Thuy's Dream - Tay Ninh Online Newspaper

- My house is near a rubber plantation. In the afternoon, I have a day off from school and I enjoy playing under the rubber trees.

- So how do you go to school? Do your parents drive you a motorbike or do you ride your own bike?

- Let's walk! How can we ride a bike? From my house to class, we have to cross a grassy field, a stream, a graveyard, and another stream. To go to school early in the morning, we have to go in a group of seven or eight people so we won't be scared.

Thuy shivered. She could wade through streams and through fields, but it was too scary to cross graves. But this time, she was excited to hear that her family would move to a rubber plantation. Her father said that being a motorbike taxi driver was very hard work, with an irregular income. When she got to the plantation, both her parents would apply to work as rubber tappers. They said that a good rubber tapper would earn five to seven million a month, and they would also get a bonus at the end of the year.

My parents' work was very favorable. What my mother liked most was that the environment here was fresh, cool, and not dusty or polluted like in the city. One very important thing that adults did not anticipate was Thuy's education. Around the farm there was only one Suoi Ngan Primary School, and the road to school was exactly as Thinh had described. My father encouraged her:

- My daughter, try to finish this year. Next year, when you are in sixth grade, you will transfer to the secondary school next to the farm, very close.

Of course it would be like that, but Thuy had nine months to go through that terrifying journey. Just thinking about the huge grave lying by the roadside made her shiver. The thing she had been worrying about for so long finally came to pass. Today, Thuy shouldered her backpack of books and was standing in front of the house. Her father smiled and said:

- You guys are waiting!

Thuy held the backpack strap tightly and walked resolutely towards her friends. Thinh smiled friendly, his eyes seemed to want to lift the heavy backpack from his new friend's shoulders.

- Go!

The group walked and looked back, where Thuy and Thinh walked slowly.

- Hurry up! Or else we'll meet that crazy old man on the way to the tomb.

Thuy felt her legs shaking. Why was there a crazy old man here? Thinh was calm.

- It's okay! There's a crazy old man who sleeps in a cave and only wakes up at noon to beg for food. When I went to school, he was still sleeping soundly.

From that moment on, Thuy felt a little worried. After the dark dirt road running between two rubber patches, there was a long grass field. The sky here seemed clearer, high up there were still a few small stars, faintly visible in the early-rising clouds. The grass field had a lot of... grass, mostly clumps of foxtail grass, they jumped on both sides of the small path, playfully wiping the wet dew on the students' pants legs. Further away was a clump of American grass, tall and nodding sleepily. There were also a few patches of bushes growing densely, seemingly hiding a few purple flowers. Thuy accidentally grabbed Thinh's sleeve, and walked close to him. Suddenly, he was startled and screamed loudly, when the shadow of a strange, black animal flapped and flew up. His friends laughed loudly, and more black wings flapped and flew up.

- This girl is so shy! Just some partridges!

Thuy wanted to take off her sandals but did not dare to stop. The morning air was cool, and a few gusts of wind blew from the end of the meadow, making her shiver. The bushes were getting taller, the forest slowly stood up.

The stream appeared, crossing the path. The sound of water flowing was soft and gentle. When Thuy reached the shore, she saw that the stream was only a few meters narrow, the water was up to her shins. She was still fumbling with her wet socks when Thinh came to her side.

- Can you wade across? Or should I carry you?

Thuy's face was burning. Oh my god! This evil friend. He was planning to carry me on his back so the whole school would know this morning. Thuy covered her mouth and didn't say anything. She bent down to take off her socks, then followed everyone else by rolling up her pants and carefully wading across the stream. The cold water stung her thin skin. Her mouth suddenly hissed. So cold! After walking about half a kilometer out of the stream, the first few kids turned back and waved their hands to signal for silence. Thinh pulled Thuy faster, whispering.

- We're at the grave!

On the left side of the path, there were many large and small tombs, some as long as beds, some as wide and tall as roofs. Thinh said that the crazy old man often slept at night in the largest tomb of the mother of a rubber tycoon. His classmates passed by here and were once scared out of their wits. That day, they were all in high spirits, joking and laughing loudly. Suddenly, a man with shoulder-length hair, a mottled face, wearing only torn pants, came out of the tomb cave.

Seeing that man, everyone ran away, the girls cried loudly. The crazy man chased to the edge of the cave, then stopped, laughing heartily. From then on, every time Thinh and his friends went to school, they kept quiet and tiptoed. Hearing about the crazy man, Thuy was so scared, she left Thinh, ran ahead and squeezed into the middle of the students. The backpack on her back felt so heavy, as if someone was holding it back. Thuy used both hands to lift the backpack strap, but it was still heavy. She was about to scream in fear, but remembered the crazy man's instructions not to disturb her sleep, so she pursed her lips. The road through the cave, which seemed endless, finally ended when the sound of the stream flowed right in front of her. The dawn was bright behind her, dyeing the backs of her friends' shirts pink. Only then did Thuy feel that her backpack was much lighter. Looking back, she realized that the skinny girl had been holding onto Thuy's backpack out of fear.

- Are you scared too? You go through it every day and you're not used to it?

The child mumbled.

- I don't know either! I was just scared that the crazy guy would run out today, that's all.

The second stream was shallower, the water only came up to our feet. After crossing the stream, we almost crawled under the canopy of trees like a narrow gate. Looking up, we could see the red flag fluttering in front of the school yard.

Thuy was seated in the third row of chairs from the bottom. Many heads turned to look down at her new friend's seat. Thuy tried to smile and nod to get acquainted with all the eyes directed at her. The classroom here was too simple, roughly built and had no fans or electric lights like the classrooms in town. A few nights before, her mother whispered to Thuy:

- The school is not like the one in my old house. Don't be sad, girl.

Thuy held her mother's hand tightly.

- I know, Mom! If the kids here can learn, I can learn too.

But today, sitting in class, I realized that was not the case. Surrounding the classroom were long, empty windows. Outside, right next to the classroom, were forest trees. Wildflowers of purple and blue were fluttering and fluttering. Butterflies of all colors fluttered up and down, some even flew into the classroom, fluttered and hit the blackboard, then staggered to find a way out. The scene outside made it impossible for Thuy to concentrate on the lesson. Her eyes kept following the fluttering butterflies. Then she suddenly felt anxious and her heart pounded as she thought about the journey home.

That night, Thuy sat at her desk, her mind wandering along the path to school. Her father came and sat next to her, lovingly stroking her hair.

- How is it? Is it comfortable at the new school, honey?

- Yes... it's normal, Dad! Only the road to school is really hard. I wish it was concrete. Or should we pool our money to build the road, Dad?

His father rubbed his chin and smiled.

- Two kilometers of forest road, where is the money to do it all. Maybe win the lottery.

Oh! Thuy clapped her hands and laughed. Who knows, maybe she won the lottery. Downstairs, when she went out, she would run into lottery ticket sellers. Up here, there were very few, only one or two. The other day Thuy met them at the noodle shop next to the rubber garden. But she had no money. Each lottery ticket cost ten thousand dong. And every day Thuy's mother only gave her five thousand for breakfast. She had a plan, she would try to skip breakfast for two days and buy one. The first day, she glanced at the noodle shop, her heart filled with joy. The second day, she had to close her eyes and hold her nose when the smell of onion, grease, and broth wafted out, her stomach aching and rumbling. She ate lunch in a hurry, almost choking. After eating, Thuy quickly drank a glass of cold water and ran to the noodle shop. Seeing her bewildered in front of the shop, the fat owner, Mrs. Ba, asked.

- Want to buy noodles? They're just out now. Can we wait until this afternoon?

He shook his head and sat down at the base of the old cashew tree.

- This girl is weird! Why are you sitting here if you don't buy noodles?

- Yes, I'm waiting to buy... lottery tickets, Mrs. Ba.

Mrs. Ba Map laughed heartily.

- Oh my gosh! Mr. Muoi, the lottery ticket seller, has gone to the farm. Even kids are crazy about lottery tickets. Hey! I'll pass you one ticket. If you win the lottery this afternoon, take your parents to my restaurant for dinner.

Mrs. Ba had just bought two tickets, seeing her child so eager, she felt sorry for her. She was actually happy because she got ten thousand back. Lottery tickets bought in the morning and thrown away in the afternoon, had ever seen anyone win the lottery in this remote place. It was because Mr. Muoi begged her so much that she bought them for him. Thuy went home and hid the tickets deep in the bottom of her backpack. If her mother knew that she skipped breakfast to buy lottery tickets, she would probably get beaten.

In the morning, Thuy was washing her face and getting ready for school. Thinh and his friends were probably coming soon. Squeak... squeak... The sound of the sprocket and chain on the bicycle was squeaking, but urgent. Thuy was startled by the sound of people shouting outside the alley.

- Where is Thuy? Is Thuy home? Oh my god! Thuy, my child...

He looked out into the alley in panic. It was Mrs. Ba Map, the noodle seller. What wrong did he do to her? He was still standing there wondering, when Mrs. Ba had already rushed out onto the yard with her bulky mini bike.

- Honey! My lucky charm! You won, my child.

It does not understand the story at all.

- Is there anything you want from me, Mrs. Ba?

- It's your dad's business, nothing else. I won the lottery...

Mrs. Ba breathed as she spoke, her fat body shaking with each word.

- Damn it, you tailless monkey. I didn't check the lottery yesterday. I thought it was like every other day, buying in the morning and winning in the afternoon. Who would have thought that this morning Mr. Muoi Rom came and told me to get two consolation tickets. Ha ha ha! You're lucky, don't get any consolation. One hundred million, kid. You're really lucky, you bought the ticket and I won too. Where's the ticket? Tell your dad to come and get it with me.

Her parents came home from work, so happy that they forgot to cook. But then both of them were shocked when their daughter insisted on using the lottery money to build a road to school. Her father respected his daughter's opinion, but told her clearly.

- You calculate. Two kilometers. One hundred million is not enough. Maybe it can build two small concrete bridges. Or give it to me as capital to do business.

Mom brushed it off.

- Leave it to him! Your child has a good heart, you should be happy, don't regret spending a hundred million.

When they learned that the little student had used her lottery winnings to build a road for her friends to go to school, everyone in the farm woke up, remembering the difficult road their children used to travel every day. A road repair management board was established, each family contributed money according to their circumstances. Only half a month later, two new bridges were built across the stream, the path was leveled and wide by bulldozers. The children could ride their bicycles to school. Thuy's parents also bought her a new "Mac-tin" bicycle, which cost one and a half million. Every day, the teachers at the school welcomed Thuy in the school yard with loving smiles. Her friends looked at her with grateful eyes.

Thuy stretched on the bed, trying to fight off the drowsiness. She got up, getting ready for school. The old purple mini bike was parked outside the front porch. She absentmindedly searched for the new bike. It was still parked in the room after school yesterday afternoon. Dad was preparing the motorbike in the yard, turning back to answer Thuy's question.

- What's wrong? The bike is parked over there.

- No, where is your new car?

- Which car?

- That's the new "martin" car my dad just bought for me.

Dad smiled.

- This girl is dreaming! Where did she get the money to buy a "martin" car?

Thuy almost cried because of her father's words. Didn't she just win the lottery? Well, if her parents were stingy with the money, they could take the bike back. She would walk with Thinh. Thinh's family was poor, they hadn't even bought a bike yet. Thuy put on her backpack and walked out to the alley, sulking. Oh! Why couldn't she see Thinh? In front of the house, the road was bustling with vehicles. Mrs. Nam, carrying a basket of corn sticky rice, walked by, putting away money and shouting. "Who wants corn sticky rice...ho..o..ng".

Holy shit! This is the house down in town. Am I dreaming?!

PPQ

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