Illustration: Minh Tan

Illustration: Minh Tan

Man texted briefly, he will go back to my hometown to escape... Tet.

And now, he was carrying his luggage and entering my house, a small, pretty homestay at the tip of Ca Mau Cape. Before I could say anything, Man jumped in:

- Hey kid, I heard Ca Mau is very far away, Dat Mui is at the end of the map but it's also quite fast...

Before she could put her luggage away, Man ran into the breezy stilt house. Outside were rows of old mangrove trees, spreading their cool green shade. Man stretched, closed her eyes, smiled, and took a deep breath of the scent of the forest and the sea. The sky and earth were clear, filled with a sense of peace and serenity.

- Wow, wow, wow… I like this place!

Man wore a modest blue dress, completely different from her usual active and liberal style. My mother had prepared the most delicious dishes to treat Man. My father was excited:

- If you haven't been there, you don't know about Ca Mau. Once you've been there, you'll see how wonderful Ca Mau is...

Man clapped his hands, and my mother and I had to clap along, amused by my father's absent-minded laughter.

- Oh, but where is Tam?

Everyone was still surprised when a deep voice rang out:

- It's me, Uncle Hai. I'm sorry I'm late because I'm a little busy...

My uncle was delighted:

- Ah, the most handsome forestry engineer in Ca Mau is here, he's here, come here...

Tam is my uncle's younger brother but is older than me. Having graduated from university with a degree in forestry, this young man is determined to apply for a job at Mui Ca Mau National Park. His love life is still a secret. I suspect my father is plotting something terrible.

I glanced at Man's face, which changed from surprise to blush. Tam was still the same, polite, natural, and had the demeanor of a researcher with calmness and thoroughness. The mangrove forest project encroaching on the sea on the alluvial plain was the effort and passion of this young forestry engineer over the past few years. The project was not only to create forests and land, but also had the task of creating a breeding ground for the typical aquatic resources of Ca Mau Cape. It was also a way for people today to rebuild their lives and the future of this country in the face of many fierce and formidable challenges of climate change.

My mother played the role of chef and introduced the menu:

- Homemade, Man! Uncle Hai cooked sour soup with young tamarind leaves and catfish, braised brown fish with star fruit, stir-fried crab with tamarind, stir-fried mussels with water spinach, grilled mudskipper with salt and chili. Countryside, use whatever is available, don't be shy!

I looked at my mother and felt a surge of pride in my heart. No matter where I went, no matter what delicacies I ate, I was certain that the dishes my mother cooked were the best, incomparably delicious. My mother’s dishes were like the alluvial soil of the land, flowing endlessly day by day, nurturing love and raising us to adulthood. And it seemed that this flavor had also become a unique feature of my small homestay, arousing nostalgia, for visitors to seek out and then return.

Occasionally, in Man's sarcastic, ironic and paradoxical arguments, I find interesting discoveries. Like in his comment on today's dish, for example.

- Uncle Hai, I see Ca Mau Cape in these dishes...

My father gradually revealed his plot when he turned to Tam, his voice flirtatious:

- Not yet, dear! There are many interesting things here. For example, this young man... Go get me a bottle of "hometown tears"...

Man smiled at my father's wit and sophistication. Man could drink it. The ripe fruit wine was fermented with the strong flavor of country rice wine. Man's cheeks were rosy, her round eyes shone with the soft golden color of the sunset...

During the peak of the Tet tourist season , I helped my parents manage the homestay. Man said to let him be free and comfortable, with the condition that he must have an engineer accompanying him 24/7.

That day, the nine-peaked monsoon wind was blowing wildly across the sky and earth. I was about to pick up a group of guests when I looked out the porch of the stilt house and saw Man sitting obediently while my mother combed her hair. I pretended to be angry:

- Mom has another daughter to love...

My mother continued to brush rhythmically, not even looking at me, and Man giggled, mimicking my tone:

- Mom, please brush my hair more. My hair is so messy. Mom, you love me the most in the family, right?

Tam appeared. Man was ready in her traditional Vietnamese outfit. She looked so funny and cute, but her tone was still mischievous:

- Mr. Tam, today you are mine...

The young man smiled, said nothing, and held the bow of the highway for the girl to step down. The waves splashed white foam, the wind blew gently with each swing of the highway. On both sides were cool mangrove forests, startled birds flapped their wings and soared into the blue sky. Then suddenly, the land and sky opened up. The sandbank was here, where the land, sky, forest and sea made an appointment, meeting in a faithful fate for hundreds of years, thousands of years.

Early in the morning, no passengers had arrived at the rest stop yet. Tam and Man sat quietly and leisurely next to each other, watching the brilliant sunrise. Man turned back to look at the young man and asked:

- Mr. Tam, at your age you say you don't have a lover, who would believe it but I don't believe it...

Tam smiled calmly:

- Yes, Man, I love the forest, I love the sea, I love the job I do, I love this country. There are also a few love affairs that when I come back here, I forget...

- Why forget, tell me?

- Ah, sometimes forgetting is forgetting, no reason needed. Nhu Man is back, is there a reason?

Min hesitated for a moment, but quickly replied:

- I also forgot the reason I came back here... ha ha ha.

My group and I followed the same path toward the rest stop. A girl in the group spoke up:

- Wow, there are some couples out there early in the morning. Isn't it romantic? If I were young, I would also wish to sit next to my lover in this splendid setting.

An older man, probably the guest's husband, excitedly continued:

- It's not late now, let's take some romantic old age photos later, love...

The whole group of guests laughed in response. Man and Tam waved goodbye to everyone. No matter how many times I lead guests to the sandbank, my heart is still filled with joy, because regardless of age, origin, or nationality, whenever anyone sets foot here, it is as if they can shed all their worries and blend into nature with the freshest, most pure soul.

Man clung to my mother, busily preparing for Tet. Seeing Tam coming, my father, with his clear, resounding voice, joked:

- Hey engineer, why do you visit Uncle Hai so often these days? Strange...

My mother did not know whether to defend or support my father:

- Tam, Man has been waiting for you. Come here and help her...

During Tet, my mother prepares a plethora of dishes. Pickled onions, pickled mustard greens, braised pork with eggs, salted crab, dried shrimp, dried fish..., but the most elaborate and indispensable is wrapping dozens of banh tet loaves. Every year, in the chilly weather, Tet comes with the warm, family atmosphere emanating from the pot of banh tet cakes and the cheerful firewood fire.

It was late at night. Only the two of them remained. Man sat silently, his hands clasped together, facing the fire. Tam reached out to pick up firewood, and coincidentally, Man also reached out in that direction. Their hands touched, their eyes met, the fire crackled and they laughed mischievously. It was my father again, appearing suddenly without warning:

- Oh my gosh, I left you two to watch the banh tet pot, the fire is burnt out. Your hand, where are your hand, why aren't you helping Uncle Hai gather firewood...

So the arms were in disarray, frantically looking for firewood to fuel the fire. My father burst out laughing:

- Why do I feel so nervous and tense watching the banh tet pot...

Defense mind:

- Uncle Hai is weird...

As for Man, her face was bright red and sparkling.

The New Year’s Eve party was bustling. Outside, the sacred moment of time, of heaven and earth, and of human hearts had arrived. My father in the yard was murmuring prayers for a prosperous and lucky new year. Man held my hand as if searching for something, whispering:

- Baby... I wish right now...

Suddenly the phone rang. Man's parents and brother called. The group video call had all the family members present at the first moment of the new year.

- My dear daughter...

My dear daughter...

- My dear sister...

Man tried to keep his voice calm but was still sobbing:

- I miss my parents and my brother! I long for Tet with the whole family... Maybe next year, our family will go to Ca Mau to celebrate Tet, it would be great everyone!

The call ended. Man held the phone to her chest and hummed a happy tune.

- Thank you, thank you both, thank you Ca Mau...

As if suddenly remembering, in fact, the most important thing is often given at the end:

- Oh, thanks too, Mr. Tam...

The dawn of a brand new day. Tam made an appointment with Man to watch the sunrise on the sandbank before returning to the city. Man thought to himself, how strange, what he thought was a trip to escape Tet turned out to be Tet, a Tet full of flavor and full of human love in Ca Mau Cape.

Man blurted out a sentence that was both true and joking, causing the mudskippers in the mud to stop and stare in surprise:

- Mr. Tam! Do you know why I came back to Ca Mau? It was to find... you! Ha ha ha!

The young engineer smiled, his calm eyes looking out at the vast sky and land with green forests filled with spring colors:

- Ca Mau Cape has always been here, I will also stay here forever to see if you are telling the truth or not...

No one said anything more. When the conditions are sufficient, everything will naturally appear and last.

And now, Tet in Ca Mau Cape is at its most beautiful, spring is coming with excitement following the small grains of alluvium leaning and sinking into the mother earth's heart...

Short story by Pham Quoc Rin

Source: https://baocamau.vn/ve-noi-phu-sa-a37023.html