On the rocky plateau - Short story contest by Vu Thi Hue

- Did you forget your appointment with Din?

Mr. Pao saw May packing her books and going to school so he reminded his daughter.

- Dad told me your summer vacation is over, you have to go to school.

May silently carried the brocade bag over her shoulder and went to school. She was in 12th grade this year, she had to study hard to take the university entrance exam. No one in her village had gone to university, the only one who had gone to college was Mr. Din, who had a college degree and had opened a travel agency in the city. Mr. Din said: "May, don't get married early, you have to study further, you have to have the qualifications to develop your hometown." Mr. Din said so and May also wanted that.

Looking at May's silhouette bobbing outside the stone fence, fading and disappearing in the morning mist, Mr. Pao was glad that May still wanted to go to school. In this Sang Pa village, since the arrival of tourists, many children have completely forgotten about learning to read and write and are absorbed in following tourists to sell goods on the street. The younger ones dropped out of school, the older ones also dropped out of school. Teachers came to their homes to persuade them to go to school, but they hid and didn't see them, and their parents also wanted them not to see them. It seemed that the immediate benefits from the money they earned were more important than learning to read and write. By dropping out of school, many children became corrupted because of money, losing the upright heart of the Lo Lo ancestors on the rocky plateau.

Trên điệp trùng cao nguyên đá - Truyện ngắn dự thi của Vũ Thị Huế - Ảnh 1.

Mr. Pao was happy that May still wanted to go to school, but he was worried about where to get money for his daughter's education. Living surrounded by rocks, having enough men men to eat all year round was good enough, but he didn't have any savings to send his children to school like people in the city. Not to mention that since May's mother had gone to live with her ancestors early, his family's situation had become even more difficult. In high school, his family had a certificate of poor household income, so May was exempted from tuition fees by the government, but in the future, she wanted to go to university in the city, so she needed money to go. Well, Din said, as long as he didn't force May to drop out of school to get married, he would plan for May to both study and work to earn money for her education.

Din is May's cousin. He said: "May is the only one in Sang Pa village who is both smart and studious and has the will to succeed. We must help May to continue her studies." He knew what Din said, but he couldn't help but think. May had been gone for a long time, but Mr. Pao still hadn't stopped thinking about his daughter.

On the rocky trail, May walked to school. She was used to walking, no vehicle could travel on the trails here better than the Lo Lo people's legs. May's traditional costume moved rhythmically with each step. From afar, May looked like a butterfly fluttering among the rocky plateau. That fragile butterfly was carrying within it a great ambition.

May remembers, once Mr. Din said: "Sang Pa, our village has plenty of stone but lacks arable land so it cannot produce productive corn. If we just rely on corn, Sang Pa will always be poor. Our times are different, technology is developed, people everywhere know each other. This is an opportunity for young people like us to promote and develop the strengths of our homeland. Sang Pa has the strength of majestic nature, of the unique cultural features of the Lo Lo people. Those strengths are very suitable for tourism development. Young people must help Sang Pa village escape poverty in the direction of tourism development, May! But to develop sustainably, to not lose the national identity, we must study a lot, understand a lot. May, be the pioneer to go to higher education to gain knowledge about developing our homeland. The next generation will follow May to learn."

Mr. Din wanted May to think like that, so every time May had a long break from school during Tet or summer, Mr. Din assigned May to take tourists to visit the village. He said: "May, do it to experience, to learn and also to have money for future studies."

Guiding visitors to the village is not difficult for May. She knows more about the Lo Lo culture than many of her peers because her father, Mr. Pao, is the one assigned to keep the village's bronze drums, a typical musical instrument of the Lo Lo. The person assigned to keep the drums must be knowledgeable and passionate about their ethnic culture in order to lead the drum and singing teams to follow the rituals passed down by the Lo Lo ancestors.

Mr. Pao always wanted to pass on culture to future generations, so he often told May stories so that she could understand her ethnic culture. Every time she finished telling stories, he would remind her: "Remember this to pass it on to her children and grandchildren." Although she had no children or grandchildren, she told those stories to visitors to her village. She was influenced by her father, so the music , songs, and dances of the Lo Lo people were in her soul. May's simple, sincere voice made her stories even more attractive. Mr. Din also had to exclaim: "May is suitable to be a tour guide."

While walking and thinking, May's steps were slow but he was still on time to class. The first period was Ms. Hien's literature class. Ms. Hien was from the lowlands but had been attached to Meo Vac for more than two decades. "Meo Vac is my second hometown," she often told her students. Ms. Hien always had a way to instill dreams and ambitions in her highland students. It was from Ms. Hien's classes that May had the thought of striving to realize his dream of seeking knowledge.

On the podium, she was talking about "the responsibility of the young generation to the homeland". When relating to reality, she asked the question: "You are the children of the rocky plateau, you understand best the hardships of those who live on the rocks. So how can each village here no longer be poor?... And is that the responsibility of your young generation?".

Ms. Hien's question was not easy to answer, but it seemed to have planted thoughts in the student. May was the same, May thought that she had to be determined to pass the university entrance exam to bring the knowledge she learned back to build her homeland. Ms. Hien and Mr. Din were the two people who always gave May the motivation to nurture her dream. May felt that she was not alone on the rocky plateau.

After school, May returned on the familiar road. The rising sun had dried the mountain mist, everything appeared clear. Above, the white clouds towered, below, looking around, everywhere were rocks and forests. Although May was small in front of the majestic nature, she was a red dot standing out because of the colorful Lo Lo traditional costume she was wearing. May wished she had a miracle to make the road into the village as beautiful as the asphalt road down in the city so that the Sang Pa people's feet would be less tired. May climbed dozens of stone steps from the trail down to her house's gate, she leaned her back against the heavy gate, closed her eyes to rest. The gate was from May's grandfather's time, made from precious wood, so now it was the only gate in the village that still carried the soul of the forest, able to emit the fragrance of the forest.

Inside the house, the stove was still lit. Strange, where had Dad gone? The father and I had a phone, but Dad was holding it. There was no way to contact Dad, May could only wait. After noon, the afternoon passed and Dad still hadn't returned. May was restless and worried, standing and sitting restlessly, always looking down the path waiting for Dad. Only when the stone fence could no longer be seen from inside the house did Mr. Pao return. Before he could even enter the house, Mr. Pao asked May:

- Are you full yet, May?

May was surprised to see Mr. Pao wearing the traditional Lo Lo costume, the newest costume, which Mr. Pao still kept in a wooden box, he only wore on special occasions. What event was there today that he was wearing it? May looked at his father and asked:

- Where have you been, dad?

- I guide tourists to visit the village.

- Do you agree?

- He agreed. This morning, when you went to school, I was alone thinking, the corn field is ruined, the goats are also swept away by the flood, if I don't go to work with Din, where will I get the money to send you to school. So I didn't call Din, I wore this new set of clothes to meet Din, told him: "Let me take the guests to visit the village instead of May". It took a while for Din to nod. So I took the guests to visit the village. It was easy, I just told the visitors about the living habits of the Lo Lo people. But the guests listened attentively. When I sang Lo Mi Pho , a folk song of the Lo Lo people, many guests even held their phones to record it. I let them record it, I just sang naturally like many times I let my lyrics resonate on the rocks.

"How to make friends for a long time

Make friends for long

Say good words

Do not lie to each other"…

Mr. Pao was as light-headed as a drunkard, but not because he was drunk, but because he was so happy. So happy that his spirit was at ease, his singing voice was even more soaring. Mr. Pao sat down to enjoy the strong tea that May had just made. Mr. Pao's tea was famously delicious in the village. The tea buds were picked from ancient tea trees on the mountain behind the house, and May personally dried them until crispy. The water for making the tea was taken from a small spring that flowed from the heart of the mountain. Both the tea and the water were pure, so Mr. Pao's tea was sweet in the throat. Since his liver started to hurt, Mr. Pao drank hot tea instead of corn wine to dispel the cold of the highlands. May was so happy to see his father drinking tea instead of wine that he never let the tea box go empty.

Outside the gate there was a flickering flashlight, before seeing the person clearly, I heard a voice:

- Uncle Pao is still very strong, I can't keep up with him.

It was Mr. Din. May sat studying behind the curtain that separated her room from the main house. Even though she couldn't see his face, she knew he was Mr. Din by his voice. Without even listening, May could clearly hear every word her father and Mr. Din said to each other.

- Why did you follow me home?

- Follow Uncle Pao home to discuss.

Mr. Pao leisurely waved for Din to sit down. He rinsed the eel skin cup several times with boiling water before pouring tea for Din.

- Drink this, let the mountain tea help you relax.

Din raised both hands to hold the cup of tea, took small sips and slowly said:

- Uncle Pao is a good host today.

Mr. Pao nodded at Din's good words but remained silent.

- From now on, May can study with peace of mind.

Mr. Pao was still silently enjoying each small sip of tea. Too familiar with the laconic way of speaking of the people in his area, Din did not wait for Mr. Pao to reply but continued: "Tourists want to stay in the houses of the village to experience. It means living with the people during the time visiting the village. Models like that are called homestays. Mr. Pao's house is very suitable for being a homestay. From the ground floor house, this stone fence, the precious wooden gate with the whole sloping road in front of the house. There are also dozens of stone steps leading up to the house. His house has a precious tea variety, a clear underground stream flowing from the heart of the mountain. Mr. Pao is the one who keeps the soul of the bronze drum. Therefore, Mr. Pao's house should be renovated to be a homestay.

Mr. Pao was no longer silent, he calmly said: "I keep it the same. I do not break tradition."

All this time, May had been sitting quietly behind the curtain listening to Mr. Din talking to his father. Now, May slowly stepped out, greeted Mr. Din, and cautiously suggested:

- Down the street there is a homestay sign, but the houses are very different from the traditional houses of the Lo Lo people.

Hearing May say that, Anh Din firmly said:

- Everything will be kept intact. Uncle Pao's house only needs to be renovated to become the central Lo Lo cultural site of Sang Pa village. Tourists come to his house to learn about the customs of the Lo Lo people in the rocky plateau... Just like Uncle Pao welcoming a friend from far away to visit his house. Uncle Pao's house is still there, everything is still preserved.

Hearing Din say that Lo Lo culture was preserved, Mr. Pao nodded: "That's okay." May also put aside her worries and turned back to finish the homework given by Ms. Hien. Mr. Din still talked a lot with his father, and it took a long time for him to say goodbye and leave. The night was clear, the moon on the rocky plateau was bright, clearly showing the rocky mountains in the distance. "The country is entering a new era, every homeland must rise up..." In the essay he was working on to submit to Ms. Hien, May wrote like that. May imagined that one day not far away, Sang Pa would rise up and the Lo Lo colors would be brilliant on the rocky plateau.

The fifth Living Well Writing Contest was held to encourage people to write about noble actions that have helped individuals or communities. This year, the contest focused on praising individuals or groups that have performed acts of kindness, bringing hope to those in difficult circumstances.

The highlight is the new environmental award category, honoring works that inspire and encourage action for a green, clean living environment. Through this, the Organizing Committee hopes to raise public awareness in protecting the planet for future generations.

The contest has diverse categories and prize structure, including:

Article categories: Journalism, reportage, notes or short stories, no more than 1,600 words for articles and 2,500 words for short stories.

Articles, reports, notes:

- 1 first prize: 30,000,000 VND

- 2 second prizes: 15,000,000 VND

- 3 third prizes: 10,000,000 VND

- 5 consolation prizes: 3,000,000 VND

Short story:

- 1 first prize: 30,000,000 VND

- 1 second prize: 20,000,000 VND

- 2 third prizes: 10,000,000 VND

- 4 consolation prizes: 5,000,000 VND

Photo category: Submit a photo series of at least 5 photos related to volunteer activities or environmental protection, along with the name of the photo series and a short description.

- 1 first prize: 10,000,000 VND

- 1 second prize: 5,000,000 VND

- 1 third prize: 3,000,000 VND

- 5 consolation prizes: 2,000,000 VND

Most Popular Prize: 5,000,000 VND

Prize for Excellent Essay on Environmental Topic: 5,000,000 VND

Honored Character Award: 30,000,000 VND

The deadline for submissions is October 16, 2025. The works will be evaluated through the preliminary and final rounds with the participation of a jury of famous names. The organizing committee will announce the list of winners on the "Beautiful Life" page. See detailed rules at thanhnien.vn .

Organizing Committee of the Beautiful Living Contest