attention to details. The other day, I told them that my parents passed away early and I live with my older brother. But... I accidentally mentioned that you work as a technical manager at a factory down south. Now, if you go on stage to give a speech, I'm afraid... people will look at your hands and your blunt way of speaking... and they'll think our families aren't a good match.
The atmosphere suddenly became eerily silent. The creaking of the old ceiling fan overhead was clearly audible. Kien froze, the screwdriver in his hand dropping to the ground. He remained silent for a long time, then managed a wry smile, a forced smile that tried to convey relief:
- Ah... I understand! That's right, their family is so elegant, we're too provincial to go on stage and embarrass you. Okay, let me ask Uncle Hai to represent us. Uncle Hai is a middle school teacher, he's articulate, and he looks very dignified in a suit. That day, I'll just sit in the guest seats and wish you both well.
Tú breathed a sigh of relief, as if a thousand-pound weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He hastily pulled a thick envelope from his pocket:
- I'm sending you some money so you can get a new suit made. Please dress nicely for the event that day.
Kien pushed his hand away:
- Don't worry about money, I have plenty. You keep it and use it for the wedding.
3. The night before her wedding, Tú returned to her old house in the countryside to retrieve some personal documents left in the family's wooden chest – the chest that she and her siblings had called "Kiên's treasure chest" since childhood because it was always locked tight. Today, Kiên was away, busy fixing a broken-down car for a customer. The chest was unlocked, the key still loosely in the ignition.
Tú opened the chest. Inside, there was no valuable money. Only old wooden toys that Kiên had carved for the children when they were young, Tú's carefully laminated certificates of academic achievement, and at the bottom of the chest a worn-out leather-bound notebook, clipped with a yellowed newspaper from fifteen years ago.
Tú curiously opened the newspaper. It was the provincial education news page, and the headline caught Tú's eye: "The extraordinary perseverance of the poor top student from a scholarly land." The photo showed Kiên's youthful, radiant face fifteen years ago, his eyes full of ambition.
Tú was stunned. He had never heard anyone say that Kiên had once been the top student. He only remembered that year, Kiên said he didn't want to go to school anymore, preferring to become a car mechanic to earn money quickly.
Tú hurriedly opened his brother's notebook. Kiên's neat handwriting appeared, marking the dates:
“Date… Month… Year 2011: Today, receiving my father's death notice, it felt like the world was collapsing. My mother cried uncontrollably. Tú is too young to understand what it means to be an orphan. I have to be strong.”
“Date… Month… Year 2012: I received my acceptance letter to the Polytechnic University, I was the top student. The whole neighborhood came to congratulate me, my mother laughed until she cried. But tonight, Tú had a fever and convulsions. The doctor said he has severe kidney failure complications and needs long-term treatment, with very high costs. Where will the money come from now? If I go to school, who will support my three younger siblings? Who will save Tú? I can go back to school next year, or in the future. But my brother's life is only one. I'm sorry, Dad, I have to put my dream aside.”
“Date… Month… Year 2018: Today I gathered enough money to send to Tu for his first semester tuition. The shop was busy, and I stayed up until 2 AM disassembling the truck engine. My hands were burned by oil and grease, it hurt so much. But thinking about Tu sitting in a cool lecture hall, the pain disappeared. It doesn't matter if these hands are a little dirty and black, as long as the lives of these students are clean and pure…”
The pillars of the house seemed to shake before Tú's eyes. The words blurred. Tú knelt down beside the wooden chest, clutching her chest with both hands, sobbing uncontrollably.
It turned out that Kien didn't actually like the smell of dirty grease. It turned out that Tu's master's degree, the pristine white shirt he was wearing, and even his life… all were bought with the youth, blood, and shattered dreams of his older brother. Yet, Tu both criticized those hands and pushed the greatest man in his life into the shadows, all for a little false pride in front of his wealthy wife's family.
4. The wedding day. The magnificent five-star hotel was bathed in crystal chandeliers and filled with melodious music. Guests from both families, impeccably dressed, chatted and laughed merrily. Tú stood on the stage in a dapper black tuxedo, beside his beautiful wife. But his gaze wasn't directed at the elegant guests; instead, it constantly scanned the wedding room.
Finally, Tú saw Kiên. Kiên was wearing an old, oversized suit borrowed from Uncle Hai, standing discreetly behind the entrance door, near the row of seats reserved for the servants. He stood there, looking at his younger brother with eyes full of joy and pride, his rough hands clasped tightly together to hide his dark fingernails. Then came the ceremony, with the groom's representative giving a speech. The elegant MC took the microphone:
- Now, we respectfully invite the representative of the groom's family, the groom's uncle, to give a short speech.
Uncle Hai was about to stand up, but Tu suddenly stepped forward, gently taking the microphone from the MC's hand. He looked straight down to the back corner of the auditorium, his voice trembling but clear:
- Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen. Today, my family representative is not Uncle Hai. I would like to invite the most special person in my life to the stage. That is Kien, my eldest brother.
The whole hall buzzed with excitement. Tú's parents-in-law frowned in bew astonishment.
Tú stepped down from the stage, walking past hundreds of astonished eyes, and headed straight for the back of the auditorium. Tú stopped in front of Kiên, who was standing frozen, his face pale with shock.
"Tu... what are you doing? Go up there..." Kien whispered, his voice panicked, trying to back away.
Tú said nothing. He knelt down right in front of his brother, to the astonishment of all the wedding guests. Tú took Kiên's rough, calloused hands, stained black with oil, and pressed them against his cheek, tears streaming down his face:
- Kien... I'm sorry! These hands saved my life, raised me into the person I am today. Without your sacrifice, I wouldn't be who I am today. I was selfish, I was a terrible person for wanting to hide you away. Please forgive this sinful younger sister... Kien, please come on stage with me, represent me, okay?
Kien stood motionless. Tears welled up in the eyes of the thirty-five-year-old man, who had weathered so many storms in his life. He helped his younger brother to his feet, and used the hem of his vest to wipe away his tears.
- Look, Tú… it’s your happy day… don’t cry. I’m coming, I’m coming to be with you.
Tú held Kiên's hand tightly, leading him through the opulent hall. Kiên walked, his back slightly hunched, his dark hands standing out against the loose, borrowed suit fabric. But in that moment, no one in the hall laughed at him anymore. People saw in those hands the radiance of the greatest sacrifice – the radiance of deep familial love.
Outside the hotel window, a few drops of the first rain of the season began to fall. The dust on the highway outside would be washed away, just as all the mistakes and carelessness of youth can be healed, provided one realizes them in time and returns to the shelter of family.
Source: https://baotayninh.vn/bong-mat-tinh-tham-150366.html
