My fellow soldier
The Battalion grounds seemed greener this weekend because last night there was a refreshing rain shower...
Short stories by Dao Pham Thuy Trang
The battalion grounds seemed greener this weekend because of the refreshing rain that fell last night.
Mung and her son chose a small corner, spread out a tarp on the soft green grass, and Mung busied herself preparing the food. There was the tapioca pudding that her son liked best, grilled chicken with chili and salt sandwiched in bread, and most importantly, homemade grilled pork vermicelli that he ate twice a day when he was still living at home. Oh, and apples too! Tiny green apples from their garden, but so crisp and sweet! Mom bought three kilos for you to satisfy your craving, Dat!
My honest fifth-grade younger brother shouted loudly:
- I wasn't craving anything yet, but last night I heard Mom borrow a million dong from Auntie Ba, Brother Hai! Because Mom said the market is very slow right now, and she's not selling much!
Mrs. Mung gestured "shush" to her youngest son. But it was too late. The older brother let go of his younger sibling, sat up straight, and whispered:
- Mom, I know we're not well-off, so next time you visit, please bring less food. We don't lack food here, we just lack you and my younger sibling.
Ms. Mừng nodded defensively, saying that she missed her son so much. It had been three months since she'd been able to visit. Đạt understood his mother's longing, but she was raising him alone, and they didn't have much money. Now that she was here, and there was so much food, he thought, "Mom, can I invite those two soldiers over too?" Following his gesture, Ms. Mừng looked towards the steps of a certain row of rooms in the unit. About twenty meters away, across the courtyard where she and her son were sitting, two young men with their vibrant, youthful hair were huddled together around a telephone.
- Those two boys are named Cuong and Thanh, they're the same age as me, but their circumstances are very difficult, Mom. Cuong's mother passed away, and his father brought him to live with his paternal grandparents before disappearing. Thanh's father died in a work accident. Thanh's mother went to work far away, so she left Thanh with his maternal grandparents a long time ago. Both sets of grandparents are old, so it seems like neither of them has ever had a relative visit!
Suddenly, Mrs. Mung felt tears welling up in her eyes. She nodded and told her son to invite the two friends over for lunch and a chat. Although her son had lost his father at the age of twelve, and his paternal grandparents didn't live nearby, mother and son were still together. His maternal grandparents gave them a small plot of land where they built a tiny house. Every day, Mrs. Mung sold vegetables at the market, and after finishing 9th grade, Dat went to learn to be an aluminum door maker until he joined the army. Even though her youngest son was still in elementary school, Mrs. Mung and her son shared such a warm and loving life.
After several attempts to coax them, the young soldiers finally agreed to follow Mrs. Mung's son towards the prepared tarp. The two boys nodded in greeting, then sat down halfway, insisting on taking only a few apples. Mrs. Mung smiled happily:
- Honestly, you two, I treat you like my son, Dat. Soldiers have to be bold and outspoken! If I were a boy, I would definitely join the army too.
Ms. Mung's playful banter bridged the gap between her and the two children. Cuong confided that his unit was far away, and his grandparents couldn't visit, but every week someone from the neighborhood would come to visit them, and they would send him food. "But we don't lack food, Auntie. Being in the army is great now; the canteen is as full as a market, and the soldiers' meals are delicious. We just miss our family. Every weekend, seeing my friends being visited by their parents and relatives makes me a little sad."
Thành's situation was a little different; he confided in Mừng. His father had passed away, his mother had remarried, and his maternal grandparents weren't rich, but they still had to raise him so his mother could focus on her new family. His maternal grandfather had broken his leg a month before he joined the army. His family raised chickens in their garden, so how could his grandfather collect leftover food or carry scraps of vegetables to feed the chickens with a broken leg? His maternal grandmother didn't know how to ride a motorbike. When he called home to ask how his grandfather was, she said his leg had healed and he was riding around like a pro. But Thành knew that no one could heal a broken leg just a few months later. So he was very worried!
Ms. Mừng inquired about Thành's house, and it turned out they lived in the same village. Ms. Mừng and her children lived in Xóm Nhãn, while Thành's maternal grandparents lived in Xóm Hành. She also frequently went to that area to buy cotton goods. She promised Thành that she would visit him sometime to check on his grandfather's leg and find a way to let him know so he could rest assured. A smile finally bloomed on Thành's face. He said, "Dạt's mother is so cheerful. I wish I could hear my mother talk like that. Because I haven't seen her in almost ten years, Auntie."
That lunchtime, the young men with their fresh green hair, the color of their military uniforms, and Mrs. Mung's slightly graying head, ate and chatted happily. As they were leaving, Thanh suddenly remembered, "My phone broke before I joined the army and I haven't been able to get it repaired yet. How about you take some pictures of my grandparents and send them to Dat's Zalo account so I can look at them too? I'd be so grateful." Mrs. Mung nodded, her heart overflowing with immense compassion. The journey of over 100 kilometers, with Mrs. Mung carrying her youngest son home, was bathed in the crisp summer sun, so bright it could bake the rice crackers to a golden crisp.
***
Thành's maternal grandfather's leg was not only crippled, but his eyesight also became cloudy after that motorcycle accident. He said he no longer raises many chickens for meat, but has switched to raising chickens for eggs. Just about thirty hens, and they lay twenty or thirty eggs a day. The neighbors in Hành village are very kind to each other; after harvesting onions, they bring the substandard onions to Thành's grandparents to "feed the chickens." Neighbors buy ten kilograms of rice and ten kilograms of corn at a time so the "crippled old man" doesn't have to go to the market. "My wife doesn't know how to ride a motorbike, so she stays home to clean the chicken coop, and she sells the eggs in front of the house. It's too dangerous for a seventy-year-old to be swerving on a bicycle these days."
Thành's grandparents asked Mừng about her age, and Mừng replied, "Well... she's the same age as Thành's mother. It's just that poor boy, separated from his mother since he was ten years old, we could feed him well, send him to school so he could read and write, but how could we be as close and affectionate as children who still have their mothers? Then he joined the army, so far from home, we only got to visit him once when the commune committee organized a group trip. Later, the journey was hundreds of kilometers, how could my wife and I, old folks, bear it? So we're saying this to you, whenever you go to visit Đạt, since you're young and familiar with the route, please rent a seven-seater car so my wife and I can go with you. We'll split the cost, so you don't have to ride your motorbike hundreds of kilometers, and my wife and I can still visit our grandson, okay? And now, my wife and I would like to offer you a dozen chicken eggs as a token of our gratitude for finding and taking a picture of Thành's leg."
A bundle of chicken eggs was placed on the table, the small, bright pink eggs. Thanh's grandparents explained that these were "free-range eggs" from chickens that only ate corn and rice. "The gift isn't as valuable as the effort put into it, so please accept them so we can become friends."
Knowing she couldn't refuse, Ms. Mừng replied that she would accept. "And if you think I'm the same age as Thành's mother, then just adopt me as your foster daughter—that would be perfect and convenient."
Mung's brilliant idea delighted the grandparents, who were surprised to find that their grandson, who had joined the army, had unexpectedly given them a wonderful foster daughter.
***
That day, the seven-seater van was carrying six people along with a jumble of styrofoam boxes, dishes, a mini gas stove, soft drinks, bottled water, fruit, pastries... just like a camping trip.
Cuong's grandparents also approached Mung and suggested they travel together because, although they missed their grandson, the long journey of several hundred kilometers was too much for them. They reluctantly suppressed their longing through phone calls until they learned that Dat's mother lived in a different commune but had a son serving in the same unit as Cuong.
The car departed at 4 a.m., meaning the three families barely slept that night. Thanh's maternal grandparents roasted and boiled chicken. Cuong's paternal grandparents cooked sticky rice, "Cuong's favorite dish," along with some roasted pork "to eat with the sticky rice" and several bunches of "homegrown" coconuts, each one carefully cut and peeled.
The car sped along the deserted roads in the early morning, still glistening with city lights. In some sections, the night was pitch black and utterly silent. Occasionally, only a few small lights could be seen flashing past behind the endless rubber plantations.
***
We didn't know when Cuong and Thanh had arrived at the gate. After the elderly couple presented their documents to the officer on duty, we saw the two men in blue uniforms extend their strong arms to embrace them tightly.
Thành's grandfather had to rub his eyes several times before he recognized his grandson, exclaiming, "Damn you... how did you grow so tall... and why are you as dark as a furnace?" Then they melted into each other's arms amidst laughter.
Meanwhile, Cuong's grandmother patted his head, rolled up his sleeve, and counted his fingers to see how well he was eating "soldier's rations" and how plump and healthy he had become...
Mừng's youngest child ran around her older brother, saying, "Brother... brother... thanks to Cường and Thành's grandparents, we met just two weeks ago, and now we're meeting again! And don't worry, brother, Mom's business isn't doing well, and she even hired a seven-seater car to visit you! Cường's grandparents took care of everything! Mom didn't spend a single penny on the car!"
The faces of young and old mingled amidst a surge of emotion, but they all burst into laughter in their camaraderie as they listened to the innocent, childlike language of Anh Dat's youngest son.
