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| Illustration: Phan Nhan |
- You're a soldier, you're really a soldier. You can't go.
A sentence that he heard on a day of peace was so warm. When he no longer had to carry a rifle on his shoulder, meeting his compatriots meant meeting smiles, but why did this man need him so much?
- Are you Mr. Vinh?
He shook his head and smiled. The smile came from his lips that were purple after malaria. As if to ease the disappointed eyes of the person opposite, he softly said:
- Every liberation soldier is a son of the people. I am not a soldier Vinh, but can I help you?
- Yet every day I go to the banyan tree to wait. The old lady said if I wait too long, I should sing that song. If Vinh comes back here and hears it, he will come find me.
- Why don't you go to the district military command or ask the authorities to help you find it?
He sat down on a big tree root and began to tell:
In the village, there was an old lady named Tu who was blind. Her husband had died in the resistance war against the French. She raised her son named Vinh alone. When she was 17 years old, when news of the war came back, it was like a fire burning in her veins. He secretly went to the district to enlist in the army and then left forever. The death notice reached the old lady a few months after Vinh joined the army. Old lady Tu did not believe it, she said it was just a mistake. Perhaps the shock and illness had weakened her, her eyes could no longer see things clearly. She heard with her ears and “saw” with her own feelings.
- That's the story. My name is Mat, not a relative of yours. I lost my parents when I was young, wandering around the district market. Luckily, my grandmother took me home from the market and raised me, so I considered her as my mother.
- Mr. Tu is very weak these days. You can visit him to let him know that Mr. Vinh has returned.
The soldier took off his backpack and sat down quietly next to Mat.
- You are also a militia, right? You also joined the anti-aircraft battery...
- Yes, in war, even women know how to hold guns and fight.
- You and I, as well as other soldiers, are all children of Mr. Tu. The country is strong because of great mothers.
Urgent request:
- Since the day of liberation, the song "The Country is Full of Joy" played on the radio kept him awake.
The soldier ran his hand through his long, dusty hair:
- My name is Soldier. How should I tell you? The task you asked is not difficult, but I have my own sadness.
Having said that, the soldier took out a small doll from his backpack. -I bought it in Saigon. When I got on the train to the North, I realized it was lost when the bunker collapsed. I don't know where I'll go now?- How old is your daughter this year? I mean, if she's still alive...
- I'm five years old and I'm about to go to school. Is it far from my neighborhood to school?
- Far, very far, past those two mountain ranges, very few people here are literate. If there was no war, Mr. Vinh would probably be a teacher now.
*
They parted under the banyan tree. The early summer sun was harsh, cicadas chirped under the trees. The two walked in opposite directions on the winding hillside path. Mat had never been beyond town in her life. The soldier's feet had traveled all the campaign paths. Their backs were turned, but their minds were focused on the same private thoughts. Their hearts beat with the rhythm of a new day.
Suddenly, Mat came across a stream of water flowing down from the hillside, the water was clear and cool. As usual, he would pick a leaf to cup it to drink. Remembering the soldier's words, he handed over the mug the soldier had just given him: "If possible, please don't pick even one leaf, even the grass and trees have suffered too much after the war."
After drinking a glass of spring water, Mat's mind seemed to be more clear, he looked at the mug. How interesting, it was made from an M72 LAW anti-tank rocket launcher, the peace-loving people always know how to turn bullets and bombs into weapons for soldiers to revive. The metal shell of the weapon containing spring water had retained a leaf today, so there was a way to dissolve this pain. Mat hurriedly picked up the mug of water, turned his back and ran towards the soldier.
On another stretch of road, the soldier changed his mind, he asked a bee catcher and found a shortcut to the mountain village. That afternoon the sun seemed reluctant to retreat to the other side of the mountain. The leaves shone with a strange color.
A small dot began to appear in the afternoon. That dot gradually appeared with a tall, thin but strong figure. A soldier was carrying a backpack, walking as if looking for someone to ask for directions. The soldier had arrived. He entered the first house in the village, took off his backpack and politely greeted the owner: "Please tell me, is there a child named Thao in our village?" The woman who was winnowing rice stopped, looked at him in surprise and shook her head. He was about to leave when she handed him a bowl of green tea. After finishing the drink, he bowed and continued walking.
The second house he went to, his face was more tired: "Hello, do you know if there is a girl named Lan in our neighborhood?" The old man was fixing a table with a broken leg, his white beard was silent, then he looked into his eyes and said:
- Unfortunately no, whose house are you looking for?
He responded with a smile. He went to the third house, the door was locked but on closer inspection he saw a child locked behind the mahogany window bars. He called out:
- Baby, are your parents away?
- Yes, how do you know?
- When I was evacuated, I was like you. I was locked out but I enjoyed it. When my legs were restrained, my head was full of thoughts.
- So what did you do while your parents weren't home yet? - the little girl quickly asked again.
- He has a pencil as his friend. He draws everything he believes is true.
- What do you believe, uncle?
- I believe the war will end. Children everywhere are playing happily. But what is your name?
- Yes, my name is Hoa. My father said I am the flower of heaven and earth. Do you like that name?
- That's right, here's your gift. I've come a long way to find you.
Hoa received the gift in amazement. Suddenly she looked at the soldier with her big round eyes full of hope.
- Can you draw me a picture?
- Okay, but on one condition.
- What are the conditions, uncle?
- The simple condition is that I will write a poem under the picture. You have to go to school to be able to read it.
Little Hoa smiled happily, showing off her missing teeth. Her smile made his heart come back to life. The country had so many little girls like that, in need of dolls, cute blackboards, chalk, pencils and thatched roofs with the sound of children studying.
Mat stood still behind him, he just stood there forgetting to open the door for his daughter. He held the soldier's hand tightly as if afraid of losing something precious:
- What did you do before joining the army?
The soldier looked straight into Mat's eyes.
- After the war, I will continue my unfinished work. I forgot to tell you, I am a teacher. Hearing this, Mat remembered:
- Forgot to ask, what's your name?
The soldier was moved, his eyes red as he replied:
- Just call me Vinh.
Having said that, the soldier followed Hoa towards Mrs. Tu's house. Mat ran after her, his steps high and low. It seemed like his ears had misheard. Oh no, he had never been wrong. Every soldier carries that heart to help the people heal the loss and pain after the war. Green shoots will grow from the broken branches and trunks, spreading happiness to life...
Source: https://baolamdong.vn/van-hoa-nghe-thuat/202504/sau-chien-tranh-6e3058c/
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