Church bell ringer

1. The church bell rang out sweetly, Mom asked Tin to go to the garden to pick some chili peppers so that Dad could have a good meal later. Tin waited until the bell rang before leaving, Mom looked at Tin and smiled lovingly. Mom knew Tin loved to hear the bells.

Ever since Tin was a little boy, whenever the church bell rang, he would stand still, listening whether he was playing or sleeping. At the end of the bell, sometimes the boy would smile, drool running down his chin and neck.

When he could walk, Tin followed his father to church many times a day. That was when the church bells rang, and his father was the one ringing the bell. The first time he saw his father ring the bell, Tin felt very strange! The little boy watched his father slowly hold the rope from the foot of the bell tower and pull hard. Each time he pulled, the bell rang out melodiously like a beautiful piece of music. The sound of the bell brought magic to the three-year-old boy.

Sometimes, Tin's father wouldn't let him go because it was midday and hot. The distance from Tin's house to the church was only a short distance, but Tin's short childish legs took a long time to walk there. Tin's father used crutches, but he walked very quickly.

Once Tin told his mother that he wished he could walk as fast as his father. His mother stroked his head and said softly, "When Tin grows up, he will take long strides and walk as fast as his father."

2. When Tin was born, an accident took away my father's legs. During those desperate days, touching your young hands, I knew I had to stand up. I gave up my previous job of traveling, choosing my previous side job as my main job: homeschooling. My father's students were poor, studious children in the neighborhood.

After school hours, my father often stopped by the church near our house. Sometimes to pray, sometimes just to bring some leftover food for the birds or to go down to the church yard to look for food. One time, the priest approached where my father was feeding the birds and asked my father to help the parish build the church bell, and my father immediately accepted.

Ba Tin grew up on this land, since the church was just a makeshift house with thatched walls. Much later, parishioners contributed their efforts and bricks to build a spacious church. Ba Tin's childhood was closely linked to this church. Every morning, when the dawn had just appeared behind the rows of areca trees, his grandmother would take him to the nun, then go to work in the fields, and only pick him up in the late afternoon.

Also in this place, Tin's father was taught to play musical instruments, sing, arrange flowers, write beautifully... He lived his entire childhood, although poor but full of love, here. Growing up, many friends of the same age left the countryside for the city, but Tin's father still chose to stay.

Many people talked about it, then told me directly to go to the city to live, so that my children could have a bright future. In this swampy area, there is only this all year round, how can they raise their heads? I thought, there would be no better choice, it was just a suitable one. And I married a woman from this vast swampy area, closely tied to the river, the high and low tides every year. I love this place.

So, being able to contribute a part of his efforts to the church made Tin's father very happy and immediately accepted. From then on, Tin's father became the church bell-ringer.

Tin was very proud. Tin's kindergarten class was not too far from the church, enough for the bells to ring to reach Tin and his friends. At that time, Tin excitedly boasted: "Did Dad ring that bell?" But none of the children responded to Tin's words.

3. In kindergarten today, the teacher asked each student in the class if they had a dream, and what their dream was. When it was Tin's turn, Tin answered loudly: "I want to become a bell ringer like my father". The laughter broke out loudly without any need to be hidden. There were also disdainful looks from the children who did not understand. The teacher gently said: "That is also a beautiful dream!"

Then the teacher asked another friend. It was Hai - the boy who had a very fancy car that all the other friends coveted, bought by his father. Hai said loudly: "I want to be a director like my father". Unexpectedly, from then on, every friend the teacher asked would say the same thing: "I want to be a director like Hai's father". Tin felt lost and confused. What was so good about being a director? Why didn't anyone want to be a bell ringer like Tin's father?

That thought followed Tin home. Seeing her son's face was downcast, not chattering like usual. Mom kept asking, after a while Tin asked Mom again: "Why doesn't Dad become a director like Hai's dad?" Mom was so surprised. Mom turned to the back of the house to see if Dad was there and if he heard what Tin said. But luckily, Dad was in the garden. Mom pulled Tin into her arms, trying to think of the best way to say it so that Tin could understand and be most convincing.

“Tin, being a director is also good, but that is each person's preference. When you grow up, Tin will also have his own preferences, no two people are the same.” “But my friends say that being a director like Hai's father is the best, because Hai gets to buy a lot of fancy toys, nice clothes, and delicious food. I want my father to be a director too!”

“So, does Tin still like to hear the church bells?”. “Yes, he does!”. “So if Tin’s dad becomes a director, who will ring the church bells?”. Tin thought for a moment and then nodded: “Oh! That’s it, Tin doesn’t want dad to be a director anymore.” Mom patted Tin’s head: “When we grow up, everyone will participate in a different job. As long as it’s a legitimate job, it’s the right thing to do, my child!”.

4. Christmas Day. The church yard was bustling and crowded. In the flickering lights, a tall, healthy young man with white skin, slightly wavy hair, and sparkling white glasses strode into the church yard. From afar, a woman with silver hair ran toward the young man. The young man hugged his mother in the middle of the church yard.

Many pairs of eyes turned towards them, smiling as if sharing the joy. “Is my Tin this tall already?”. The young man loosened his arms, looking closely at his mother with loving eyes: “I really like you calling me Tin, like you used to.” Only then did the mother suddenly remember that her son had grown up: “You, you came back without telling me. So I could prepare to cook your favorite dishes!”. “You told me you would come back to me for Christmas! It happens every year!”. The little mother in her son’s arms, tears of happiness welled up.

The young man looked at the clock on the bell tower. It was only a few minutes before the bells rang to signal Christmas mass. The young man walked gracefully towards the bell tower. Right at this position, he saw the figure of his deceased father. He touched the bell rope and whispered: "Today, I will do this meaningful work for you, Dad!"

Each bell rings out clearly like a prayer for people's happiness and world peace!

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