After the summer rain

Le raised his thumb, his voice firm:

- Mom, don't worry about harvesting, I will take care of the rice carefully!

One hand held the sickle, the other hand, mother put on her hat and hurriedly walked out of the house. After mother left, only Le was left. In the countryside, it was harvest season, so at this time, adults went to the fields, children or the elderly were at home. Those at home also had a lot of work, always busy. They went to the rice fields, turned the straw, and in the evening, they prepared dinner. Not to mention the urgent situation that Le's mother had just mentioned. At that time, all they could do was run around and scoop up the rice as fast as they could without even breathing!

After walking around one more time to dry the rice quickly, Le went up to the porch and sat in front of the fan. The fan was whirring, blowing out a cool breeze, and all the heat was gradually dissipated. But at this moment, Le suddenly felt so sad. If only Na were home, the two of them would go out to the garden together, climb the guava tree, and lie on a fork, chatting and chewing guava. Just thinking about it made Le's heart flutter with joy.

***

Na is Le's neighbor, but Na is currently living in Hanoi . Na has been gone for almost a week. A week that feels incredibly long to Le. During that week, Na must have visited Uncle Ho's Mausoleum, West Lake, Hoan Kiem Lake, and eaten delicious, cool Trang Tien ice cream. Oh my, just thinking about it makes Le so jealous. Le's family doesn't have any relatives in Hanoi, so who knows when they'll be able to visit there like Na!

Le's house and Na's house were separated by a hibiscus hedge. The hibiscus hedge was a little taller than the adults' heads, and the tree trunks were tightly packed together. At the end of the hedge, there was a hole connecting the two houses. This hole was secretly created by Le and Na, so only the two of them knew about it. Usually at noon, when the adults were fast asleep, Le and Na would tiptoe out of bed and quietly go to their meeting place. Under the cool shade of the tree, they would play catch, sew clothes for dolls, and most importantly, perch on the fork of a guava tree, chatting and sipping fragrant ripe fruit.

One time, when the two of them were biting into a guava, Na said: "This morning when you weren't home, my mother and your mother argued!" According to Na, Na's chickens "jumped the fence" and went to Le's house to destroy the vegetable garden, making Le's mother both angry and regretful. Then the two sides exchanged words, then argued and got angry with each other. "Let the adults take care of their own business. We will always be friends, Le!" After telling the story, Na told Le that. Le held out his index finger, hooked it with Na's index finger, and said firmly: "I agree!"

The other afternoon, there was another “war” between the two families. This time, Le’s mother was cleaning the buffalo pen, because there was a lot of work, the pile of manure had not been processed yet, and it was a windy day, so the unpleasant smell “ran” to Na’s house. Na’s mother argued loudly, thinking that Le’s mother did it on purpose. The two mothers argued loudly all afternoon. Although Le was used to the two mothers arguing, she still felt a little sad inside. Especially this time, the situation seemed more tense. Although Le’s mother tried to explain, Na’s mother still insisted that Le’s mother was unreasonable and had a sinister heart. The previous times, when Na was home, they could talk to each other, making Le feel more relieved. But this time… I wonder what Na is doing right now? Le looked out into the sunny yard and wondered.

***

While Le was lost in thought, suddenly a thunderclap sounded. The sun was shining brightly, but from somewhere, dark clouds suddenly gathered. The sky was dark. How could mother's words be so true!

Le only had a fleeting thought like that before running out to the yard to rake the rice. Gathering the rice into a pile, as if something told him, Le suddenly looked over to Uncle Minh's yard. Through the fence, Le saw that Uncle Minh's yard still had a full yard of rice. At this time, the whole family must have gone to the field. If they didn't scoop it up in time, the whole yard of rice would be swept away.

After a moment of hesitation, Le decided to go scoop rice for Uncle Minh first. After all, Uncle Minh's family had more rice than his family. If the rain washed it away, the damage would be greater. In Le's case, perhaps Na would have done the same!

Uncle Minh's house was locked, so Le couldn't bring the rice into the house and could only shovel it onto the porch. The weather seemed to be pressing on, forcing Le to shovel the rice even faster. In just a moment, the huge pile of rice in the yard was moved onto the porch by Le. Seeing Uncle Minh's and Hoai's clothes drying outside, Le immediately brought them in and stuffed them through the window for Uncle Minh.

After finishing Uncle Minh's housework, without thinking about anything else, Le hurriedly crawled through the secret hole to scoop rice into the house. Although he was exhausted, Le still tried to finish scooping rice before it was too late. After finishing the pile of rice, suddenly remembering that there was no more firewood in the kitchen, Le ran out to grab a bundle of dry wood so that his mother could cook dinner that night.

When Le finished all the work, the first drops of rain began to fall. The rain became heavier and heavier. Sitting inside the house, Le was restless and worried about his parents. Le huddled in the corner of the bed. Outside, the wind was still howling. The rain became heavier and heavier. In a moment, the yard was covered in white water. Suddenly, there was a "splashing" sound outside the alley. Le wondered who was out there? Could it be his parents coming home? Or could it be a thief?

Le began to tremble with fear at the thought that had just occurred to him. The footsteps were getting closer and closer. Le told himself to be brave. Le put his hands out and took a deep breath to calm down. When he looked out the window, Le was suddenly happy to see that the person outside was Uncle Minh. Le quickly got out of bed and ran outside.

- Oh, Uncle Minh! You scared the hell out of me. What happened that you were walking in the rain?

Because he was still wearing a raincoat, Uncle Minh just stood on the porch. Uncle Minh looked at Le affectionately:

- Thank you so much, Le! Luckily you were there, otherwise all my rice would have been washed away.

Seeing the uncle soaked, Le intended to invite him into the house but he said:

- Oh! I left my sandals in your yard. I have to go now. Thank you!

Le shyly reached out to receive the slippers. It was because he was in such a hurry, the rain seemed to be urging him on, so Le was absent-minded. Le also did not expect that Uncle Minh would come to thank him for such a small thing. Le suddenly felt happy. Na had not come home yet, so tonight Le would definitely brag to his parents about this.

Now Le was no longer afraid. Le looked up at the sky. The raindrops fell smaller and smaller...

HO HUY SON

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/sau-con-mua-mua-ha-post798594.html