The tragedy of two women sharing a husband for nearly half a century.

(Baonghean) - Two women who were complete strangers, sharing the same man who passed away nearly 20 years ago, can be seen as two pieces of a shared destiny, walking hand in hand until the end of their lives.

In the middle of Khe Bo village, Tam Quang commune (Tuong Duong district), stands a small, old house, as dilapidated and aged as its owners – Mrs. Ho Thi Xuan (93 years old) and Mrs. Le Thi Thanh (76 years old). They are the wives of Mr. Le Van Quy (who passed away in 2000), and now their frail bodies are wasting away with the passage of time, having endured countless hardships and misfortunes in their final years. Mrs. Xuan is very weak and unable to sit up to eat or take care of her personal hygiene.

Their eating habits were irregular, sometimes they ate, sometimes they skipped. Even in summer, they still wore woolen sweaters, headscarves, and velvet blankets. Mrs. Thanh, though not as strong, was quite lucid, remembering many details and events from the past nearly 50 years. The two elderly women relied on each other, their daily expenses mainly depending on Mrs. Xuan's senior citizen allowance.

The small house of Ms. Ho Thi Xuan and Ms. Le Thi Thanh in Khe Bo village, Tam Quang commune (Tuong Duong district). Photo: Ho Phuong

Ms. Thanh shared: "Our story is long and full of twists and turns, with both laughter and tears, but there were few smiles and many tears. People often talk about sharing a husband with many injustices and disagreements, but with us, there were almost none..." According to Ms. Thanh's recollection, Ms. Xuan was from Quynh Luu, and Mr. Quy was from Thanh Chuong. The two met and came together in the lowlands; both were poor.

In 1952, after their wedding, the couple moved to the Khe Bo area to make a living. In this mining region, the young couple built a small hut by the river to shelter from the rain and sun. Every day, the husband would go down to the river to fish for sale, while the wife worked sifting rice and carrying water for hire. Their struggle for survival was extremely difficult and arduous; they often went hungry, but the couple always lived in harmony and loved each other wholeheartedly.

But she waited and waited, and the wife saw no sign of pregnancy. Seventeen years passed quickly, and she accepted the fact that she couldn't bear children, unwilling to leave her husband without an heir. Putting aside her selfishness, Mrs. Xuan decided to find someone else to take her place, hoping that her second wife would bear children for Mr. Quy, so that he wouldn't betray his ancestors and family, and wouldn't have to endure the gossip of others.

Mrs. Ho Thi Xuan is old and frail; even in the summer, she has to wear a long-sleeved shirt and a scarf. Photo: Cong Kien

As for her, she was willing to step back, accepting the sight of her husband caressing and being intimate with his new wife. After many nights of discussing the pros and cons, Mrs. Ho Thi Xuan finally persuaded her husband to agree to take a second wife. The woman Mrs. Xuan chose for her husband was Le Thi Thanh – a girl from the same village, from a poor family, and who had also faced many hardships. In 1969, Mrs. Thanh became Mr. Quy's second wife, and all three lived together in a small house by the river.

Those were the years of war, when hunger and poverty constantly plagued and plagued everything, but everyone resolved to persevere. Indeed, Mrs. Xuan had not chosen the wrong person for her husband, because after some time, Mrs. Thanh gave birth to six children, both boys and girls. Each time a child was born, Mr. Quy was overjoyed, working hard but still smiling and showing his contentment.

At such times, Mrs. Xuan couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness about her own situation, but then this compassionate woman managed to suppress all her feelings, forcing a smile and shedding tears of happiness. Whenever Mrs. Thanh was in confinement after giving birth, Mrs. Xuan took care of her, preparing meals, and searching the forest for nutritious medicinal plants to increase milk production so that her children would be healthy and strong.

Ms. Le Thi Thanh is still quite lucid and recounts her life story. Photo: Ho Phuong

As the children grew a little older, Mrs. Xuan and her mother would feed them spoonfuls of porridge and bowls of rice, sometimes even eating cassava or yam to give the best pieces to the younger ones. Mrs. Xuan believed that the six children Mrs. Thanh had given birth to were the happiness of her life, the fulfillment of her hopes and sacrifices.

She thought her plans were sound, and from then on she would continue working hard, raising her children with her husband and younger sister (Ms. Thanh adopted her as her younger sister). But life is full of ironies; in poverty and hardship, the children were frequently ill, and the family's situation worsened. Then, one by one, the three young children passed away, leaving their parents heartbroken.

Although she didn't give birth to them, Mrs. Xuan was deeply saddened, saddened by the misfortune that befell her husband, and saddened by the unfulfilled dreams. Fortunately, her three children were growing up, providing encouragement and happiness for the whole family. Mrs. Xuan, along with her parents, worked hard to raise and care for them, hoping that even if they didn't achieve success, they would at least become good people.

Mrs. Xuan and Mrs. Thanh – the two wives of Mr. Le Van Quy – relied on each other in his final years. Photo: Cong Kien

But then, they grew up just as the drug "storm" began to hit the Tuong Duong region, and Khe Bo village was also in the eye of the storm. Mr. Quy's children could not escape the temptation and were haunted by the "white ghost" (heroin). One child fell ill and passed away early, and the father, overwhelmed with grief, also passed away, leaving behind two elderly wives and two young children.

The two mothers were also heartbroken, trying to bury their grief deep within their hearts. Before their pain could subside, their hearts ached again when their two children continued down the path of addiction, ultimately leading to their deaths. Thus, after several decades, these two women were left with nothing. Now, in their twilight years, with no one left to rely on, they live quietly like two shadows under their dilapidated roof, depending on each other amidst the noise of life...

Cong Kien - Ho Phuong