Summer sky
(Baonghean) - When the ball of darkness cracks its shell, the light of dawn flows out, pouring into every small street and alley. The distant cries of people crawling on the tiled roofs and the dry creaking of bicycles: "Sticky rice with corn, sticky rice with mung bean, sticky rice with peanuts, sticky rice with beans here!... Who wants sticky rice here?" wake up the sleepy neighborhood.
Waking up, wrapping up the unfinished dream of last night, I stepped out of bed and opened the green window to welcome a new day. Opening the window, I opened up the whole sky before my eyes. I spread my arms wide as if embracing the whole summer sky. The morning was like a spoiled cat gently rubbing its soft fur against my cheek.
Oh, how strange! Just yesterday, the poinciana flowers were still shyly hiding behind the green canopy, but this morning they were burning brightly in a corner of the sky. Perhaps last night the summer fairy was busy lighting up the rows of poinciana trees, and this morning when the whole neighborhood woke up, it was as if they had changed into new clothes. The emerald green sky was pushed higher, and summer did not forget to let a few clumps of clouds drift lazily there. I closed my eyes and searched for the faint scent of lotus flowers or the sweet, rustic, hometown scent of rice in bloom. The heel of time gently touched the shimmering beam of sunlight hanging on the window bars. The gentle wind kissed my hair and whispered: “Summer has come!”
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| Illustration: An Vinh |
Unstable heart
Eighteen years and eighteen summers have passed. Yet every time the pomegranate fire flickers on the porch, or the cicada musicians improvise a sad love song, my heart is filled with longing.
Summer - the season of separation!
Having to be away from friends, teachers, and beloved school for three summer months - not a long time but enough for sensitive student souls to sing out the sound of nostalgia. Remembering every morning calling each other to go to school. The sunny afternoons when we used taro leaves to cover our heads or when we encountered a sudden downpour, we all stood under the porch to take shelter from the rain, holding out our tiny hands to catch the rainwater and then splash it on each other. Remembering the times we broke pieces of white chalk for each other or dipped them in the same bottle of purple ink. Remembering the childish anger that lasted less than a day and then immediately made up,...
But more specifically, for me, this summer is the last summer. Time flows quietly through my life and also quietly takes away the dreamy white shirt. I collect the happy and sad pieces of my childhood memories and fill the desk drawer with memories. Flipping through the pages of my autograph book. Tears blur my eyes. The purple ink still contains the love that my friends had to part with. In the whirlpool of making a living, the wheel of life, when will we meet again?
Summer greets us with a bright golden sunshine and we greet summer with a mixture of emotions, full of love, full of dreams and plans. Raise your hands to greet summer!
Dao Manh Long
Hai Phong City
