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| Illustration: Phan Nhan |
When he arrived at Buon Ma Thuot bus station, the sun was setting and the air was still hot. Hai took a motorbike taxi towards Highway 14, past Tay Nguyen University, he told the motorbike taxi driver to stop.
Getting off the car, Hai followed the red dirt road, on both sides of the coffee gardens were in bloom, the sweet fragrance permeating the air. In the distance, there was a girl wearing Ede brocade, standing under the shady trees along the road. As he got closer, he realized that it was H'Bia Blao, his lover. They both studied at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Agriculture and Forestry. They knew and got to know each other from the laboratory of the Faculty of Forestry. Today, he went to Buon Ma Thuot to attend a conference on upstream forest management. He conveniently visited his lover's house and introduced her to his future parents-in-law.
H'Bia took Hai home, a separate stilt house located in the middle of a shady garden, different from the Ede custom of living in long houses. The yellow varnished wooden house shone brightly in the middle of the garden, the interior was simply decorated, clean, airy but still retained the cultural essence of the Central Highlands people.
- Hello everyone, hello uncle, aunt and brothers and sisters.
Night fell, the whole family gathered around the dinner table under the yellow light, the atmosphere in the room became cozy. H' Bia's mother served rice and introduced.
- This is H'Bia's Ama (father), and I am her mother and siblings. Today, please have dinner with the family! Don't be a guest.
After dinner, the whole family went to the living room, watched TV, and sipped green tea with honey ginger candy. Homegrown products of the people in the Central Highlands.
- Hearing H'Bia say you are from Da Lat, I feel happy - because I am also from Da Lat - so I invite you to have a drink.
Yes, thank you.
Up to now, Hai had only listened to his aunt talking, while Mr. Y Duc - H'Bia's father sat there smiling happily. He was very touched by the sincere, simple, and hospitable greetings that were true to the nature of the ethnic people of the Central Highlands.
- Yes, where do you live in Da Lat? Are there many people in your family?
- H'Bia's maternal family lived at the foot of Lang Biang mountain range. My village was at kilometer 9, after liberation day it was renamed Phuoc Thanh residential group, Ward 7, Da Lat city.
H'Bia sat next to her mother, the girl with mixed Kinh and Ede bloodlines had facial features similar to her mother, a healthy, plump figure with the qualities of her father, further enhancing the strong, graceful beauty of the Central Highlands girl. The night air was cool, no longer as hot and stuffy as in the afternoon. Mr. Y Duc spoke now:
- What do your parents do? Where do they live now? Are there many siblings?
- Yes, my father was a special forces soldier in Da Lat city during the war. According to him, during the war, he often worked in the areas of Cam Ly, Da Thanh, Phuoc Thanh, and Suoi Vang. Now that he is old and weak, he has retired. My mother stays home and does gardening, growing vegetables and flowers.
- Oh! (H' Bia's mother's voice), my family used to be a base in that area - Speaking of this, her face became pensive, the corners of her eyes were filled with tears. The woman with gray hair was lost in thought about the past more than 50 years ago.
***
In 1970, Hien's family (H' Bia's mother) was a revolutionary base. Every night, the liberation brothers and uncles often came to the house to contact and connect with the bases inside the city. Hien was only 16 years old at that time, the age of puberty of a young girl. The uncles educated and assigned her tasks, such as making contact, delivering letters, and understanding the enemy's situation with the base families at kilometer 4, and at the same time inviting the core revolutionary bases to meet at her house. She recalled that the first time Uncle Nam assigned her a job, Hien felt worried, not knowing what would happen. Knowing the mood of the young girl, Uncle Nam held her hand, patted her shoulder and spoke softly:
- Hey! First of all, you have to stay calm, assess the situation and decide how to respond. If anything goes wrong, put the letter in your mouth immediately.
- Yes - Receiving the tiny piece of paper, like a matchstick, Hien's hand kept shaking.
One winter afternoon, Hien's mother organized a sponge cake making party. Unlike usual, today she made a lot, which surprised Hien.
- How many people are there in our family? Why do you bake so many cakes?
- This girl! You ask random questions. Girls grow up and learn to watch their mouths. Now, put the cakes in a plastic bag, tie it tightly to keep the aroma, then put it in a basket. We'll see what happens.
The air was chilly in the winter afternoon, and the rain was drizzling, the cold seeping into the body. Man's unit entered the hamlet tonight. Their main job was to support the political work team whenever they encountered the enemy. After the reconnaissance team reported "Quiet", they divided themselves to guard every corner of the house, banana bush, and cowshed. Because his unit was a special force unit, they were not allowed to enter people's houses or contact the base.
Hien carried the basket of cakes out of the house, she walked towards the cowshed in the dim night, black shadows with guns appeared scattered around the yard. Startled for a moment, she stopped. After a second of composure, thinking "You guys are back", Hien went forward to shake hands with each person, at the same time opened the basket of sponge cakes to invite them to eat. There was a short person, standing quietly next to the banana bush, it was dark so her face could not be seen clearly. She went forward to get acquainted, shook hands with that person, her hand was slender and small like a girl's. Hien thought this was a female liberation soldier.
- Please have some cake, are you cold? Being a female soldier must have a lot of hardships, right? After saying that, Hien moved closer to the liberation soldier, the liberation soldier gently pushed her away. Finally, Hien suddenly hugged and kissed the soldier to get rid of her hatred. Oh my god! The beard on her cheek was not a beard, making her cheeks burn - Oh, fall, put down the basket of cakes and ran into the house. Making the whole working team hold their stomachs, not daring to laugh, afraid that the sound of the enemy would detect and fire artillery immediately.
It was the first kiss of a young girl. That night she could not sleep, thinking to herself “I wonder what they think of me” and then she blamed herself “for being so naughty”.
Time passed a long time but the first kiss was still kept in her heart. She did not know the face of the soldier she kissed, and had never met him before so did not know his name.
***
Five years later, the country was liberated and the country was reunited. The Central Propaganda Department opened more branches in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang, organized many supplementary classes to improve the political and theoretical level of cadres from the grassroots up.
At school, Hien met Tam, a native of Da Lat. During the resistance war, Tam was a movement cadre, participating in mass mobilization work in the triangle area. In a strange land, the school had many students from the provinces gathered here to study. The two sisters, both from Da Lat, were cadres going to school, so they became closer to each other. On Sunday afternoons on the banks of the Han River, people saw two girls in black ao ba ba and floppy hats walking side by side. Taking advantage of their days off, the two sisters often invited each other to go to Con market to buy necessities. Hien suggested:
- Let's go eat dessert!
- Okay then.
Next to two glasses of fragrant iced green bean sweet soup, Ms. Tam spoke:
- I heard you used to work in the Northwest of Da Lat, right?
Yes! That's right.
- Do you know Mr. Man in the 860 special forces team, a small man with a goatee and a soft voice like a girl's?
Yes! I have heard of him but… have never seen him before.
Ms. Tam sat pensively watching people shopping on the weekend, and suddenly she recounted:
- There was a time when Mr. Man was transferred to work in the triangle area. She and Mr. Man were students who had escaped from the city, so they had many similar thoughts. After a while, when we became close, he showed me the diary he wrote in the Northwest of Da Lat city... In it, there was a passage about "The Girl and the Kiss". On a rainy night at the foot of Lang Biang mountain.
Speaking of this, Hien's body became hot, his face red, and he was sweating.
- What happened next?
- After the liberation day, he went to look for that girl, but unfortunately he did not know her name, nor her face. That night's kiss was a first memory of the boy's life, gradually fading into the past.
Hien leaned her head on Tam's shoulder, tears streaming down her face, wetting her shirt, sobbing in her breath:
- That girl is me!!!
***
Receiving a phone call from Tam, Hien immediately arranged her family affairs and went to the bus station to go to Da Lat, both to visit her family and to attend the martyrs' memorial service in Xuan Son village, Xuan Truong commune. Every year, on July 26, Xuan Son village usually holds a memorial service for the children from all over the country who fought and sacrificed on this land. The memorial service is an opportunity for children far from Da Lat to gather and chat after days of separation.
Man was chatting with Tam, saw Hien coming and quickly asked:
- Hi, when did you come back?
Yes yesterday.
They shook hands, Tam shouted - we have to hug and kiss! I wasn't shy before, but now I'm not shy anymore.
Everyone was surprised and looked at Hien. She quickly explained:
- Man and I are now in-laws. On the day of our engagement, we got to know and recognize each other.
Applause and congratulations to the two families of the in-laws for happiness and joy.
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