Short stories

I am a soldier's wife

NGUYEN ANH NGUYET October 5, 2024 10:00

Hoa knew that being a soldier's wife would be difficult, but his father had also been a marine. She wanted to follow her mother's example, and for love she could overcome everything.

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Minh họa truyện ngắn

- I will marry Dung. I love him, I can endure any hardship. I have thought it over. Mom, please let us get married!

Hoa waited attentively for her mother's reaction. Mrs. Xuan put down her chopsticks and looked at her daughter, sighing softly. She did not hate Dung, she even admired his industrious, gentle and hard-working nature. But she could not rest assured about entrusting her only daughter, whom she loved dearly, to Dung for the rest of her life.

She put food in Hoa's bowl and changed the subject:

- Lightning still avoids mealtimes, why would anyone skip mealtimes when something so important happens? Eat well, stay up all night grading papers, preparing lesson plans, and you'll be exhausted and pale as a leaf.

Mrs. Xuan was the wife of an island soldier. They had been married for nearly 30 years, but the number of times they had sex could be counted on one hand. After the wedding, he left for good, and she took on all the family responsibilities by herself. A soldier's wife, it was impossible to tell all the hardships and difficulties she had to endure and try to overcome. When she was pregnant with Hoa, she was known to have a husband, but from the time she was pregnant until she gave birth, she was alone. She had a cesarean section, stayed in the hospital for ten days, and was only taken care of by her mother-in-law and her mother. The women in the same room gossiped that she was pregnant out of wedlock.

Hoa was 2 years old when her husband first met her. When her father passed away, he could not return. Everything, from domestic and foreign affairs, building a house, taking care of the children, supporting both sets of parents... were all handled by her. She had planned to arrange a time to visit his workplace once, but due to this and that, she was unable to go. Names both familiar and unfamiliar such as Song Tu, Phan Vinh, Sinh Ton, Nui Le... were a world of memories for her and her children. She only knew about the storms of Truong Sa through her husband's letters and phone calls.

Loving her husband, she did her best to make sure he could fulfill his duty of protecting the island border. But sometimes she felt very sad. After decades of such long work, when he reached retirement age, he passed away due to a serious illness, leaving her and Hoa alone.

Seeing Hoa sitting still with her chopsticks, Mrs. Xuan said sadly:

- Don't blame me. I don't want you to marry Dung just because I love you and worry about you having a hard time.

Hoa did not blame her mother. She also never forgot the years when her father went on a business trip far from home, her mother bent her back pedaling against the wind to make it to the afternoon market, and took on sewing and mending clothes after each class. During her childhood, her father never came to pick her up from school, and he was always absent from parent-teacher meetings. On stormy days, the wind tore the roof off, the bed and the whole room were filled with water, there was no corner of the bed that was not soaked. Seeing her mother bravely climb up to the roof to cover and cover, then quickly climb down to scoop up buckets of rainwater mixed with the pungent sewage water and pour it out into the yard, Hoa only wished her father was there to help her. The image of her father in a beautiful blue military uniform, with a five-pointed star on his cap and a bright smile was always a spiritual support for her mother, helping her to strive to overcome all difficulties, patiently and faithfully waiting for her father to complete his duty and return.

- Mom can accept everything to love and marry dad, then I can also follow mom's example for Dung.

Hearing Hoa's stubborn voice, Mrs. Xuan burst out laughing. She changed her sadness into joy:

- Your father, you are just nonsense. Who needs you to stay with your mother until you are old. If heaven does not accept earth, then earth will have to accept heaven...

Hoa hugged her mother, resting her head on her mother's shoulder. She knew that for many years, her mother had suffered alone, suffered, and worked hard. But her father's stories about the vast ocean, about his comrades who were day and night firmly holding their guns to protect every inch of land on the sacred islands of the Fatherland made Hoa admire the soldiers at the forefront of the waves and winds even more.

Dad said that every day, in addition to practicing tactics, defense, and martial arts, each officer and soldier had to swim at least 15 km. They could stay underwater all day. They were taken far away by ships and swam to the island themselves, so everyone was a very good swimmer. Although living and training were hard, the soldiers were very happy and positive. On bright moonlit nights, in a place where there were only clouds and cool breezes, the soldiers sang loudly about the beloved mainland, about the beloved Truong Sa in the murmuring sound of the waves.

*

When the principal announced that the Navy would soon arrange for some officers and teachers to visit Truong Sa Island, Hoa immediately wrote an application to participate. She knew that the number of people going was limited, so she anxiously awaited the results. At noon, after work, the principal called her into his office and said intimately:

- You wrote a very earnest application to go to Truong Sa. I read it and was really touched. Your father has worked on the island for many years so you will be given priority to visit the island this time.

Hoa burst into tears of joy. She couldn't contain her emotions, her mouth smiled but her eyes were filled with tears. So her long-time dream had come true. She thanked the principal profusely. He looked at her and smiled gently.

Leaving the principal's office, Hoa was as happy as a child with a new shirt. She knew her mother would be worried when she received this news, but she certainly wouldn't stop her, because her dream of visiting Truong Sa - where her father worked - was a burning desire that her mother had not yet fulfilled. She would also keep this news a secret from Dung to surprise him. Needless to say, he would be surprised when she appeared before him in person. She and Dung met during an exchange between his unit and the city's high schools. Dung was a new soldier so he was quite shy. When the unit asked him to sing "The Fatherland Calls My Name", she saw his hands shaking. However, when the music started, standing on stage, Dung sang passionately and earnestly, making the whole hall moved with emotion.

He worked at the Missile Brigade and this was the first time he had participated in a military-civilian exchange before leaving for a new assignment. He had a very emotional and captivating singing voice. When they were about to say goodbye, Hoa pushed her way through the crowd to ask for his phone number, intending to invite him to join the exchange with her school's youth union when the opportunity arose. After just a few text messages and phone calls, he and she had developed feelings for each other without realizing it. Before leaving for Truong Sa on assignment, he proposed to her.

*

Hoa was seasick. So seasick that she thought she was going to die and come back to life. She lay flat on the ship for three days, drinking only a little water. Her roommates were also vomiting. A few days later, she gradually adapted, and got up to go down to the room to eat with everyone. At night, she sat on the deck, letting her eyes dreamily watch the hundreds of stars reflecting on the sparkling night sea.

On the fourth day of the journey, the KN290 ship took the group to the Gac Ma and Len Dao islands. The whole group stood on the deck of the ship to pay tribute to the heroic martyrs who had fallen in the Gac Ma incident. Everyone's eyes were red. Many young female teachers shed tears. Hoa remembered what her father had told her about the 64 officers and soldiers who had fought bravely until their last breath and remained forever in the vast ocean. Hoa's nose was sore. She burst into tears when she released a white chrysanthemum and 64 paper cranes that she had folded herself into the sea, expressing gratitude to the children of her homeland who had heroically sacrificed themselves to protect the sacred sovereignty of the sea and islands.

On the fifth day of the journey, Truong Sa Lon Island - where Hoa's father had worked for nearly 30 years - welcomed her and the whole group in the cool sunshine. When the ship docked at the pier, Hoa pinched herself painfully to confirm that this was not a dream she had set foot on Truong Sa Island.

Truong Sa soldiers and officers gathered in large numbers under the pier to prepare to welcome the delegation. Mother was truly a soldier's wife. When she learned that Hoa was visiting Truong Sa, she prepared many necessary personal items for Dung. Although Hoa repeatedly reminded Dung that the island now was very different from his father's time, with nothing lacking except green vegetables and fresh water, mother did not listen.

- Hoa! It's me! It's me!

Hoa was stunned when she saw Dung standing in the crowd, his hand raised high, calling her. How strange! How did Dung know she was in the group going to the island this time? She had kept it a secret to surprise him. As soon as Hoa left the pier, Dung ran to hug her. He gave her a big bouquet of flowers, all of which were from the island, grown by him and his teammates. Hoa had tears in her eyes. She was stunned with surprise. She intended to surprise him, but he surprised and touched her instead.

After the sacred flag-raising ceremony on the island, Hoa's delegation offered incense at the Monument to Heroes and Martyrs and the Memorial House of President Ho Chi Minh.

The working group and the soldiers of Truong Sa knew that Hoa was Dung's lover, so they deliberately spent a lot of time with the couple. That night, while everyone was still singing around the fire, Dung took Hoa for a walk along the beach. Sitting next to Dung, leaning her head on his shoulder, Hoa could feel the salty taste of the waves and wind of the open sea. She had never seen the sea so beautiful and sacred! She whispered to Dung:

- How did you know I was going to Truong Sa?

Dung smiled humorously:

- Your future mother-in-law told me. She called to ask me to take good care of your wife while she's on the island.

Oh my god, Hoa didn't guess. She rubbed her head on his shoulder and whined:

- Now mom loves you more than me.

Dung gently stroked Hoa's hair, her long black hair flying in the wind.

- If I could say one sentence in front of the sea, do you know what I would say?

Dung shook his head slightly. He looked at her expectantly. Hoa stood up, crossed her arms like a megaphone, and shouted loudly, drowning out the rustling sea breeze: “I am a soldier’s wife!” Waves rose white. Hoa’s voice melted into the ocean…

NGUYEN ANH NGUYET
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I am a soldier's wife