Short story: The sea calls

1. After the unseasonable storm, the sea was quiet, a mysterious blue. The gentle waves lapped against the shore, feeling as if they had never been calmer. The stillness of the sea made people think that the storm a few days before had never happened. It was like a dream. The dream took the shape of a column of waves, the aftershocks of which had left the small fishing village on the edge of the island in ruins. The rows of green coconut trees along the shore were uprooted. Boats that had not been anchored in time were smashed by the huge waves...

MH: VO VAN

2. Vinh stood silently in front of the sea on a late afternoon. Children from the fishing village were playing carefreely. They waded into the water, played with the waves and chased the crabs running aimlessly on the deserted sandbank. Vinh felt so peaceful. He had just finished his vacation and returned to the ship yesterday. The boundless happiness still seemed to linger in his soul. He had become a father after many years of waiting. This was the perfect result of a marriage when he and his wife were often apart, the number of days they were together could be counted on the fingers of one hand. But he did not consider it a loss or something to be sad about, because his wife, teacher Hanh, was a solid support. It was the affection of a city girl who was willing to follow her husband to the sea to be his wife and daughter-in-law that gave him the motivation to complete his duty as a coast guard soldier.

Hai Duong ! Vinh silently called his son's name. The meaningful name that both husband and wife loved, chosen when his wife just announced the good news. That name wanted to remind and preserve the memories the two had experienced. The times of dating on the beach, watching the golden moon fall on the water, both looking in the same direction, where the outpost island faced the waves and wind on all sides. While he was drifting on the ocean, his wife was quietly, diligently working on her lesson plan, waiting for her husband...

Vinh followed the slope, admiring the fields of flowers blooming along both sides of the road. The petals were pure white, fragile, gently swaying in the wind. Autumn had just arrived. The space was wide open, cool, no longer hot and stuffy. The wind blew in gusts, the sound of the waves behind him whispered, distant. Reaching the top of the slope, Vinh looked out into the distance. The sunset gradually fell, the sky seemed to be lowering with rolls of white clouds mixed with brilliant pink. Vinh loved the sea, loved the irresistible last moments of the day. He had seen this picture of the sky and sea hundreds of times, but every time, the movement and colorful changes always surprised and delighted him.

3. The sea is in the heart of the Fatherland, the sea is deep in the sleep of the marine soldiers far from home. The ship anchored in the bay, swaying with each wave. The ship crossed the waves towards the predetermined coordinates, in the joy of everyone. Patrols in the middle of the dark night, the lighthouse rotated to guide the direction. The sound of waves, the sound of wind whistling in the ears. The hair and skin of the soldiers were dyed with the color of the sun, imbued with the wind. Vinh was always proud to be a naval soldier. In the moments of rest between two shifts, he relaxed to enjoy the salty quality of the sea, listening to the memories of the past coming back, restless, lingering. His hometown is a coastal area, along the golden sand beaches, the pine forests blending with the singing waves every summer afternoon. His childhood was spent following his father on a fishing boat near the shore. The basket boat bobbed at the estuary, he held on to it to practice swimming. Most of the villagers were fishermen. His family had been attached to the boat for three generations, sailing out to sea. In his breath, in his body, there is the passionate taste of the sea. He joined the army, putting all his faith in the mission of protecting the peace of the sea and islands of his homeland for that reason.

4. “When we parted, I walked along the harbor/ The sea on one side and you on the other/ The sea was noisy and you were gentle/ I was like a ship rolling on two sides/ The sea on one side and you on the other...”. The clattering guitar drowned out the words of the sea, lifting the lyrical melody of the song far away. Vinh hummed along as the young soldier started singing. Then the whole group sang in harmony, bustlingly. This song had been sung many times in concerts and parties. Its melody was so passionate, full of love and longing... Vinh felt his heart sink, missing his home, his wife and children so much. The day he returned to his unit, Hanh looked at him and told him to rest assured about his work, that his wife would try to take care of everything at home. His parents were old now, and their son was not yet a year old. But then his wife’s determined eyes and tight grip on his hand helped him walk firmly.

Vinh knew that being the wife of a soldier far from home would be a hundred disadvantages, so he always respected and loved his wife immensely. Meanwhile, the dream that had been formed since childhood grew as he stood in front of the vast ocean. The navy ships passed by. The red flag with a yellow star on a high mast fluttered in the wind. He wished to set foot there, to become a navy soldier, with the duty of enforcing the law and protecting national security, order, and safety at sea. And that came true. The first days in the military environment were always full of difficulties, especially the time on the ship, facing more storms than on land. Vinh sometimes got seasick and felt discouraged, but his father's encouragement and his wife's devoted love helped him turn difficulties into actions. Soon after, he became a good soldier, and was commended by his superiors.

Vinh recalled the day he got married, in the early days of spring, the Tet atmosphere was bustling everywhere, his heart suddenly felt indescribably moved. The unit gave him a few days off, all the preparations were taken care of by his family and his wife's side. He returned home, just like the soldier in the poem he had recited, after the wedding he left. Seeing her husband off to the unit while everyone was enjoying the spring and celebrating Tet, his wife could not hide the tears of longing that rolled down. He encouraged his wife and tried to hold back his own surging emotions. Stepping onto the ship, he and his unit sailed out to sea. The solemn slogan behind the captain's cabin "The island is home, the ocean is homeland" seemed to be deeply engraved in the heart of the aspiring soldier.

5. The sea in the moonlight is as beautiful as a poem, magical and shimmering. It is late at night, the sea water mixes with the salty mist blowing on their faces. On the weekend, the young soldiers are allowed to rest so they are still awake, standing next to each other, chatting and watching the space of sky and water blending. Someone is softly reciting a few verses of poetry about the sea. Someone is softly singing a few love songs. Laughter and jokes resound. Voices of greetings and concern for each other... Vinh retrieves the text messages his wife sent him this afternoon and reads them again. His son Hai Duong has grown four teeth, knows how to walk along the edge of the bed and babbles "Daddy"... He looks at his son in the photo collection on his phone. At sea, sometimes when the ship goes far out to sea and loses signal, Vinh and his teammates only have to complete their mission even though they miss their wives and children very much. Therefore, when the ship reaches shore, it is also the time when his teammates are allowed by their superiors to call home to visit their families, wives and children.

The stars in the distance suddenly seemed to fall down, as if gliding lightly on the water. The scene of the night sea was extremely wonderful. In the midst of the vastness, in the midst of that silence, Vinh felt his heart lighten, the feeling of love, of attachment to the sea, to the islands he had visited more. In the depths of Vinh's feelings for his homeland, he heard echoes of things he had cherished and enjoyed before. That was the vastness of the ocean, the harmony between the sky and the sea at dawn. He loved the sea and islands of his homeland passionately. The sea was as blue as jade, with each wave undulating. The sky was high and wide, with vast blue clouds. He had many times stood excitedly on the deck of the ship, binoculars raised, looking forward. The fishing boats, from afar, looked like yellow leaves drifting along the water. Vinh suddenly smiled when he thought of his father and the fishermen of the fishing village enthusiastically pulling in their nets. The sea was generous for shrimp and fish. Working in the middle of the ocean is difficult and full of uncertainties, but they still stick to the sea, bringing seafood to enrich their homeland.

Suddenly someone urged: Go to sleep, comrades, it's very late! Vinh entered the cabin, his heart still filled with emotions. Something was stirring and nagging in his heart. Vinh turned over to listen. In the night breeze that had just blown in, it seemed like the sea was calling.

CEILING PAINT

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