The wind blew the corrugated iron roofs and they shook intermittently. Fortunately, after the storm in 2009, the locals had taken the initiative to double-layer the roofs, so since then, they have not had to worry about the roofs blowing off during storms. However, the government still encouraged people to take precautions against storms and floods, limit going out, anchor their boats securely, and absolutely not go to sea. Every house had its doors and windows locked. The atmosphere was silent and stifling, as if before an important battle.
Illustration
A few days ago the island was packed with tourists, now it was deserted. The air seemed frozen in the cold sadness of the mist blowing in from the sea.
Small island. Winding road. Low houses close together. All huddled close together. Only the lighthouse still stands tall on the mountain top. From afar, it looks like the clouds are hanging low, stuck to the top of the tower, standing still, unable to fly, a sad, gray color.
Mr. Nam tried to roll the bulky wheel up the slope. Below, the waves were fiercely crashing against Bai Nho. He had been attached to the sea all his life, rolling on the crest of the waves for more than twenty years, so the ferocity of the sea could not scare him. However, it was about to rain again, he had to hurry home or his wife would run around looking for him again. This morning he had to sneak away from her. He missed the sea. He missed the salty air hitting his face. He missed the cutting wind. He missed the vastness that stretched out as far as the eye could see. The sea was his dream lover, he had seen it all his life but had never been able to possess it. So all his life he had been longing for the sea. A day without seeing the sea, a day without breathing in the salty air of the sea was a day he could not eat well, could not sleep well.
And it's not just him, all the men on this island are like that. Every son is born rolling on the sand, diving in the sea and longing to explore the sea on ships going out to sea. "Island men who don't know how to swim, dive, or cast nets should wear skirts and act like women." His father told his four sons that when he was five years old, they followed him on the boat every night even though Tu was only eight years old. His father's words were imprinted in his subconscious, urging his desire to ride the waves to grow. Then that desire became a reality when he was nine. At fifteen, he learned to dive, going deep into the ocean to find marine products.
Mother Sea opened her arms to welcome her son from the island into her bosom. She gave him many precious gifts: octopus as big as a hand, precious coconut and jackfruit mollusks, huge mantis shrimps with sharp claws that could cut off a finger with just one pinch, giant sea eels… Thanks to Mother Sea, his family was able to build a spacious house, each son who got married was given a private boat, after a few years of hard work with the wind and waves, he had a decent amount of capital, and with a little more borrowing, he was able to build a small house with full amenities. That is why men in this land love the sea like a dream lover and also love the sea because the livelihood of the whole family depends on the sea.
But in this world, everything has its own limit. The sea seems to be endless, but after a long time, it will eventually reach the shore. The sea products seem to be endless, but after only a dozen years, they have begun to run out. That's right, the population on the island is increasing day by day. More and more people from the mainland come to the island to live. They collect seafood and bring it ashore for distribution. With a stable source of purchase, fishermen boldly invest in building large boats to fish far from shore. Then, for some reason, fishermen began to apply many new measures to collect as much seafood as possible. They started using electric shock, electric nets to fish, and they didn't care about the breeding season, everyone just caught it. Dead baby fish floated on the surface of the sea. Fish and shrimp gradually decreased year by year, some species that no one bothered to catch in the past have now become rare, such as the giant catfish. In the past, you could just go to the sandbank to pick them up and boil them to eat, but now you have to dive deep into the sea to catch them one by one. The baby fish are bigger than a thumb and are caught. The price of breast gourd has increased due to consumer demand. Everyone is hunting to buy breast gourd soaked in wine because it is rumored that this wine is as nutritious as a panacea, curing all diseases, especially male impotence. If a family is lucky enough to hit a nest of breast gourd rumors, it is worse than winning the lottery. Therefore, fishermen compete to dive into the sea, not afraid of the depth, sometimes risking their lives to go down to sixty meters.
Thanks to his diving career, Mr. Nam is able to provide his wife and two sons with a comfortable life. However, he does not encourage his two children to follow the sea career. After many years of working in the profession, he knows how hard it is to live on the waves and sleep on the wind. He wants his two children to learn a stable job and have a normal life.
His dream would have come true if that fateful day had not happened. That day, his boat went out to sea to look for sea cucumbers. The captain ordered a large quantity, no matter the price. He heard that there was a rich man who wanted to buy a large quantity as a gift, so he did not hesitate to spend money, as long as he had the goods. If the captain had already set a price for the goods, he would still buy them, which was a great fortune. Everyone was excited, telling each other to try to make a profit and then rest for a month. That's why everyone decided to go far away from the familiar diving spot that day. If you win all or lose all, a man's will is not afraid of hardship. The brothers agreed that this time they would go down sixty meters or more to hunt for the sea urchins.
Who would have thought…
On that trip, five people dived into the sea, only three made it back to the boat. Of the three lucky ones, one was paralyzed in both legs, two were unharmed. The bodies of the two unlucky ones have never been found.
Every time he mentioned that memorable trip, Mr. Nam felt sad. The oxygen generator suddenly broke down when he was at a depth of more than thirty meters, almost to the bottom. He quickly cut his lead belt and tried to rise to the surface as quickly as possible. Although he was saved, his legs could never stand straight again. When he woke up in the hospital, seeing his wife's red eyes, he understood the situation he was facing. A man who had experienced the storms of life could not cry like a young man in his twenties. He gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, accepted his fate, and sighed:
- There's nothing sad about living by a profession and dying by a profession. How are the other brothers?
- Mr. Tri, Thung is not seen, I don't know if he has been rescued yet, but Hiep and Hai are lucky to be fine.
- So I'm still luckier than the other two. Well, don't be sad anymore, I'll be fine again in a few days or a month.
Mrs. Nam heard her husband say that and tried to hold back her tears. He was in pain and still comforted her, so how could she collapse? She tried to be strong, tried to become the pillar of the family instead of her husband. Her eldest son had to drop out of school even though he only had four more months to take the 12th grade graduation exam. He replaced his father in going to sea, but he did not risk diving and only fished with nets, "earning little and eating little, not wanting to get rich" he said. Even though he did not want his son to follow the sea career, Mr. Nam could only keep quiet and not dare to stop him. He was already grown up, had his own ambitions, his own way of doing things. He was now a disabled person who spent his life in a wheelchair, so he could not teach anyone.
All year long, he secretly cried when his wife and children were not at home. Mrs. Nam went to the port to help with the purchasing and sorting of seafood for people, earning daily wages, and taking care of her husband's medicine and food for the whole family. The youngest son had just started 10th grade, and was about to drop out, but his older brother threatened him: "Focus on studying, the whole family is only counting on you, you have to do something to make your parents proud, let me take care of the money, understand?". Tears eventually dried up. People had to get up to continue living. He practiced standing up and moving with crutches, taking care of meals for his wife and children. Then he raised a few chickens and a few pigs to supplement the economy. Mrs. Nam felt sorry for her husband and kept telling him, "Don't work too much or your legs will hurt." He brushed it off: "It's okay, I'm disabled but not useless, I can still do it."
Despite his determination, every morning, at dawn, at dawn when the fishing port began to bustle to welcome the returning boats and ships, his heart felt sad and lonely. He secretly rolled his bike to the port, stood watching from afar, smelling the fishy smell of the fish carried by the wind, listening to the sounds of talking and laughing, buying and selling, and feeling the sea breeze stinging his face. Every time like that, he remembered the life of a fisherman, remembered the deep dives at the bottom of the sea, the colorful coral reefs like a fairyland, the schools of fish swimming happily as if they were attending a ball... Tears suddenly rolled down his face. He hurriedly turned his bike around, hurriedly rolled home. Sad, pitiful.
Since his accident, Hai has become much more mature. He has taken over the burden of the whole family. The boy who was thought to only know books and letters is surprisingly quick-witted. He followed the engineers in the agricultural extension service to learn how to exploit aquatic products properly and exploit fishing grounds most effectively. Then he pooled capital with friends to raise seafood in cages and sell to tourists. The island is now known throughout the country for its wild beauty, and the government also has a policy of developing tourism, thanks to which the people's lives have been somewhat improved.
The smart and agile Hai opened an island tour service, taking care of the tour package from food, accommodation, sightseeing, photography... so he recovered the capital very quickly and started making a profit. He assigned his father the job of managing the motel, just sitting and checking the list of guests in the group, advising guests on places to visit on the island, introducing the history of the island... Every day, meeting many people from many parts of the country, being able to chat, talking about his hometown, the place where he was born, and being attached to it all his life, there is nothing more enjoyable.
Everyone praised the owner for his enthusiasm, charming way of speaking, and his knowledge of the island's history like a well-educated person. Hearing that, his nostrils flared with pride. In fact, he read the documents his son brought back and with his knowledge as a former fisherman who had been at sea for decades, along with his love for the sea, he introduced to the strangers the specialties that only this island had, the majestic beauty that nature had bestowed upon this place. Passionate. Enthusiastic. It was the conversations with the guests that helped him forget his sadness, forget the inferiority complex of a disabled person, see that his life was still useful, still had joy in life.
He was even happier when his youngest son passed the entrance exam to the Naval Academy. He said he would conquer the sea in his own way, not by exploiting seafood but by protecting the peace of his homeland's sea and islands. He would live a life of living on the waves like many island men, drifting on the waves to keep the country's waters safe, protecting offshore fishing grounds so that fishermen could fish with peace of mind. The sea had molded the once slender young man into a muscular soldier, his skin glowing with the sun.
This afternoon, standing in front of the sea, watching the fierce waves crashing against the rocks, looking at the gray, misty sea. Even though he knew that storms at sea were a thousand times more dangerous than on land, he still believed that his son from the island had the steadfastness and courage to carry out his duty as a marine soldier, protecting the peace of his homeland's sea and islands.
Rules
Live beautifully with total prizes up to 448 million VND
With the theme Loving Heart, Warm Hands, the 3rd Beautiful Life contest is an attractive playground for young content creators. By contributing works expressed through various forms such as articles, photos, videos ... with positive content, full of emotions and attractive, vivid presentation suitable for different platforms of Thanh Nien Newspaper.
Submission period: April 21 - October 31, 2023. In addition to the forms of memoirs, reports, notes, and short stories, this year the contest has expanded to include photos and videos on YouTube.
The 3rd Beautiful Living Contest of Thanh Nien Newspaper highlights community projects, volunteer journeys, good deeds of individuals, entrepreneurs, groups, companies, enterprises in society and especially young people in the current Gen Z generation, so there should be a separate contest category sponsored by ActionCOACH Vietnam. The appearance of guests who own works of art, literature, and young artists loved by young people also helps the theme of the contest spread strongly, creating sympathy among young people.
About the contest entries: Authors can participate in the form of memoirs, reports, notes, reflecting real stories, real events and must have accompanying character images. The article must express the content about a character/group that has taken beautiful, practical actions to help individuals/communities, spreading warm, humane stories, optimistic and positive living spirit. As for short stories, the content can be composed from real or fictional stories, characters, events... of beautiful living. The contest entries must be written in Vietnamese (or English for foreigners, the organizers will take care of the translation) no more than 1,600 words (short stories no more than 2,500 words).
About the prize: The contest has a total prize value of nearly 450 million VND.
In the category of articles, reports, and notes, there are: 1 first prize: worth 30,000,000 VND; 2 second prizes: each worth 15,000,000 VND; 3 third prizes: each worth 10,000,000 VND; 5 consolation prizes: each worth 3,000,000 VND.
1 prize for the article most loved by readers (including views and likes on Thanh Nien Online): worth 5,000,000 VND.
For the short story category: Prizes for authors with short stories participating in the contest: 1 first prize: worth 30,000,000 VND; 1 second prize: worth 20,000,000 VND; 2 third prizes: each worth 10,000,000 VND; 4 consolation prizes: each worth 5,000,000 VND.
The Organizing Committee also awarded 1 prize to the author with an article about entrepreneurs living beautifully: worth 10,000,000 VND and 1 prize to the author with an outstanding charity project of a group/collective/enterprise: worth 10,000,000 VND.
In particular, the organizing committee will select 5 honored characters voted by the organizing committee: award 30,000,000 VND/case; along with many other prizes.
Articles, photos and videos to participate in the contest, readers send to the address: [email protected] or by post (Only applicable for the Article and Short Story contest categories): Thanh Nien Newspaper Editorial Office: 268 - 270 Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Vo Thi Sau Ward, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City (clearly write on the envelope: Works participating in the 3rd LIVING BEAUTIFULLY contest - 2023). Detailed information and rules are posted on the Living Beautifully page of Thanh Nien Newspaper.
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