Short story: Peaceful house

( Quang Ngai Newspaper) - Once upon a time, you told me that the children will grow up, and we will grow old. Then they will have their own families, their own lives, and it will be just us sitting together in the garden listening to Ngo Thuy Mien's music, drinking tea, thinking about the last day...
I gently pressed the radio button. This radio was old, playing cassette tapes. And tapes are not easy to find, especially when modern life changes clothes every day. I had to run around looking for old cassette tape stores in the city, all of them "hidden in alleys", luckily I bought a few sets of Ngo Thuy Mien, Trinh Cong Son tapes... - immortal melodies that accompanied me and her on every journey of life, until the day Tieu Mieu was born, and Son knew how to write love letters to his girlfriend.

Our house is on a small street, an old house, with a small square yard and a garden behind. Having the green of trees and flowers in the middle of a crowded city is already precious! Son whispered several times: “Let’s rebuild the house, Dad! My friends’ houses are modern, bright, with balconies overlooking the city, and even a swimming pool. Our house is so old, it might become... an ancient house!”. I smiled, looking at Linh. She looked out into the yard, watching the raindrops taking refuge on the magnolia tree, slowly dripping down onto the moss-covered steps.

Building a house is not too difficult for us. After years of saving, in addition to taking care of Son and Tieu Mieu, we still have some money for our old age, or if necessary, we can use it to build a new house, buy a new car, as long as we can ensure a stable life for our children. They are children living in the modern and innovative atmosphere of the country, so they need to be exposed to new things, to be taken care of both physically and mentally. But we cannot bear to destroy the old house - the house where we have lived and been attached since the day we held hands and entered life together, until Son was born, and Tieu Mieu was also born in that house. The old house, moss covered walls, faded tiled roof, but holds countless beautiful memories.
“Son, when you grow up, you will understand. This house, to your parents, is not just a few walls, a tiled roof, a door, a square yard... but also sacred memories that your parents preserve and cherish,” Linh said to her son, her hand screwing a branch of magnolia that was blooming into the door frame.

Magnolia is beautiful! My sister and I both love magnolia. This flower is not flashy or proud, just a light green color but it captivates many people, including my sister and me. We brought this magnolia tree to the yard to plant after a big storm in the city, the wind blew down the trees. The old mango tree was uprooted, we replaced it with magnolia. My sister said: "Magnolia is both beautiful and fragrant. In the afternoon, sitting under the tree drinking tea, watching magnolia sway, the fragrance wafting... there is nothing better". That is our image at the present time. And the vision we draw when we are old. At that time, the children will grow up.

Son, although not very convinced by the reason Linh gave, implicitly answered to let his children know that: Mom and Dad will still keep this house, if necessary we will repaint it, the house is still good, memories are precious. But you do not ask for a new house, a balcony, a swimming pool... When you grow up, shouldering many things on your small shoulders, you will understand: Life still has many things to worry about.

I held Linh's hand and walked through many magnolia seasons. In the morning, I took Tieu Mieu to school and then went home to pick Linh up. Son was grown up so he went to school by bike. The school was close by. We also wanted our children to be independent, instead of being pampered by their parents, taking care of every meal, sleep, and transportation. That would easily make them feel suffocated and uncomfortable. In the afternoon, we took the opportunity to come home early to play with our children, listen to Tieu Mieu sing some new songs that the teacher had just taught at school, listen to Son tell the story of his soccer team winning a gold medal in a match against a rival school. The children played in the garden, watching the apple tree bloom, and soon the fruit would be hanging on the branches, and then the fruit would be sweet after a few showers. Linh made tea and brought it to the old table under the magnolia tree. The magnolia season was fragrant. The magnolia scent floated in the cool breeze of a summer afternoon without rain. We sipped fragrant tea, looked at the flowers, and told each other stories about the past, the present, and the future. Looking at Son and Tieu Mieu, she smiled softly, her eyes sparkling with happiness:
- Children will grow up...

Then they will grow up. Grow up very quickly, like trees, like birds in the sky. As for Son, who was just a child, in a flash he became a young man, about to enter the threshold of life. As for Tieu Mieu, just the other day I was watching him lying in his cradle, the cradle rocking, his dreamy angelic sleep, but today he is a cute, adorable little girl. He looks exactly like Linh, from his eyes to his facial expression, from his smile to his chubby hands. I asked him: "Tieu Mieu, what do you want to do when you grow up?" He smiled and said: "I want to be a dancer like you, Mom!" - Then he waved his chubby hands in some unnamed dance.

I looked at Linh. The young woman I met on stage dancing for the audience in the city, then fell in love with her, then became her husband, and went through many hardships of life with her. The life of a dancer is difficult, but because of her love for art, she overcame everything to now retreat backstage to watch her students perform the dances she once sublimated in the lights, in the gentle sounds of the performance.
- Linh, what are you thinking?

I asked Linh, seeing her eyes staring up at the endless green magnolia canopy.
- I'm imagining that one day I'll see Tieu Mieu perform on stage, I'll be so proud and happy! I see my youth in her.

Children will grow up. Children will replace their parents to continue the dream that has been dormant for a long time. Unlike other parents, we respect our children's decisions and cherish their dreams. Everyone has their own beautiful dream, so do we, Son and Tieu Mieu! We do not have the right to force anyone to dream their own dream or change anyone else's dream, including our children - the children we gave birth to, love, and protect.

I remember the day Linh took Tieu Mieu to the dance class. Linh was also a famous dancer, so the teachers in the dance class loved Linh and paid more attention to Tieu Mieu. She told the teachers to be strict with Tieu Mieu and not to be afraid that she would be sad. Being strict is the best way to help children become good people. Didn't you have to be strict with yourself in the past to be able to stand on your toes for a long time without swelling or pain? Didn't you have to be strict with yourself to become a dancer loved and respected by many people?

- Brother, when the children grow up and become adults, Son and Tieu Mieu will have their own small families. They will leave your arms and mine to be free in their own world. How will we live?
I laughed and told her she was worrying too much, but what she was worried about was also what I had been worried about. And then I thought about it. I held her hand, her soft, slender hand, and whispered.

- Everyone will have their own sky. We do too, right? When we are old, as long as we are together, we will be happy until the last day! We will still watch the magnolia flowers every afternoon, listen to Ngo Thuy Mien's music on nights filled with the scent of flowers... As for the children, no matter where they fly, no matter how happy they are in their own sky... they will always come back to us. I know, in their eyes, we will always be the most beloved people!

Linh looked at me and smiled gently. Over the years, the smile on her face was still the same.
A bunch of magnolia flowers with broken stems fell on the table. I picked them up and gently brought them to my nose. The magnolia flowers had a gentle fragrance. Sometimes, life only needs moments of sitting and admiring the magnolia flowers with their gentle fragrance, drinking tea in the melody of love under the magnolia flowers' shade... that is already happiness!

We looked at Son and Tieu Mieu. Our two angels. They are growing up day by day, living the life we once dreamed of: Full, civilized, modern, with conditions to study, access new things... We are nurturing them both physically and mentally,educating them from the smallest things so that in the future they will become useful people for their family and society.

Rain poured on the tiled roof. The city began a long rainy season. The frangipani was immersed in the rain. Leaves fell all over the garden, the front porch was covered in moss. On a rainy night in June, we sat together in the house that had witnessed both happy and difficult moments in our lives, witnessed the days when we loved each other passionately, witnessed the most sacred moment of our lives: I became a father, Linh became a mother, two children cried when they were born. That house, despite the years, was still warm and full of love. One day the two children grew up, they would realize that: This was the most peaceful home in their lives. The place where they were born. The place that gave them wings to fly to fulfill their wishes.

HOANG KHANH DUY

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