When he was little, every time someone asked Ken what his dream was, he quickly said: "Ken wishes to be like his father, ringing the church bell every day."
One time Ken followed his father and asked him to let him ring the bell. His father agreed and showed him in detail how to hold the bell rope tightly without hurting his hand. At that time, Ken thought he could ring the bell. The bell would ring continuously with the cheerful and cheerful sound of the Jing Kong as usual. But things were not as simple as Ken thought.
When Ken's small hands and tiny fingers gripped the rough rope bell rope, Ken used all his strength, even trying to swing himself up the rope, but the rope remained motionless. Although no one was teasing him, Ken knew that he had to be tall and strong like his father to pull the bell.
Ken loved the sound of church bells. Each ringing was like a joyful melody. Mom said that Dad had been in charge of ringing the bells for the parish since Ken was still in Mom's womb. Every time the bell rang, Mom would whisper to Ken, it was your Dad ringing it, the bell sounds nice, doesn't it?
A few times, Mom went to church with Dad to ring the bell before mass. The sound from the bell tower was even more magical. Ken grew up listening to that sound every day.
But it was not until much later that Ken realized that the bells were not always cheerful. When someone in the parish died, the bell rang, just once, not as loudly as the other bells, to announce sad news to the parishioners.
The day Ken's father left this world, Ken had just turned eighteen. He didn't know who rang the bell, but the sound was so sad. A feeling of loneliness and isolation invaded Ken's heart.
Ken looked towards the bell tower, there were flocks of migratory birds spreading their wings as if there was no end in sight. And the wind, the wind blew from all directions. The wind of the changing seasons, unpredictable and humid. It would rain soon. Regardless, Ken stood in the open air and let the tears fall.
After his father's funeral, his mother told Ken that another horizon would give wings to his dreams to fly far away, like the bell his father rang that day, forever ringing a joyful song in his soul. This place would be a beautiful memory of Ken's peaceful childhood days.
“But what about Mom?” - Ken was worried about Mom after Dad’s permanent departure. Mom once told Ken, everything that comes, goes, gains, losses… is just normal. Isn’t the weather unpredictable, so the burning heat should dissipate overnight? So Mom’s Ken should go to a further horizon, to weave dreams into reality. Here, the church bells still ring, the sound of love waiting for your return.
Mom said that because she knew Ken loved music . Each high and low note in music was like a magical movement to Ken. Ken could listen and explore each melody and note all day without getting bored. Ken's guitar sound every night was like a musical program that could enchant the souls of poets. But in this countryside, the sound of the guitar and the lyrics were only contained within the garden and the dike, and could not resonate any further.
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Quyen was also one of the neighbors where Ken stayed. She was fascinated by Ken's guitar playing and singing every night. They got to know each other and got married. Every weekend, the two of them went home together. Sometimes Ken played for Quyen to sing. Sometimes Quyen just sat and listened to Ken play. At that time, Ken felt the days passed very quickly.
Although they both had a passion for music, Quyen was more practical than Ken. Once Quyen told Ken: “I wish I had a lot of money. We would go wherever we wanted, eat whatever delicious food we wanted, and live in a nice house with a garden and a swimming pool, not in a noisy rented room in the middle of this working-class neighborhood.” At that moment, Ken’s arms gradually loosened around Quyen’s shoulders. It was unclear whether Quyen knew or not. She leaned on Ken and asked: “You too, right?”
Ken did not answer. He thought of his mother. He wondered what she was doing now. The last time Ken visited home, when he returned to the city, Ken's mother smoothed out each coin and then put it in Ken's hand: "Mom only has a little bit, take this to make mom happy!" Ken's eyes filled with tears as he touched his mother's hard-earned money back home.
In the garden, every day, my mother planted, watered, and waited for the harvest day to gather handfuls of vegetables, squash, and pumpkins to sell at the crossroads. It was not a market, but people in the garden often brought out their homegrown produce to sell. Sometimes they sold out early, sometimes no one bought. Vendors would trade with each other. Those who had vegetables would trade for fish sauce, sugar, those who had meat would trade for rice, fish, shrimp, etc. Just like that, everyone ran out of stock.
Mom said she wasn't suffering at all. Luckily, she still had a garden to do manual labor, otherwise sitting around doing nothing would only make her sicker. Since Ken moved to the city, he was lucky enough to get a job teaching piano to the landlord's child.
From that first student, Ken had other home tutoring opportunities. Then, Ken was occasionally invited to sing. The money he earned was not much, but it was enough to cover expenses, occasionally buying his mother this or that, and bringing it back when he came back.
Sometimes, when there was a little left over, Ken would give it to his mother to make her meals more complete. His mother said she had nothing to give him, so Ken accepted it to make her happy. That time, Ken held his mother's money and was filled with emotions.
One time, during a meal, Mom asked Ken, what kind of person is your girlfriend? Ken honestly said, she can't cook as well as Mom. Mom just smiled and said, since childhood, Ken has been a boy with a warm heart, Ken is very kind and always helps those weaker than him. Therefore, Mom believes Ken will find his own happiness.
Quyen's aspiration made Ken think of his hard-working mother in the countryside. If Ken had a house in the middle of the city, a garden, a swimming pool, and enough money to go wherever he wanted, would Quyen be the one accompanying him? Since leaving his hometown, Ken had wished for a prosperous life so that he could bring his mother to live with him. They would be together wherever they went. Ken's mother deserved to enjoy her old age in peace and prosperity.
That thought made Ken's arms loosen around Quyen's shoulders.
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On Christmas Day, Ken refused all shows to return to his mother. Ken needed money, but it could never bring him the warmth that he felt when he was with his mother on the most important holiday of the year.
This year, Ken also thought about bringing Quyen home to meet his mother, she must be very happy. But there were things that were only in his plans when Ken and Quyen broke up. Ken thought that there would be another man who would come and help Quyen satisfy her desires for a full life - something that Ken could not give her at the moment. Ken felt a bit empty inside without Quyen.
The winter days were gray, the bus arrived at the station when the afternoon had just turned to night. Ken got off the bus, adjusted his white shirt collar after the long journey. He picked up his backpack full of things he bought for his mother, then took long strides on the familiar country road.
From afar, the church appeared, sparkling with lights. There were melodious and lively hymns, resounding throughout the parish. It felt like Ken's feet were touching some fairyland, both real and unreal.
Just then, the church bells rang out. For many years, every time Ken heard the bells, he felt indescribable emotions. His father once told Ken that every Christmas, churches would ring long, clear bells. Do you know why? It was like a prayer for everyone to be safe! So, don't forget to pray with your loved ones during the bells ringing every Christmas Eve mass.
Before Ken's eyes, the bustling church yard appeared, everyone's face was radiant. Among them, Ken immediately recognized his mother. It seemed that his mother was waiting for Ken, her eyes looking far away. In a floral brocade dress, her hair tied up high, her eyes lit up when she recognized the person who had just passed through the church gate as Ken. Ken also took long strides to quickly reach his mother.
Beneath his broad chest, Ken's long arms tightly embraced his mother's small figure. Several eyes turned towards the mother and son with loving and touching looks. Ken wished that time would stop, so that he could hug his mother longer.
Just then, the church bell rang, signaling the start of the Christmas mass. Ken said lovingly, “Merry Christmas, Mom!” Mom also looked at Ken, put her skinny hand with blue veins protruding through the thin skin on Ken’s cheeks, and caressed him like when Ken was a child: “Mommy also has a present for you!”
As soon as she finished speaking, her mother turned around. Among the crowd of people preparing to enter the church for mass, Quyen suddenly appeared with a bright smile. Her voice was natural as if nothing had ever happened between them: "Merry Christmas!"
Ken was surprised, looking from Quyen to his mother. Ken's mother's voice was full of pride: "My future daughter-in-law even came home before her son!" Then his mother smiled. On that kind face, Ken was sure that his mother had never smiled so brightly and beautifully!
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