Anecdotes gathered from the seaside

That means, after days of deliberately trying to find out, I still couldn't determine the nature of their relationship. All I knew was that every morning they would go to the beach very early, before it was even dark and they couldn't see each other's faces clearly, to bathe in the sand together. First, the man would help the woman cover herself with sand, then he would scoop sand over himself. They would lie silently together like that. I tried to crawl a considerable distance on the sand to listen to what they were saying to each other, but I heard absolutely nothing. Silence. That only made me more curious. So, when they went into the sea to shake off the sand, I splashed some water on their faces to see their reaction. The man very thoughtfully shielded the woman from the waves, then helped her ashore. They rinsed themselves with the fresh water they had brought with them, then put on long clothes and walked back together. I was extremely disappointed. So, all my attempts at investigation had failed.

Luckily, it was already bright daylight and countless people had arrived at the beach. I relaxed and watched the people on the sand. Strangely, the beach was full of only elderly people and children; there wasn't a single young person in sight, let alone middle-aged people. Besides swimming, the men were playing volleyball and badminton in groups under the casuarina trees. The women and children were swimming and playing in the sand. I noticed a group of men playing volleyball. They stood in a circle, passing the ball back and forth, their movements so skillful that they captivated even a curious wave like me. Particularly noteworthy was an old man who looked thin but was incredibly agile; I never saw him drop the ball. His sharp eyes and skillful arms stood out, and I guessed he was probably a retired volleyball player, as only then could his reflexes be so quick.

I also quite enjoyed watching the old men doing handstands on the sand. They half-closed their eyes while "standing" on their heads, looking like stakes stuck upside down. They remained silent amidst the admiring gazes of those around them, even when I playfully splashed onto the shore, almost licking their salt-and-pepper hair; they didn't react at all. Truly admirable. Even I, a wave, was impressed, let alone others!

On the beach, the children were the noisiest. They chased each other around, then rushed into the sea, ignoring my frantic splashing on their backs and faces. They laughed with delight, showing no fear at all. That disappointed me quite a bit. Try telling a ghost story and have the listeners laugh instead of being terrified, then you'll understand how disappointed I felt. My blood boiled, and I struggled to break free and quickly pulled them along. But their arms and legs flailed wildly; they swam like otters and quickly climbed ashore, continuing their shouting and chasing. Disappointed, I lay there quietly, waiting for dawn, no longer interested in attacking and sweeping anything away.

Suddenly, a clear voice spoke up:

Wow! What a beautiful snail!

I turned my head curiously to look. It was a little girl. She wasn't wearing a swimsuit, but a white dress, her hair braided into two pigtails, and her small, pretty lips spoke. Her eyes, bright as pearls, sparkled even more in the early morning sunlight of the lazy sun that had just stretched and yawned. I rested my head on the sand and watched what the father and daughter were doing. The father was wearing a soldier's uniform. He was probably on leave to visit home. He lifted his little daughter onto his shoulders:

- See? Can you see it clearly now? Can you see Dad's office?

- Ah, I see it now! Is that your office over there in the distance, the one with the black dot?

That's right!

- Why aren't there any houses over there, Dad? I see so many boats. What are the boats doing out there, Dad?

The father excitedly explained to his daughter that out there was the sea, and the boats were out fishing. His agency was on the island, responsible for maintaining peace on the mainland. The little girl exclaimed with delight:

- Ah! I know now, Dad, you're tall and strong because you live on an island, right? When I grow up, I'll go to the island and become a soldier like you.

- Dad knows, little soldier girl. Now you have to go to the car, Mom will get angry if she waits too long.

- Wait, Dad, pick up a few more seashells for me. I want to keep them by my bedside so that every time I miss you, I can hold them to my ear and feel the sea breeze.

The father, indulging his daughter, tried to dig in the sand to find seashells. I quietly pushed a large, brightly colored seashell towards the little girl's feet. She picked it up, giggling with delight. I felt as if I had lost my mind at her laughter, and I kept watching them until they disappeared behind the sculpted wall erected by the sea.

Generally speaking, living the life of a wave, witnessing countless events on the beach every day, I occasionally stumble upon some interesting stories like this. I once witnessed a rather amusing encounter with a young couple. One morning, like any other, I was lazily stretching and watching the sunrise when I suddenly heard a commotion. It turned out to be a group of young people. By "young people," I mean still in the dating stage. The girls weren't swimming but taking photos for social media. They wore flowing dresses, sunglasses, and hats (even though it was early morning) and posed. The guys, of course, were the photographers. One girl caught my attention because every time the guy finished taking a picture, she would run over to look at it and frown, saying, "Not good enough, retake it, it's too ugly." She did this about ten times before finally nodding and saying, "It's alright." After getting one pose that was okay, she immediately ran to the public restroom to change into another dress and continued like that. Even when the other couples had finished and were sitting stretched out on the sand from exhaustion, she was still posing, and the guy would occasionally sneak a glance to wipe his forehead. I really admired that tall guy in the baseball cap. If I were him, I would have yelled, "Take the picture yourself!", but he just silently and patiently followed all of her requests. His friends teased him loudly:

- Think carefully and take a good picture, or Huyền will starve you for lunch today.

- You have to crawl on the sand like that to get a good photo to upload to Facebook!

- Oh, that old fool, he makes me take photos every day and I still can't get any better.

- Just try being Huy, you'll probably get beaten to a pulp even more than he did.

- …

I chuckled. I remembered a woman's saying from some story I'd stumbled upon (it's been so long I can't remember the speaker's face): if it's not working out, you walk and pray; if it is, you pee and walk. I wonder if this couple will be like that in the future. That's a matter of the future, and nobody knows what the future holds, but right now, I see him with his shirt soaked, crawling and rolling around to take pictures to please the beautiful woman. And those lips—just looking at that curvaceous posture—you can tell he's no ordinary guy. That's why I say, who can predict the future!

Sometimes I would overhear stories on nights when the afternoon swimmers had gone home, restoring the peaceful atmosphere to the beach. Usually, we would lie there, gazing at the stars and moon, while on nights without stars or moon, we would listen to the casuarina trees chattering. The casuarina trees were very noisy, rustling all night, mostly complaining about the scorching heat of the day. Those gossipy creatures, in this place, especially in summer, there's no such thing as coolness. Because of their tiresome chatter, I usually went to bed early to avoid the noise. But that night, the casuarina trees suddenly fell silent. I looked up at the sand in surprise. Two dark figures were strolling leisurely beneath the casuarina trees. Ah, they were eavesdropping on a couple's conversation. I was sure of it because one of them had long hair. This was getting interesting. I jumped up and quietly slipped onto the sand. Curiosity is a natural instinct of all living things, not just humans.

What were they saying? I couldn't hear anything even though I strained my ears. I thought I heard the girl sobbing. She must be upset. Love, you know, sometimes it's a little argument, it's the spice that makes it stronger and more meaningful. The sobbing grew louder and louder. Then, the girl collapsed onto the boy's shoulder. I heard her voice falter, she must have been unable to control herself:

- If only that day, I... I had stopped him. If only I hadn't argued... it's my fault, it's because of my argument that things turned out this way.

- Well, it's all over now, don't blame yourself anymore.

The girl was still sobbing. The boy urged her:

- Go. Light incense for him before it's too late. Hurry, we can't let the security guard find out.

They walked closer to me. In the light from the streetlamp, I could see their faces. My mouth dropped open. Unbelievable, it was the old couple who used to apply sand to each other's faces every morning. The woman's hair was down, making her look unusually young, and the darkness obscured the salt-and-pepper color, making her jet-black hair gleam. I watched them nervously. Why would they sneak here to light incense at night like this? I held my breath, trying to listen to what they were saying.

"Brother, if you have any spiritual power, please come and bear witness for me. Honestly, there's nothing between me and Nhân. We're just friends, a friendship that's lasted for decades. We both have joint problems, so we have to go to the beach every morning to apply sand to our joints; we're just friends bathing in the sand, nothing more. I've tried to explain, but you won't believe me... *sobs*... Why are you so stubborn... *sobs*..."

- Just let it go, my dear.

- But I can't let go. Every time I dream about him, I see his eyes staring at me. What crime have I committed, my love?

- I know, but... life doesn't always go our way. Are you planning to be so stubborn for the rest of your life?

- I just wish I could die quickly, so I could go find him, and ask him if he's seen everything yet, if his eyes have been opened, if he believes me now...

The woman wept bitterly. The three incense sticks, blown by the wind, flared up, then went out, then flared up again. The scent of incense and the sound of her weeping filled the air with sorrow. I understood part of the situation. It seemed that a year ago today, someone had deliberately lain there to be swept away by my mischievous prank, and it seemed that the whole beach was in an uproar that day because of my prank. Suddenly, tears of remorse rolled down my cheeks; I felt guilty. I was just a nosy wave who liked to tease people, never imagining that a moment of mischief would cause a storm for a family. Now I clearly see the harm of my competitive nature, which Mother Sea had warned me about many times but which I deliberately ignored.

Overwhelmed by guilt, I stealthily crept further and further away. It seemed I could still hear muffled sobs following me. Oh! The human world is truly too complicated; even a carefree, slightly nosy wave like me has lost all interest in gossiping…

Source: https://baobinhthuan.com.vn/nhung-chuyen-nhat-nhanh-ben-bo-bien-131393.html