Nostalgia

(Baonghean) - April has come, my dear! In that faraway place, do you see, along the old street we used to walk around, the lilies are hesitantly blooming? The pure white color seems to touch the depths of memories, touch the emotions that cannot be named... More than ever, at this moment, I secretly wish, if only I could return to the past...

We fell in love in April of that year – when the white lilies began to bloom, on the shoulder poles of hard-working women wandering around the long, bustling streets… I still remember clearly, the first gift you gave me since we met was a lily still glistening with morning dew. The tall, five-petaled lilies were as soft and gentle as my small, pretty fingers. And when you compared me to the most beautiful lily in your heart, I could only shyly lean my head on your shoulder and smile softly.

Illustration: internet

Then, on an April day filled with white trumpet flowers, you suddenly left after a fateful trip, leaving me alone here. At that time, for me, the whole world seemed to collapse. The last trumpet flowers of the season were withered and desolate. Where could I find the caring and affectionate gestures, the warm love every day? And the most beautiful trumpet flower seasons in me were only left as painful, broken memories. You now belong to another world - a world without me!

I sadly returned to my own small attic, wiped away my tears and told myself not to be weak. Many nights, smelling the soft, gentle scent of lilies wafting through the small window, unable to soothe the longing that was rising in my little heart, I cried again. The cramped, tiny room was so empty and vast! Or was it because I was so lonely? The wooden table also became lonely. The lonely vase of flowers lacked the lily color. The simple joys of the past were now a thing of the past, a beautiful past that seemed so close but was so far away...

The lily seasons never fail, and every April they return as if to remind me of a pain. Sometimes, seeing the lily by the window tilting in the wind, I ask myself, is it you coming back? And then, since the days without you, I have learned to stand up after the loss, bitterness, and weakness. Even though life is full of twists and turns, I will always be me – a pure, small lily but always proud and full of desire. In the sun, in the mist, in the rain, in the wind, I will still rise up to the call of faith…

Another lily season has returned amidst the nostalgic bustle of April. This morning, stepping out of the house, I bought myself a bright first lily of the season. Holding the buds still wet with morning dew in my arms, I felt the new day so fresh and peaceful! A familiar wind filled with the sweet scent of flowers gently blew through my hair and whispered: Today, I turn nineteen! Right now, I realize that you are so close to me…

Phan Duc Loc

Class B2 – D39, People's Police Academy