The veteran's grandson

Since Mr. Linh brought little Phat home, many people thought that he was old and had a bad temper, and suddenly made himself busy by adopting a child as his grandson. As for the children in the house, they sometimes couldn't help but sigh. It's not like he didn't have any grandchildren, they had six grandchildren. However, no matter what anyone said or how they expressed their attitudes, he still firmly declared that this was his decision. He raised Phat with his pension, without taking any money from anyone.

To be honest, people reacted because his decision was so sudden. He was a veteran. After the country was unified and independent, he got married and continued working in the village where he was born until he retired, which was also the year his wife died of illness. He had three children and six grandchildren. His children all went to university and then chose to stay in the city to work and start families. The grandchildren were familiar with the city, and when they returned to the village for a few days, they complained of sadness. He still lived in the house in the countryside, now with electricity, roads, schools and stations, and was surrounded by neighbors and fellow veterans.

A day after the trip to visit his comrades, Mr. Linh returned home, this time with Phat. The boy was the grandson of his comrade who fought with him in the past. Phat's parents had died many years ago in an accident, so Phat had been living with his grandfather since he was young. Recently, seeing his health gradually decline, his comrade called to entrust Phat to Mr. Linh. This trip to Mr. Linh's comrade's house was actually to send his friend back to the ground and welcome Phat.

Phat was a quiet boy, only speaking to Mr. Linh. I observed that because my house and Mr. Linh's house were separated by only a bamboo bush, fenced off by dry bamboo branches. When my grandmother found out that Mr. Linh had adopted Phat, she asked me to go over and make friends with him, to take Phat out to play because she was afraid that the boy would be sad without friends when he came here. But I saw Phat was always quiet, with a cold face, so I hesitated. Only when Mr. Linh came back from the neighborhood or the market, did Phat show a bit of his childishness, skipping from the porch to hug him. I don't know why, but at that moment, I saw a smile in both of our eyes. My impression of Phat from then on was no longer too distant.

One night, I went out to catch fireflies and shoot frogs late at night with the kids in the village. When I was walking home, I saw Mr. Linh sitting on the porch. He beckoned me into the yard and whispered, "Next time you go out, can you take Phat along?" I said, "My grandma asked me to do the same, but I don't know if Phat will accept because his face is always cold." He whispered, "If you ask him, Phat will go right away. The little boy is still scared because all his relatives have died. If you ask him to go out, he must be very happy."

So over the summer, Phat and I gradually became close friends after playing all kinds of fun games together in the countryside. Then came the day Phat started school and went to the same class as me. From then on, every day I saw Mr. Linh wearing an old soldier's shirt, taking his grandson to school on his bicycle. With each turn of the wheel on the early morning dike, the smiles on both of our faces never stopped. When Phat entered high school, his father bought him a new bicycle, but Phat still asked him to take him to school. I "criticized" my friend: "You're old, how can you carry such a tall and lanky grandson to school?"

Phat just smiled and said nothing. It was only after I left for school early that I noticed that every morning Mr. Linh was restless and called out to Phat: "Let me take you to school". It turned out that the habit of taking Phat to school every morning was his joy. Phat understood and always let him take the bike out, but when they reached the dike, he fought to ride his bike to take him: "So you're still taking me to school". I really admired my friend's thoughtfulness.

Suddenly, after finishing high school, Phat received a scholarship to study in the West. Phat thought hard about whether to go or not. Mr. Linh did not say anything, stayed up all night, and the next day insisted: "Go to school, become successful, then come back." Phat silently held his hand.
The day Phat got on the bus to the city to fly to that faraway place, my grandfather and I went to the beginning of the dike to see him off. Phat went to school far away, and every morning and evening he asked me to come over to his house to check on him, to see if he was well and had eaten well. His children and grandchildren, seeing that Phat was no longer at home, tried several times to persuade him to move to the city to live, but he refused to listen. He told me: "You stay here so Phat has a place to return to. If he goes to the city, where will he find a place to go?"

Several years of studying passed, and Phat found a good job. Neighbors speculated that Phat would not return because this place was not his hometown and he had no relatives left. But I knew that my friend would try his best to take care of Mr. Linh in the future.

And then came the day Phat returned. That day, I helped Mr. Linh onto the motorbike and drove slowly along the dike to pick up Phat. As soon as he got off the motorbike, Phat ran straight towards him. I saw again the image of the silent boy from the past who only skipped, his eyes sparkling with joy as he welcomed Mr. Linh back from the village and the market. Mr. Linh was very old, almost senile, but when he saw Phat, his eyes sparkled with joy and were as sharp as before. Phat hugged him: "Grandpa, I'm home."

The three of us laughed together on the windy dike.

Short story: LE HUA HUYEN TRAN

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/chau-cua-nguoi-cuu-chien-binh-a189695.html