 |
| Illustration: MINH SON |
This year, Bong is in 5th grade, the last grade, so Mom is very worried. Mom is eager to ask and find out about Bong's transfer. Mom often complains to her friends about being a first-time mother, and being a single mom, having to figure out everything by herself, and there are so many things she doesn't know about raising a child by herself, so it's confusing. So right from the beginning of the school year, Mom called one acquaintance after another to ask. The house is small, Mom's voice is quite loud, so without having to listen, Bong can still hear and understand everything. Sometimes Mom wonders about the advantages of specialized schools, other times she worries about extra classes and extra points. Mom asks Bong which school she wants to study at, Nguyen An Ninh specialized school like Ngoc Han, Bong's close friend, or if she wants to study at Tran Phu near her grandparents' house, so that when Mom is away from home, there will be someone to help.
The other day, before going to bed, Mom checked Bong's books and notebooks in her bag. Mom saw Bong's English test score of 8.5. 8.5 is not too low, but it is still lower than Bong's previous score, and even lower than Mom's expected score. Bong kept the test in the test file, not showing it off and not daring to hide it from Mom. But when Mom saw the test, she immediately picked it up, examined it, and then started asking questions. Just like other mothers, Mom didn't care about the high or low score, she just wanted to know if Bong's score was lower than her classmates'. First, Mom asked:
- Was that test difficult, son?
- Yes, it's quite difficult.
- How many points did Linh Lan get? Linh Lan is also Bong's best friend.
- Linh Lan also got 8.5 points
- How many points did Van Anh get? Van Anh won the city's excellent English student award. Bong was a little upset.
- It's probably 10.
- How old is Duc Thang? Duc Thang is the guy sitting at the same table with Bong. Hearing this, Bong started to yawn and reluctantly answered:
- Duc Thang 9 points.
- Why didn't Thang go to extra English classes but got 9 points higher than me?
- How would I know? And mom, stop talking about other people's kids. I'm your kid, and even if they got 10 points, they're not your kids! Mom quickly turned around and hugged Bong's waist to comfort her.
- Come on, honey, don't be so rude! I'm sorry, but you see; all the friends I just asked have higher scores than you. Van Anh is famous for being a good student, I dare not say, but the other two...
There was no other way! Bong sighed and closed her eyes. After a few minutes, the pretend sleep turned into real sleep. But even if she really slept, Bong knew for sure that her mother was still awake beside her.
Not knowing whether it was because of age or because Mom called to ask friends and acquaintances for advice, not to mention Mom often interacted with articles about raising children online, Mom was still worried about Bong's EQ development, from the clumsiness of being 9 or 10 years old but Bong didn't know how to do housework, even bathing and washing her hair, Mom still had to bathe her. Mom also told Uncle Dien about the fact that at this age, Bong still showed no signs of puberty while her friend had a "daughter-in-law" last year, causing Bong to reluctantly retort to Mom: "Lately, Bong often argues with Mom, has strange thoughts, that is also a sign of puberty". Mom then laughed and said: "Yeah, yeah, that's possible".
This afternoon, when she saw Bong lying on the couch watching movies on the iPad, her mother immediately ordered:
- Take your eyes off the iPad and go upstairs to get something for me. Bong quickly took the thing out and left it on the chair, then picked up the iPad to continue watching the unfinished movie. Mom saw that and got annoyed, reminding:
- Other people's children know how to fold clothes, iron, wash dishes, and sweep the house without waiting for their mother to ask them, but you spend all day surfing the web and watching TV.
Bong put down the iPad and started folding clothes, but inside she was very angry: "Always someone else's child!"
In the evening, mother called Bong to take a bath. Bong went into the room, locked the door, and said loudly:
- Let me bathe myself. Otherwise, you will complain that I am "someone else's child".
- Oh, then don't other people's children your age know how to bathe and clean themselves? You don't realize the seriousness of the problem so you tease me even more.
- If you care about other people's children like that, then go find them and bathe them. I can take care of myself.
At mealtime, Mom took the fish out to feed Bong rice, Bong shook her head and pushed it away:
- Okay, I will take care of myself, you go and remove the fish for "other people's children" to eat. Otherwise, you will complain that other people's children eat a lot of fish, that's why they are smart. I'm not surprised! Mom looked at Bong with wide eyes, both angry and amused, but "God avoids food", so she kept quiet, focused on eating, told herself not to be reckless and told herself to reduce the sensitive phrase "other people's children". But somehow, after eating, Mom forgot that Bong was on strike and reminded Bong to clean the table, so Bong's anger flared up again:
- Yes, I know other people's children can clean the table better than me. Mom, tell other people's children to do it!
- Hey, why are you talking like that? Bong turned away, her voice filled with tears:
- I know I'm clumsy and incompetent, but aren't I your biological child that you keep comparing me with everyone else?!
Mom was stunned. She never thought that those careless words would make Bong so sad. Mom quickly walked over, intending to hug Bong and apologize, but Bong got angry, pouted and went straight to her room.
Mom washed the dishes, cleaned, wiped the table, and arranged the chairs, not daring to ask Bong to do anything. The quiet, heavy atmosphere made Bong a little scared. Honestly, Bong just wanted her mother to stop nagging and comparing her to her friends, but maybe she was going too far. Mom must be very sad, otherwise why would she have been silent for so long. Reading books and watching TikTok a lot, Bong knew. Comparing her child with other people's children is a bad habit that every mother has, not just her mother, but knowing is one thing, keeping herself from getting angry when being compared is another. Always "other people's children", "other people's children". How can she become someone else's child? Bong sighed, then sat at the table and took out her book to study.
Late at night, while Bong was still sitting at the table finishing her math review, her mother opened the door and walked in. She gently walked over and hugged Bong's shoulder:
- Have you finished studying? Was the lesson difficult? Do you need mom's help? Bong covered her mouth with her hand and yawned:
- I'm done, you gave me so many questions... After answering, Bong remembered and added with a smile:
- You have to study hard to be someone else's child, so you should go to sleep first, Mom! Mom gently hugged Bong:
- Come on, little girl. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you sad. Actually, I just wanted you to try harder. But now I understand, you are my child. You are the only one and I love you because you are you, my Bong, not Van Anh or Duc Thang. From now on, I will definitely never mention the phrase "other people's child" to scold Bong again. Now, put your books away. Let's go to bed!
Bong also hugged her mother tightly, kissed her on the cheek, and happily said:
- Yes, thank goodness! So from now on I won't have to meet that annoying "other people's child" anymore hihi!
Short story by BUI DE YEN
Source: https://baobariavungtau.com.vn/van-hoa-nghe-thuat/202506/con-nha-nguoi-ta-1045228/
Comment (0)