Thanh Hau stood in front of the sea, the waves kept running out into the vast space and then washed up on the smooth sand.
Thanh Hau and her mother lingered by the riverbank. The summer afternoon atmosphere along the river was so airy. The wind rose from the river, carrying a cool breeze that blew into people's faces. The wind carried Thanh Hau's sadness down to the slowly flowing river.
Trung pointed to the boat that was almost to the other side of the river:
- Why have you been sitting on this shore for so long, Mom?
Thanh Hau absentmindedly recalled the lines of the letter sent to Quang Su: “I cannot endure this kind of life forever, I would like to take Trung with me for the rest of my life. You promised to leave your wife to be with me completely. Time is long like a flowing river, you keep telling me so many magical things like watching the stars. You paint me happiness in a distant space like the twinkling light of a star. I really need a simple, close life like a flower blooming in front of the house, I really need true love like a bird coming to make a nest on a plum tree in the garden. Please return to the family life you already have, where your two children are growing up. Your wife is sick, her illness has not yet subsided. Don't drag Trung, our son, to your family, I can't let Trung live in the arms of another woman..." Thanh Hau recalled the worried diary entries of the distant past.
The riverbank was still full of wind, the sunlight was gentle and gentle, the light spread faintly on the river. The boat took Thanh Hau and her mother closer to the shore, this space by the river was Thanh Hau's hometown.
The first moonlit night on this side of the river, the child slept early. Thanh Hau wandered on the small road. The space was quiet at night, high above there were stars moving slowly, not knowing where to go. Thanh Hau thought endlessly about the love that had gone astray.
Passion, madness, desire. Thinking back to the long nights, the time living on the other side of the river, when the sunset fell, mother and son took each other to the park for a walk. The scent of night flowers was fragrant, the artificial lake surface had gentle ripples, the white sandbank stretched under the coconut trees soaked in moonlight. The footprints of mother and son were evenly imprinted on the smooth sand. Letting Trung play alone in the space reserved for children, Thanh Hau sat alone on a chair, facing the lake, her eyes filled with sadness, looking up at the sky with white clouds wandering in the vast sky.
*
Night fell in the bedroom of mother and child. On the other bed, Thanh Hau's mother was turning over, probably having trouble sleeping again. Thanh Hau held her child in her arms. The child's sleep was so natural. Thanh Hau tossed and turned, it was late and she still hadn't closed her eyes. Thanh Hau sat up alone in the night, then went out to the balcony of the apartment building to look up at the sky, the moon was far away, silvery.
Looking at the crescent moon, Thanh Hau felt sorry for herself. Since the day she got married to Quang Su, Thanh Hau had always felt uneasy. After his first wife found out, she did not raise her voice, only agreed with her husband that unless she was on a business trip, if she worked nearby, she had to return home at 9 pm. Quang Su often had appointments with Thanh Hau at hotels or motels. After dinner, Thanh Hau sent Trung to her mother. Quang Su was already waiting in the lobby of the apartment building. Love affairs happened in an instant. After living together for so many years, Thanh Hau rarely had the chance to be completely in Quang Su's arms.
*
Quang Su's two children have grown up. In recent years, his first wife has often been sick. Many days after work, Quang Su would come home and see his two children lying next to their mother. Outside, the night was pitch dark. Quang Su went to his children's study table, looking at his handwriting on each page of his notebook, and Quang Su suddenly thought of something very profound about his family. Quang Su had come from hardship and now had the material foundation he had, it was like living in a dream. Tam, Quang Su's wife, created every opportunity to help her husband, taking care of the family affairs so that he could focus on his work. Yet Quang Su had accidentally turned to a separate world.
He lied to both women, his arms could not hold them all. One day, coming home from work, his two children cheered from the alley, holding their end-of-year certificates, they called out to their father, their children's voices echoed into the house, the sound captivated Quang Su's heart: "Dad! Give us a reward."
Quang Su was in the living room, holding his two children in his arms, stroking their silky black hair. His mother was lying sick in bed, looking at her children returning with excitement, her face lit up with joy. Then the two children rushed towards her. Tears streamed down her thin cheeks. Quang Su stood still in the living room, his eyes absent-minded, the sky appearing before the two open windows.
*
On the first day of establishing the seafood processing company, Thanh Hau walked on the sandy road leading to the sea. Her mind was filled with thoughts about work, this was a major turning point in her life. This morning, Thanh Hau stood in front of the sea, the waves kept running out into the vast ocean and then washed up on the smooth sand, Thanh Hau gazed at each layer of white waves, imagining the endless challenges of life in the immediate and long term.
Thanh Hau’s company processes seafood and produces foods made from seaweed. Thanh Hau used to work at a seafood processing company so she learned a lot of experience. To have capital to start the company, her parents gave Thanh Hau a piece of land. She decided to sell the land and borrow money from friends and the bank to invest in the business.
Thanh Hau has been to Japan several times to learn about seaweed processing companies. In the first few years, the company failed in both areas of work. Gradually, the company stabilized and production developed. In times of stress, Thanh Hau and her child went to the beach for a walk. Letting her soul drift into the endless space of the sea, the waves licking at her feet as if playing with her child in the summer morning sun.
*
On an autumn Sunday afternoon, Quang Su went to the riverbank. The autumn river was quiet, filled with sad waves. Quang Su's private space stretched as far as the two banks of the river. Sometimes it rained on one side, but the other side was sunny. On this side, where Quang Su was standing, the sun was heating the autumn leaves on the trees on the riverbank. The unusual fragments of nature on both sides of the river kept intersecting like waves of love rushing back and forth in Quang Su's mind, fragments in the lonely soul of a man who was walking precariously between darkness and light. The words of his wife echoed in his ears: "Choose your own destiny, return to that woman or choose me and our child. I cannot accept this kind of confusion and ambiguity forever."
Quang Su was lost in thought, on one side were the trotting footsteps of a three-year-old child in Thanh Hau's arms. On the other side were the footsteps of his two daughters going to school regularly, and it seemed that Quang Su could still hear the whispering of his beloved children beside their gentle mother.
Since the day she learned that Thanh Hau had gone to the other side of the river, Tam's temperament changed. She took her medicine diligently, and her illness subsided. Every night, she slept more peacefully. Quang Su's eldest daughter is now a first-year student at a university. On the day she came home on the weekend, she gave her mother a red peony. Looking at the newly opened petals, Tam's heart seemed to light up with a little hope. A moment later, her daughter held the bouquet of flowers towards her father who was sitting by the window, as if Quang Su was looking into the distance...
Suddenly, he turned around when his daughter was next to him with a bouquet of flowers in her hand: Dad! My friend gave it to me, now I'm giving it back to you and your parents. It seemed like the friend knew about the family's story so she chose this type of flower. Quang Su held his daughter's soft hand with the bouquet for a long time. He knew that the peony petals spoke of miracles, they would be the magic to erase the fragile boundary, reconnecting the sacred and rich: The color of the flower is faithful and forever lasting.
*
A vase of bright red roses was on Director Thanh Hau's desk. In the morning, through the window, the light shone on the fresh rose buds. Thanh Hau was surprised to see the red color of the flowers and a piece of paper with a few lines of poetry written by the giver:
I'm shy, I can't hold your hand.
Far away in the rain just knew your name
Rose is a gentle flower, what a strange flower!
I'll go home and love the sound of the night rain
Thanh Hau gently kissed the petals and the poems on the white paper. She immediately thought of the man she had just met.
The young man's name was Dao Minh, he had been married before but had no children. When he got married, his wife's parents bought Minh and his wife a house. The husband's monthly income was less than his wife's, so Minh knew his place and tried to work hard. In addition to his main job, Minh worked many extra jobs to supplement his financial resources. But then, the extra money could not make up for his small salary. The views of his wife's family and the wife herself towards Dao Minh became more and more different. Day after day, living in the distance of money, the wife pushed Minh out of the house with a divorce petition.
Minh is used to the life of a fisherman at sea. There was a time when he was exported to Korea to work as a fisherman. He has worked at Thanh Hau's company for several years now and is the team leader of the seafood receiving and quality control team.
Being familiar with the sea fishing profession, Minh has a lot of experience in choosing products. Thanh Hau has great confidence in Minh's professional ability.
Thanh Hau's eyes searched for Dao Minh's figure every time he went to the sea. Minh's feet came up from the sea. Dawn began to flicker on the waves. Thanh Hau's eyes were glued to the bare chest of the man from the sea, tanned and salty, who had welcomed countless waves.
*
A long time ago, this afternoon on the way to work, Thanh Hau stopped by the river, remembering the conversation on the phone with Quang Su. The cold winter, looking back at the memories on the other side of the river, day after day the sadness was longer than the river, wanting to escape but the opportunity had not come. Only by Trung's side, could there be joy to hold on to the lonely life of a beautiful young woman who had to be a concubine. Walking along the riverbank, Thanh Hau remembered the moment in the late autumn afternoon, when Dao Minh proposed.
The road back to the sea was quieter than usual, the sea was still full, running far away embracing countless waves. It seemed that the fate of marriage brought Thanh Hau back to the sea. The woman accepted the love of a man born by the sea and the proposal by the sea whispered when the autumn afternoon had ended, the sunset slowly fell on the sea. Thanh Hau's head leaned on the man's chest, Dao Minh smelled each strand of hair, holding the girl's soft hands.
NGUYEN VAN NGOC