Short story: Peaceful Wharf

Illustration: Tran Thang

The day was almost over. The remaining rays of sunlight gradually melted into the deep purple afternoon as the red sun gradually sank down at the end of the river. Dieu carefully covered the hot dinner tray under the table and stepped out into the yard, the smell of blue smoke still lingering on her clothes and hair.

A cool breeze blew, carrying the damp scent of the earth after the first rain of the season. The old star apple trees creaked and swayed, dropping their pretty little white flowers. Dieu smiled as she looked into the distance, where a hunched old man was playing with a little girl sitting motionless in a stroller.

It had been 3 years since Dieu set foot on the island. Having drifted on the rivers and canals, navigating through all the streams and narrow channels of the alluvial land, this was the first time she had stopped at the small piece of land that emerged at the end of the Ba Thac River before flowing into the sea. Who would have thought, even Dieu did not know that she would stay forever on this land.

Looking up at the calm water with only a few small waves, the floating market now has only a few tourist boats bobbing up and down. Memories suddenly come alive as if just a moment ago, the coconut-buying boat of Dieu and his wife had just pulled through the water and docked.

Dieu still thought it was a rest stop after a long journey. Even a few weeks before, she had not seen any strange signs from her husband. He was still diligent and hard-working; whenever the boat docked, he would run up to the garden to look at the coconut trees.

His feet were still nimble as a squirrel. While counting coconuts and passing them down to the boat, Duoc was still singing humorously. Even that morning, he was still happily pampering his disabled daughter, mumbling and calling her his beloved daughter. Until he gave Dieu some large bills and told her to go ashore to buy a kilo of delicious meat to make a meal to offer to Dieu's parents, she still thought he was a very loving and filial man.

The man who had taken Dieu in when her parents had passed away from serious illness. It was thought that Dieu's life and the coconut boat would be forever linked to Duoc's merchant life, but that day came.

Before Dieu turned away with her bag, her husband tenderly handed her their little daughter. She was told, “The little girl likes crowded places. Every time we take her to the market, her eyes and nose light up.” Dieu smiled and reached out to help the little girl. The poor girl had contracted polio when she was only a few months old. Luckily, she survived, but she lost the ability to move for the rest of her life.

At that time, Dieu often blamed herself for her lack of knowledge about vaccinations, which led to her child being in such a state. Her husband had to gently encourage her for a long time before she could calm down a bit. Seeing Duoc still holding and cherishing Nhan like a treasure in his arms, a mother like Dieu had nothing to worry about.

Just like when she took her child from her husband's arms and stepped onto the riverbank, Dieu did not think about anything. She leisurely went to the market to buy meat and vegetables. Knowing that Duoc liked the dish of water mimosa cooked with sour soup and catfish, Dieu immediately went to the fresh fish stall determined to make a fancy meal. Absorbed in the buying and selling and letting her child enjoy the market, when Dieu returned to the riverbank, the sun had already risen to the top of the pole.

Boats and sampans at the floating market still came and went, but Duoc’s coconut boat was nowhere to be seen. Dieu sat in the sun, thinking that someone was calling to sell coconuts, so her husband rowed away and would be back soon. She sat and looked out at the dock until dusk, the fish in the basket gradually dried out and became smelly, but her husband still had not returned.

Many people said they saw a boat buying coconuts going through Tra On straight to Saigon, but Dieu did not believe it. At this time, she had collapsed on the ground, next to her was a basket of fish and meat that smelled bad. Luckily, her daughter was well-behaved, in the middle of the river, the wind and dust were flying in her eyes, but she was still sleeping soundly.

An old man with a limp who worked as a boatman at the floating market approached Dieu and told her not to wait any longer, the coconut boat probably wouldn't be back. Dieu looked up, staring blankly at the man with a kind and gentle face that was easy to find in the river country.

Knowing that Dieu had nowhere else to go, the old man told her to go back to his house for now and wait until morning to see him. The old man lived alone in a simple thatched roof but was extremely neat and tidy. There were only the couple in the house, no children, but last year his wife had left him because she could not survive a serious illness.

Every day, at dawn, when he went to the floating market to pick up passengers, Dieu would follow. Many boats from all over the country stopped at the island to resupply supplies for the trip, but there was no boat that Dieu was looking for. Asking the merchants going up and down, someone saw Duoc pick up a woman with a pretty face and powdered skin in Mieu hamlet, then the two of them headed up the road to the upper region.

Dieu told the old man: "No matter what, we must meet once and make things clear." He shoved some bills into Dieu's hand, telling her to leave, but if one day she no longer knew where to return, this island would always be open to her. Although he was poor, with a small garden full of fruit trees, even if it was just simple vegetable porridge, Dieu and her mother would probably never go hungry.

Seeing Dieu off on the ferry, he waved his hand toothlessly. A feeling of reluctance rose up in Dieu, making her not dare to turn back to look at the wrinkled face that was alone, staring with dull eyes. For months being protected by him, having a house on the ground to come and go made Dieu feel like she was back in the days when her parents were still alive, when their family had not yet fallen so far that they had to pack up all their belongings and leave the country by boat.

During the long period of drifting, sleeping night after night with the waves crashing on the shore, Dieu often missed the peaceful times and sometimes wished for a stable house to settle down. But when she turned around and touched Duoc, Dieu continued to be content with the present as long as the couple had each other. But that simple life that she once thought was perfect, until now, only Dieu still remembers.

The ferry moved silently, the old man still had not left. Suddenly Dieu was afraid to turn back and tears naturally flowed down her face. When the coconut boat left the dock and the man had the heart to leave his wife and children, Dieu thought she was the most unfortunate person in the world. Until she heard the old man confide about his life as a soldier returning home with crippled legs.

Bieu Dieu touched the top of his head - where his hair no longer grew - and the old man said, "A bullet once grazed that spot." He could no longer remember the circumstances, amid the days of artillery shells and the acrid smell of gunpowder on the smoky Eastern battlefield. He only knew that when he woke up, the nurse said, "Luckily, if it had been another inch deeper, it would have been dangerous."

Then peace came, he returned to the island, the old place, the old hometown. His relatives were scattered and there was no one left. Holding his injured legs and the wounds that hurt every time the weather changed, he broke the ground every day, rebuilding the house. He married a widow whose husband had died on the battlefield.

The children were born one after another, but very quickly the old couple had to bury them. The poison that had seeped into his body during the years on the battlefields of Bu Dop and Ma Da made it impossible for him to have normal children.

His wife was sad and withered for many years and still could not overcome the fate of heaven. The days when Dieu and her daughter came to live with him, he felt like he had a relative in his life. Dieu's disabled daughter reminded him of his own unfortunate children, so he felt even more sorry for her. Sometimes, in a good mood, he said: "Why don't you stay and be my daughter?"

The day before, Dieu left, she was seen returning to the island with a sad look. There was no one at home, the old man was sad so he did not go to the floating market to pick up and drop off guests. When Dieu returned, she hurried to the river wharf but could not find him anywhere. It turned out that there were encounters in life that were as natural as fate. Dieu had met the person she needed to meet, even if there were a thousand disappointments, nothing could be changed. But there were relationships that if she did not keep them in time, they would be lost.

Dieu returned home, feeling empty all around. She didn’t know where the old man had gone. Inside the firewood was cold, next to the tea pot were only a few crumbs of sponge cake, probably because someone had made too few eggs, so it was dry. Dieu walked out to the front yard, calling out: “Mr. Tu!”. A figure from somewhere walked through the hibiscus fence with wobbly legs, reaching out to welcome the smiling child, scolding lovingly: “When will your mother call you dad?”

Dieu smiled involuntarily as the old story replayed in her mind like a movie. She looked back at the small house, the peaceful wharf located in the middle of the wind-blocking star trees, then her eyes turned back to that direction and she called out: "Dad, let's go home for dinner!"

HIEN DUONG

Source: https://baovinhlong.com.vn/van-hoa-giai-tri/tac-gia-tac-pham/202505/truyen-ngan-ben-binh-yen-c810802/