Short story: Loving the color blue

The afternoon sun in Saigon cast a honey-colored glow. Looking up at the blue shirts of her friends, Mien's heart filled with joy…

Mien put the phone down on the table, her heart heavy. She couldn't be sure of a promise she could keep at this moment. Mien knew that every year at this time, the children eagerly awaited the visit of the Youth Union members to their village.

Fun activities, gift-giving, classes, visits to the elderly… Before she knew it, Mien had come to love the green uniform of the Youth Union. She loved the days sitting on the truck loaded with goods, swaying along the winding roads into the villages. There, she would hear the footsteps of the children following behind whenever Mien's group of students gathered and played games for them… Just thinking about it made Mien yearn to temporarily set aside her work to be with the kids. She remembered the longing look in Huyen's eyes. She was only 8 years old, in the second grade, but already knew how to look after her younger sibling while her parents went to work in the fields. One day, Mien even saw Huyen carrying her baby on her back. The tiny baby, wearing only a shirt, no pants, sat quietly in the basket, sleeping soundly. Her older sister was engrossed in her books. Then there were the hugs from Huy and Dat. They said that only on the days when the young men and women came to visit did they get to eat bread dipped in condensed milk, and sing and dance without fear of being scolded by their parents.

Whenever she had time off, Mien and her friends would go around the city, collecting clothes, shoes, and other usable items to take to the children in the highlands. It became a habit; every few months, if Mien and her friends were absent, a child would call Mien or the other members of the group. They would innocently say, "Just come and visit us, you don't need to bring gifts, just teach us some extra subjects." These calls were usually incomplete, rambling, because sometimes, while they were on the phone, their parents would scold them for talking too long and wasting money. Mien, understanding the situation, would hang up and call back to talk for longer.

Today was no different. When she heard Huyen sobbing on the other end of the line, she was standing at the school balcony. Mien felt a pang of anxiety. It seemed something was wrong with her after that phone call. Lately, Huyen had rarely contacted her. Huyen's father worked in the fields and was often in the forest. Occasionally, he would say he was going deep into the woods to look for agarwood, and he wouldn't be home for a whole week. He never let her use the phone either. She couldn't understand how Huyen remembered Mien's number.

For a long time, Mien had been allergic to strange phone numbers that called to tease her or ask her out on dates. But since moving to the village, whenever she saw an unfamiliar number on her screen, she would press the answer button. She always hoped to hear a child's voice on the other end.

The notification sound from Messenger woke Mien up:

- Hey, little old lady, the volunteer season is coming soon. Are you planning to join the kids?

That's Thanh, a member

in the volunteer group of

Mien. Mien replied immediately:

Yes, I've managed to gather some milk and clothes. How about you? Once things are a little less busy, we can arrange a ride and leave right away.

When will you be less busy?

Thanh's question made Mien hesitate for a long time.

Suddenly, Mien remembered:

- Oh, it's Huyen, the one with the dove-like eyes. She called me earlier, saying she missed you all so much. But I could tell her her voice was quite shaky. Do you have any way to contact her and ask if anything's wrong? I'm a little worried.

Okay, let me find out. Send me the phone number the girl called earlier!

A moment later, the chat light started blinking again:

- This isn't good, his father beat him mercilessly.

Mien stared at the computer screen, truly horrified. She immediately called Thanh. Thanh recounted that Huyen had been on holiday for a few days, but apparently she had taken her younger sibling to school on her own initiative to meet the young men and women. On the way home, they encountered some police officers who told them to get in their car and not wander around outside, in case something bad happened. Yet, upon arriving home, before even hearing the full story, her father had already unleashed his anger on her. Her mother didn't dare intervene either.

Mien slumped down onto the chair and sobbed uncontrollably. The image of the bruised child haunted her even in her dreams.

***

The graduation ceremony was brief. Holding her diploma, Mien thought about the city where her parents lived. Her father worked there, and he could get her a job immediately. But the image of the children in the remote village kept urging her on. Should she go back there with them? She loved the green volunteer uniform, loved the hard days spent in that barren, rocky land. There were days when her hands and lips bled from the harsh weather. And there were days when the group went to the remote villages to encourage the children to go to school, only to encounter heavy rain and landslides, having to hide under large trees, waiting and groping their way back…

Mien took the phone to her father. Her father's voice was cheerful:

- So, daughter, are you planning to settle down and start your career in Saigon after graduation?

"I haven't decided on my path yet, Dad. Could I go to the village for a while?" Mien's voice faltered.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line, then my father's warm, deep voice rang out again:

- Okay, daughter, I believe in you and your volunteer team. The door at home is always open to welcome you back.

Mien breathed a sigh of relief. Closing her university diploma in her file, she quickly packed her belongings, contacted each member of the group, and prepared to split up to continue fundraising and get ready for the new volunteer season.

Mien called her group members and directly contacted benefactors at several clothing and milk companies, asking for additional support. However, what Mien didn't expect happened. The number of calls increased, but the number of people refusing also increased. The reason was that this year everything was affected by global conflicts; companies were facing increased costs, reduced profits, and difficulty taking care of their own employees, so charitable funds were being cut back. Turning to her group members, Mien also received sighs of disappointment. After calling all day, only a few places agreed to help, and they shared fewer gifts than in previous years.

Mien boldly split the group into several smaller groups. Because Mien knew how much the children in that remote area were waiting for the volunteer team. At the end of the day, the whole group gathered to tally the gifts and cash they had collected. Then they went to the temple together to ask the monk for some more supplies.

Greeting the group at the door, the monk smiled kindly:

- Is volunteering season already here? Time flies, kids!

Will you still be going to the highlands with the children this year?

The whole group said in unison:

"Yes, we'll go, teacher!" The teacher led the students inside. Inside, the nuns had prepared two lavish vegetarian meals for them. The teacher said:

- Miên called this morning, and I knew you kids would come to the temple, so I prepared a meal for you. Eat well so you'll have the energy to carry the gifts onto the bus later!

The volunteers nodded in agreement profusely. After a day of traveling, the young men in their blue shirts gathered around the table for a meal. They were all cheerful, happy, and enthusiastic about the vegetarian meal the teacher had prepared.

Once everything was ready, the teacher took the whole group down to the storage room. There, he had prepared gifts such as rice, instant noodles, soy sauce, milk, and many other necessities and clothes. He had set them aside for Mien's team during Tet (Lunar New Year).

Mien looked into the teacher's kind eyes. A wave of emotion washed over her. The Youth Volunteer Month arrived so gently. The melodious chirping of birds echoed from the end of the small street. The Saigon afternoon sun cast a honey-colored glow. Looking up at the green shirts of her fellow volunteers, Mien's heart filled with joy…

Source: https://phunuvietnam.vn/truyen-ngan-yeu-mau-ao-xanh-238260409164855355.htm