( Quang Ngai Newspaper) - 1. Hue looked up at the vast night sky, his eyes following the twinkling stars until they met the sea on the horizon. Hue exclaimed inwardly: "Oh! There's a whole sky in the heart of the sea!" From where the sky and water met, the waves swept the starlight into a huge, shimmering, undulating, silvery expanse, crashing against the shore. Hue sat still in his wheelchair on the vast sandy beach, gently pursing his lips, silently savoring the familiar salty taste that had been with him since birth. He gently bowed his head, pushing back a few strands of hair that fell across his eyes, stretched, then cupped his hands to his mouth like a megaphone and shouted: "Sea!" The small fishing village, on the tiny island, adrift in the endless ocean, had been accustomed to Hue's helpless yet heartfelt call for decades. Everyone felt sorry for Hue, but they could only sigh and shake their heads sympathetically because they couldn't help her return to the sea.
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| MH: VO VAN |
For Hue, the sea was his home. By the age of fifteen or seventeen, Hue had become famous throughout the fishing village for his swimming and diving skills. He was like an otter, appearing and disappearing in the depths of the sea. His father, then sixty years old, was a seasoned fisherman with a body of steel and skin of iron. To feed his five or six sons, born a year apart and all at the age of eating and growing, he had to strain himself at sea, regardless of whether the sea was calm or rough, so that his children wouldn't go hungry. Hue was the eldest son, and from a young age, he followed his father to learn about the sea, how to fish, catch squid, and gather the tastiest sea cucumbers. Thus, by the age of ten, he was intimately familiar with every current in the treacherous fishing grounds, making a living alongside his father. Hue loved moonless, star-filled nights like tonight. Usually, after dinner, as dusk fell, his father's deep, stiff voice, characteristic of people from the coastal region, would urge: "Hue, let's go to the sea, son. There's sure to be a lot of fish tonight!" After saying that, he put on his faded black jacket, a traditional Vietnamese blouse with a large patch the size of a hand on his left shoulder, and strode quickly, disappearing down the winding, solitary path on the island leading to the boat dock. Huệ's mother mumbled a sentence, leaving it unfinished: "He didn't even have time to breathe after eating..." Huệ quickly took a sip of herbal tea, then put on only her shorts with a drawstring waist that went past her knees. She hurried after her father, panting, tying the drawstring with both hands: "Dad! Wait for me, it's still early..." Ignoring her, the old man continued walking with his head down. Her father was Huệ's pride and joy, because everyone in the fishing village admired and respected his ability to predict the weather and the timing of the fish migrations according to the seasons. Following him, they were sure to bring back a big catch. So Huệ decided to drop out of school after elementary school to pursue a career in fishing.
2. Hue loved the freedom and expansiveness of the sea. If he couldn't go out to sea for even a day, he felt adrift and weightless. At twenty, Hue was already an experienced fisherman. The sun and wind of the open sea had tanned his skin and given him a muscular chest. His peers in the fishing village honored Hue as a "handsome seahorse" for his strength, decisiveness, and tenacity whenever he went to sea. Hue was a man of few words; whenever someone called him by that phrase, he would just smile and give a thumbs-up. As the eldest son, in the fishing village, getting married and having children at twenty was considered normal. Therefore, his parents urged him every day and wanted to choose a suitable girl for him. Hue didn't object, but he said, "Parents, please be patient, I'm not going to be an old maid anytime soon!" Hue knew he loved the sea very much, and he was afraid of disappointing the girl who would become his wife, besides, he was only twenty.
Hue could calculate his course by reading the ocean, but he couldn't foresee the dangers of life. Disaster struck when Hue was diving to catch sea cucumbers, marine creatures that live at depths of around seventy meters below sea level. The cruel irony was that the sea gave him so much, but suddenly took it all away. That night, after diving and catching a sea cucumber weighing about four or five kilograms, he was unusually excited. Instead of clinging to the rope of the boat for about forty meters to regain his composure before surfacing, relying on his youthful strength, Hue leaped up in one go and suffered a stroke. From that fateful night, Hue's legs became paralyzed, gradually atrophied, and lost all sensation. From a strong young man, after treatment at various hospitals, Hue returned to his small fishing village on the island with immobile legs. Ending his voyage of conquering the sea, Hue fell into depression, beginning a long period of boredom and pessimism as he was confined within four walls, his only joy being stroking the sleek black fur of his dog, Muc. Hue longed to go to the sea, to frolic among the white-capped waves, to spend sleepless nights fishing for squid, especially sea cucumbers. At times, he wanted to end his meaningless life immediately. But seeing his father, well past sixty, never complaining about the burden of the family, seeing his mother's hair turning grayer from the hardship of life, yet still smiling and encouraging him every morning, seeing his younger siblings growing up day by day following their father to sea, Hue couldn't bring himself to be heartless towards them. "Knit this net for your father, our net is too old and torn...", "At home, please apply some resin oil to the bottom of the basket boat for your father...", his father assigned him tasks every day. Hue realized he was still useful, he still had his hands. He thought more positively and gradually regained his balance. The lively stories about the sea, the fish, and everything that happened on the small island during family meals gradually revived Hue. The storm seemed to have subsided within him. Whenever Hue mended his nets, Mực would either circle around him, wagging its long tail gracefully, or lie prostrate before him, gazing intently at his master's hands with its glistening, watery eyes. Hue would look at it and comfort it, saying, "Don't leave me."
3. The border guard post on the island wasn't far from Hue's house. The island was small, but it felt like a big family. Seeing the ironic situation of the young man who always considered the sea his home, the officers at the post donated a portion of their salaries to buy Hue a wheelchair. On the day Hue received the wheelchair, the whole island celebrated with a feast of freshly caught fish on the sandy beach where the waves meet. Everyone was happy that Hue had new legs so he could go to the sea on his own whenever he missed it. Hue, with tears in his eyes, tightly grasped the hand of the post commander, Phan, looking towards the sea, feeling more confident thinking about tomorrow. In just a few days, the muscular arms of the former otter could skillfully maneuver the two wheels of the wheelchair. Every morning, when the sun cast a golden glow over the sea, and at sunset, when the sun gradually touched the sea, Hue would stop at the black rocky beach along the only path, sitting in his wheelchair and gazing at the sea from afar because he couldn't yet push the wheelchair on the sand. His dog, Muc, wagged its tail and ran after him. Hue took a deep breath of the pungent air, each time feeling an indescribable longing. He wanted to touch the sand, to scoop up seawater and splash it on his face to feel the taste of the ocean more intensely. The howling of Mực (the dog) blended with the sound of the waves, creating a vibrant symphony deep within Hue's soul. He smiled, spreading his arms wide to embrace Mực, nuzzling his face into its soft black fur like a child. Then, Mực left him. Hue told himself, "I have to learn to push the cart on the sand. Mực, I'll try my best for you. Remember to cheer me on!" And Hue succeeded.
4. Hue's life also changed when more people came to visit the island. His father bought him a tuk-tuk with three rows of seats so he could earn a living. He is a unique driver; he only knows how to drive and sits in the tuk-tuk, even when picking up and dropping off passengers. Tourists never see Hue get out of the tuk-tuk to solicit customers; he only greets them with a gentle smile. Many people wondered about this, but after hearing stories from the islanders and understanding his circumstances, they all enthusiastically supported Hue. The tuk-tuk drivers on the island also always showed him favoritism. It seemed that everyone didn't want him to feel left out. Hue understood this and silently thanked life for compensating him. The sea remained blue, the waves still caressing the sandy shore. The singing of the girls on the late afternoon tuk-tuk seemed to linger and echo in Hue's ears.
Hue may not have personal happiness, but he has opened up a vast world of happiness for himself whenever he returns to the sea. Tonight, the sea is calm, welcoming him with cool breezes and a sky full of twinkling stars in the endless ocean. On his way home, Hue is not in a hurry; he stops to sit for a while under the solitary sea almond tree on the island, as if taking in the entire vast space where the sky and water meet into his eyes. "There is no dead end if we dare to move forward!" Hue thinks. And, on this small island, for decades, amidst the boundless waves, there has been a "Sea Lily," who, despite the storms and tempests that have befallen her life, still dedicates an unconditional love to the sea...
TRAN THU HA
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