Tomorrow and Youth

(Baonghean) - “What will my tomorrow be like? How will I begin?” Many nights in our lives, you and I have pondered this. So many plans, so many ambitions, so many dreams... have been kindled and burned brightly for “tomorrow.” “Tomorrow” is even more special when we possess youth, the age of overflowing desires that cannot be concealed, where “footsteps suddenly open new paths,” and “a fleeting glance can turn into love,” as the poetess Xuan Quynh once wrote.

Every time I passed through Truong Bon, every time I saw the October daisies blazing like tiny flames, the shards of glass reflecting the deep, peaceful blue sky, the dust-covered combs on the shared grave of 13 former Youth Volunteers, I thought of those two words: "Tomorrow." "Tomorrow" was the murmur of anticipation from the night before, when eight of them, after three years of service on the treacherous roads, would "say goodbye to their shovels and picks" and return home. Five of them held their university acceptance letters, two were engaged and awaiting their wedding day, and one was returning to his mother, hoping to ease her pain after his brother's sacrifice on the artillery protecting the skies of their homeland. The youngest was 17, and the oldest only 22. Their "tomorrow" would forever remain in their youthful hearts. "Tomorrow" has blended into the land of My Son, creating the peaceful paths of today.

The cultural performance "Forever Young at 20" recreated the image of the Youth Volunteers on the Truong Bon battlefront.Photo: Nguyen Son

What were they thinking, facing the "tomorrow" they were approaching? If given the choice again, would they still walk towards the bombs and bullets? Would they still contemplate death? Surely, more than anyone else, those people who faced danger every moment understood death. Walking towards the bombs and bullets wasn't a choice of death, but a choice of how to live, of their purpose in life.

There are birds that sing their most heartfelt song once before dying, their song clear and melodious even though their bodies are later impaled in painful thorns. There are flowers that bloom only once in their lives, and for countless years, the plant flourishes with green leaves, waiting.

Humans are the same; some are just waiting to be ignited, to have "a moment of glory." Life, ultimately, is merely a lamp lit to sustain a purpose. Youth is when that flame is kindled most brightly. It's when purpose is chosen, character is revealed, and in particular circumstances, people sometimes place themselves before two opposing extremes: either towards light or towards darkness, either selfish or altruistic, either safe or adventurous, either calm and discreet or passionately expressive...

I have always seen those young men and women walking towards the light with hearts full of passion. They have given us faith in immortality, even though we know that in the endless cycle of life, we come and go through death.

Nghe An Weekend