Cho Hamlet

No one remembers when the name of the Cho hamlet came into being. All we know is that, since the days when there were only a few houses, at the beginning of the hamlet, there stood an old Cho tree, its roots spreading out as if embracing the whole hamlet. People say that the hamlet was named after that tree, as a reminder that in the middle of the bustling city, there was a quiet Cho hamlet there, gentle and green all year round.

May came to Cho village to rent a room. The room was a small but quiet attic, the price was cheap, suitable for her situation coming from the countryside. All the alleys in the village were small, the land around the houses was not large, so almost every house here used the rooftop to make a garden. Styrofoam boxes were used to plant all kinds of vegetables, flowers were also grown in colorful plastic pots. In the middle of the hustle and bustle of the city, coming to Cho village felt like entering a light, fresh world .

Thanks to the vines, May's attic, though small, was not stuffy. The first night she sat working, smelling the sweet scent of jasmine wafting in the wind. Late at night, sleepiness pulled her eyelids shut, she got up and went to the balcony to look up at the tiny space. Suddenly, a song came from somewhere, a deep, warm voice, then suddenly stopped. She turned off the light and went to bed. The full moon slanted through the crack of the door, a long, gentle and peaceful line.

***

Just out of the alley, May saw a crowd gathered on the other side of the street, children cheering: “Sing! The Foolish Prince sing!”. On the sidewalk, a skinny man in a coffee-colored T-shirt, a colorful scarf wrapped around his head, a bunch of fresh wildflowers in his pocket, was singing enthusiastically. Next to him, a yellow dog stood nestled at his feet, its eyes wide open, looking around in bewilderment. He appeared in the middle of the noisy city like a lost person from another world. The singing and cheering were still loud, from the roadside restaurant, a woman’s voice echoed.

“Stop it! You guys keep teasing me because I'm nice!” - she said to the man: “Go get some bones for Minu!”

The man quickly stood up, turned around happily with a plastic bag containing leftover bones. May pushed the bike stand to the side of the children, asked and found out that he was a busker who went around singing to beg for rice and bones to feed the dogs at home because wherever people abandoned dogs, he took them home to raise.

“Do you need any help?” - seeing him standing nearby with his head tilted, May gently asked.

The man shook his head and smiled. May looked straight into his eyes, her eyes wide open with thick black lashes as sad as a lake at night. She suddenly saw a loneliness hidden in those eyes. But strangely, it was wonderfully peaceful! The man said goodbye to May and the children and went home, his thin shoulders drooping like a bird's wings, the yellow dog following behind. She watched the tall, thin figure swaying in the pale afternoon sunlight. When they reached the Chò tree, the dog suddenly jumped forward and turned into the alley, the man slowly following behind. It turned out they lived in the same alley as her... She felt happy with this new discovery.

***

After work, May drove slowly on the road lined with purple Lagerstroemia flowers. At the turn, a crowd was gathered by the side of the road. Instead of talking and laughing like every time they cheered on Prince Kho, everyone was silent.

Mr. Kho sat on the side of the road, his thin shoulders slumped, hugging the dog to his chest. Her heart suddenly tightened when she recognized Minu, his eyes wide open in pain. Mr. Kho turned his face up to the sky, a dry sob without tears, the blue veins on his neck throbbing. There was a murmur in the crowd. "Poor dog, the dog was poisoned, probably won't make it." "It's very smart, it followed Mr. Kho to find food to bring home to feed the little dogs at home." "This one Mr. Kho has raised the longest, on the road he found an abandoned dog, he led Mr. Kho to pick it up and bring it home." Each person had a story to tell. The active children were now quiet, some came closer to pet Minu, their eyes filled with tears.

Leaving the crowd, Mr. Kho slowly stood up and walked towards the end of the street, his gait faltering as if he was about to collapse, but he still held Minu tightly in his arms, lovingly. She stood still and watched, on his shoulder, Minu's head tilted down as if sleeping. She suddenly realized that behind the layer of dust of life, there was a pure and kind soul, in pain, still loving a creature that was no longer there.

***

… Returning from work, she hurriedly packed up and went to the train station to catch the train, her long vacation to go home. The train slowly left the station, in the crowd there was the shadow of a tall, thin man bending down next to a dog with exposed ribs. She recognized Mr. Kho thanks to the colorful headscarf. The train whistle suddenly blew a long whistle, the train rumbled away, in the twilight she suddenly felt a stir when she realized that Mr. Kho's hand could not touch the dog, because it had run away. Leaving the platform, the train sped away, Mr. Kho's shadow was now only a small dot gradually fading into the evening light.

The day she returned to the city, she brought with her a bag full of gifts from the countryside, including a small dog sitting neatly in it. When she got to her rented room, the first thing she did was open the door, put away her belongings, then hugged the dog and walked towards the house at the end of the alley. Inside the half-closed door, yellow light shone out onto the fence covered with blue pea flowers. Only then did she have the opportunity to observe the house, its ancient appearance, its arched roof covered with old tiles darkened on the lime wall.

“Who are you looking for?” - a strange middle-aged woman came out. “Yes, I’m looking for… Mr. Kho” - she hesitated, not knowing how to explain. “The owner of this house sold it to me, they moved to the suburbs about ten kilometers away” - the woman replied, looking at the little dog in her hand as if she understood, she eagerly said: “Let me give you the address of his and his mother’s new house”.

Holding the hastily written note, she said goodbye to the woman, then turned away. At the end of the alley, she turned back to look at Mr. Kho’s old house once more. In the twilight, she suddenly realized that one day the house would also become a hiding place for memories. At the crossroads, the motorbike taxi driver waited for customers by the lamppost, behind her, a small dog swayed in a cute carrier, it looked around blankly at the streets preparing to turn on the lights. “Uncle, take me back to Van village!”
The motorbike taxi driver quickly put on his helmet and signaled for her to get on the motorbike.

She sat in the back, listening to the river breeze swirling, and on the horizon, the last red clouds glowed brightly among the vastness. The car drove out to the suburbs, and night had just fallen, and high above, a sweet, curved crescent moon floated...

Short story: VU NGOC GIAO

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/xom-cho-a192167.html