Love without words

I was not close to my father because when I was little, I received too many beatings from him. Those painful and bloody beatings left me with unforgettable sad memories... Why did my father beat me so much? Or was I not his son? I often blamed him: "Dad is not fair to his children. He loves his siblings more than me." Hundreds, thousands of questions like that made the distance between father and son grow farther and farther.

Growing up, I went to school, started a career away from home, and got married. As my children grew older, I began to understand more about the beatings my father used to give me. Partly because of the desperate thoughts of a construction engineer who had quit his job halfway, partly because of the suffocating poverty with hundreds of debts weighing on the shoulders of the “breadwinner”, my father treated me somewhat harshly. However, I understood… but each phone call only stopped at casually asking about my parents’ health, but the words of love were still stuck in my heart, unable to be expressed in words. Every Lunar New Year, I still returned to my hometown but only hung around jams, cakes, pickled onions, molasses with my mother. I also did not talk to my father much. It seemed like my father understood, so he often only asked me a few questions like “Have you paid off your debts yet?”, “You have to try to eat and drink to stay healthy. As long as you have strength, you have money. Debts will eventually be paid off.” I still obeyed, yes yes, like a habit from my childhood. That was all!

One night in late May 2019, the wind was whispering softly, but my mood was so bad. I was irritable and raised my voice at my children. Suddenly, the phone rang. My intuition told me something was wrong. I grabbed the phone. The nurse on the other end of the line said: "The whole family agrees to operate on your father... All that's missing is your signature. However, your case is urgent, so we'll operate on him tonight." I stuttered and then couldn't remember what I said to the nurse. I took the earliest flight back home. My father's surgery lasted 13 hours. My mother and siblings waited in the waiting room without sleeping. And after the surgery, my father was in the emergency room for 17 days. Occasionally, when I was at home in the hospital, I received messages from the nurse like "buy more milk", "buy more breathing apparatus"... The most common thing I heard from the nurse was "He's gradually recovering".

And then came the day my father was transferred to the hospital room. He couldn’t speak. How I longed to talk to him! I wanted to apologize. I wanted my father to yell at me, to hit me as painfully as when I was little. The nurse’s voice seemed to wake me up: “He can’t speak. He’s on antibiotics all the time, he’s very uncomfortable! Please try to please him a little.” I said yes, yes, yes, then sat down next to the hospital bed. Suddenly I blamed myself so much. The guilt of unfilial piety tormented me and made me feel so bad, even strangers loved my father so much, so why was I, his biological child, like that! My tears just kept falling…

Nearly 5 years have passed, my father can speak almost normally but he has a withered leg so it is very difficult for him to walk. I have become more open with my father. I talk to him more. I am closer to him…

This spring, my father is one year older. I wonder how many more seasons I will be able to celebrate spring with him. The selfish thoughts of childhood almost destroyed the sacred fatherly love. Without that incident, how could I have understood the precious father-son relationship? The feeling of wanting to be forgiven has never ceased to haunt me. However, I finally understood that my father's love for me is beyond words. Fortunately, the "wordless" distance between father and son has been resolved. I am extremely happy about that!

Hello love, season 4, theme "Father" officially launched from December 27, 2024 on four types of press and digital infrastructure of Dong Nai Newspaper and Radio and Television, promising to bring to the public the wonderful values of sacred and noble fatherly love.
Please send to Dong Nai Newspaper, Radio and Television your touching stories about Father by writing articles, writing feelings, poems, essays, video clips, songs (with recordings),... via email [email protected], Electronic Newspaper and Digital Content Department, Dong Nai Newspaper, Radio and Television, No. 81, Dong Khoi, Tam Hiep Ward, Dong Nai Province, phone number: 0909.132.761. The time to receive articles is from now until August 30, 2025.
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Let's continue writing the story about Father with "Hello Love" season 4, so that stories about Father can spread and touch everyone's hearts!

Le Thi Nga

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/van-hoa/chao-nhe-yeu-thuong/202507/tinh-yeu-khong-loi-ee20dd0/