Windy season

- Why is the wind so strange this year? Mom, remember to wear an extra warm coat when you go selling your goods, because the wind is really strong today.

Mother, sitting with her knees drawn up on the wooden platform, chuckled at the boy's comparison, then went to get a bottle of ginger wine from under the table to massage her mother's feet. As soon as she caught sight of her mother, Ngân quickly and quietly lifted the mosquito net and approached. She grabbed the bottle of ginger wine, poured some onto her hand, and massaged her mother's feet.

- Tomorrow, after I take the vegetables to the market, I'll stop by Mr. Giang's place to ask for some monkey bone plant to boil in water for Mom to soak her feet in.

- Now hurry up and go to school, or you'll be late. Being late all the time will ruin your conduct grade.

- My child arrives at school before class starts. Mom, with all that pain, how can she possibly carry anything?

The night suddenly became quiet, broken only by the whistling wind and my mother's soft sigh.

***

Ngan hoisted the last basket of vegetables onto his mother's stall and involuntarily chuckled.

"Why are you suddenly standing there laughing to yourself like that?" Uncle Mi asked Ngan.

- I'm so happy to have such a tall and strong body so I can help Mom with the heavy work. Soon I'll be stronger and faster than Uncle Mi.

The boy's playful remark made everyone in the early morning market burst into laughter. Uncle Mi, who had just passed by, playfully tapped the boy on the head for his teasing. But amidst the laughter, there seemed to be a hint of sadness, especially when looking at the small, frail boy, Ngan, who had just entered high school.

After unloading the goods, Ngan hopped onto Uncle Mi's tricycle to hitch a ride to school. The road from the market to school was familiar. Ngan no longer felt tired from waking up early as he had at first. Uncle Mi's strong figure obscured Ngan's view, reminding him of a figure who had once carried him on his shoulders, a figure that had disappeared behind the village's bamboo grove one windy season and had never returned. Ngan couldn't remember exactly how long it had been since his father left his mother and him... The sound of the brakes interrupted his reverie. He said goodbye to Uncle Mi and hurried into school to begin his lessons.

***

Every day, Ngan would wake up at three in the morning to help his mother harvest vegetables. His mother was very kind, and the vegetable garden behind their house was so lush that they had enough produce to sell at the market. Occasionally, she would also go to the neighboring village to get more produce to sell. Around four-thirty, he and his mother would push their vegetable cart to the market, setting up their stall from dawn in the small market near the river. Only after everything was done would he go to school. Sometimes he would hitch a ride with Uncle Mi if he was helping his aunt unload fish; other times he would walk. After school, Ngan would usually stop by the market to have lunch with his mother and help sell until the market closed in the afternoon, then they would push the cart back home together.

Today, as soon as he got home, while his mother was busy cooking dinner in the kitchen, Ngan went to the pond behind the house to catch some fish. Suddenly remembering that there were still a few common carp and grass carp in the water jar behind the house that he'd been given when he went to drain the pond in the neighboring village, Ngan went back inside, quickly threaded a grass carp onto his leash, and ran to the end of the village. As soon as he reached the gate of Doctor Giang's house, he shouted:

- Uncle Giang, please wrap up these monkey bones for me. The windy season is coming, and my mother's legs are aching again.

- Come inside, I'll prepare some more herbal medicine for you to boil and drink. The monkey bones are already wrapped up.

Ngan nodded and quickly went to the back of the house to put the fish in a basin of water. The doctor Giang's wife scooped up some hot rice cakes for the boy, wrapped them in a banana leaf to keep them from burning, and handed them to Ngan to take home.

As soon as he got home, after sharing some rice cakes with his younger sister, Ngan put a pot of water on the stove to boil leaves for his mother's foot soak, and then put another pot on the stove to boil herbal medicine. While doing so, he told stories about school, his stories sometimes interrupted by his sister's nonsensical and rambling remarks. By the time everything was done, it was time for his mother to serve dinner.

***

Ngan's father left during the windy season when he was very young and his younger sister was still an infant. No one thought that he would return during the windy season so many years later. An expensive car screeched to a halt in front of the village gate, and a dignified-looking man stepped out and walked to the last house in the hamlet.

People in the neighborhood started gathering. Everyone recognized the familiar figure, though now he looked more elegant and heavier. Ngân's mother, still limping from her joint pain, hobbled out. She didn't answer when the man said he had returned to take Ngân to the city for his studies. Ngân, however, was stunned by the man's brief announcement to his mother. He pushed away his younger sister, who, out of curiosity, had taken the man's hand, and then said to her as if it were the most natural thing in the world:

- Pack your bags quickly and come with me. There's no future here anyway.

- What about Mom and my younger sibling, Dad?

The man remained silent. Responding to Ngan was the voice of a young woman, about ten years younger, walking behind him: "Hurry up, honey, I don't like being here."

Initially, Ngan hesitated about whether he should go with his father. Because if he could change his life, he might be able to help his mother and younger sister have a better future. But the moment his father pulled his hand away from his sister's small hand, Ngan understood his decision.

- I don't want to go with you, Dad. And I hope you won't come here again from now on and make Mom and my sister sad.

Ngan's three friends blurted out, "How insolent! Poor but still acting arrogant?" and raised their hands to slap him. Uncle Mi and a few other men in the neighborhood grabbed his raised arm:

- You're a husband and a father, yet you abandoned your responsibilities. Now you have no right to hit your child?

The small village suddenly became bustling with activity, enveloping the mother and her two children. The man angrily left. Ngan looked up, watching the man's figure disappear behind the village bamboo grove, just like when he was a child. He suddenly understood why, that year, when he learned his father was leaving, he hadn't tried to stop him.

A few rays of sunlight began to cover the courtyard where the rice was drying. Everyone dispersed to their work, and life returned to its usual routine with cheerful laughter and conversation. Ngan realized that he and his parents weren't "poor" at all, but rather "rich" with the protection of the village community. The sun had returned, its warm rays beginning to rise, and perhaps the season of unpredictable winds was coming to an end.

Short story: LE HUA HUYEN TRAN

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/mua-gio-a184916.html