The Dream of Two Orphaned Sisters

(Baonghean) - That small house is nestled in a riverside hamlet. Stepping in, one can easily feel the loneliness through the layers of dust covering the objects, the peeling paint on the walls and the faint smell of incense smoke. That is the shelter of two sisters, Dang Thi Huyen and Dang Thi Khanh Ly, who had to endure the pain of losing both their father and mother early on...

We went to Block 1B - Anh Son Town (Anh Son District), asked for the house of two orphaned sisters, and were enthusiastically guided by the locals. Behind the garden, a group of children were playing and laughing happily together. It was not difficult to recognize Huyen (born 2002) and Ly (2007) among the children, because of their sad eyes and faces that no longer contained the innocence and carefreeness of their peers. Seeing strangers coming to visit, at first the two children's eyes widened in surprise, then their faces turned worried. At that moment, some neighbors came over, the two sisters felt really secure but still talked shyly.

Through the stories of Dang Thi Huyen, neighbors and Mr. Tran Van Dong (Huyen-Ly calls him uncle), we basically grasp the tragic situation of the family. When he was alive, Mr. Dang Van Kieu (born in 1977) - the father of 2 children, specialized in rafting wood and bamboo downstream. One day, Mr. Kieu fell ill, his body gradually shrunk, unable to find the cause to cure, so he closed his eyes and passed away. Huyen still remembers clearly. That was one day in 2010, just coming home from school, mother held hand next to father's bed. Father's eyes were dull looking at his innocent daughter, then tears flowed down his gaunt, dark face. After that, father breathed his last breath while mother cried miserably.

Mr. Kieu passed away, leaving the burden of life on the thin shoulders of Ms. Tran Thi Hoa (born in 1979). Normally, Ms. Hoa's health was not good, so when her husband passed away, she completely collapsed. Thinking of the scene of her two children being helpless and orphaned, she got up with the determination to raise her two children properly. She ran around, all day long selling fish at the market to earn money to raise her children to study. Sympathizing with Ms. Hoa's situation, people helped by "prioritizing" buying her fish. Whenever mentioning her children, she often told everyone that she would try to make up for the loss of their father, and would not let her children be sad too much...

But then, disaster struck Tran Thi Hoa's family again. Just over 2 years after her husband passed away, she fell ill. The unfortunate woman felt that her illness had many similar symptoms to her husband's. And that meant that she would leave this world in the near future, and her two daughters would lose their mother as well. Just thinking about it, Hoa lost sleep and appetite, selling all the valuable things in the house to pay for medical treatment in the hope of prolonging her life and being with her children. But her assets were exhausted, her illness worsened, her resistance became weaker and weaker, so she breathed her last breath on a day in early 2013, leaving behind her two young daughters.

Before leaving this life, Ms. Tran Thi Hoa asked her sister and her husband, Tran Thi Tuyen and Tran Van Dong, to take care of her two children. There was still a little money left in the house, after paying for the funeral expenses, she asked her brother and sister to buy Huyen an electric bike, because she had to go to school far away and it was very difficult. After saying that, Ms. Hoa's tears streamed down her face and she did not dare to look at the child holding her hand sitting next to her. And from that moment, Huyen and Ly became orphans. At this time, little Ly's eyes were bewildered, as if she was too young to be aware of the great pain of life.

At this point, Huyen’s eyes welled up with tears. Then tears rolled down her childish face, accompanied by sobs. It felt as if the pain and sorrow that had been suppressed and accumulated for so long suddenly burst out when someone shared it with her.

Remembering the dying words of their unfortunate sister, Tuyen and Dong opened their arms to take care of the two children. Huyen and Ly's daily rice and food were provided by their aunt and uncle. However, because their home was 2km away, Dong and his wife were busy with work, so the cooking was left to Huyen.

Currently, Dang Thi Huyen is a 6B student at Hoi Son Secondary School, while Dang Thi Khanh Ly is studying in the Senior Kindergarten class at Anh Son Town Kindergarten. The house is about 5 kilometers from the school, so every morning, Huyen wakes up early to prepare meals, take her younger sister to class, and then rides her bike to school. In the evening, she takes care of meals, baths, and puts her sister to sleep.

Sisters Huyen - Ly in the study corner.

Just like that, for almost a year now, Huyen has been both a sister and a mother. Huyen fears the most the rainy and windy nights, when the electricity goes out. The roof, which was made of old cement tiles, has leaked, water splashes all over the house, and the wind blows outside in gusts. On nights like that, Huyen can only hold her breath, hug Ly tightly and hope for morning to come quickly. And Huyen suddenly dreams that if there were a giant hand to block the wind and rain so that the small village by the river would always be peaceful, and that there would never be rainy nights that would frighten her and her sisters.

Then on cold winter nights, Ly often turned over and pulled the blanket, making Huyen feel cold and wake up. At times like that, memories flooded back, the image of a family reunion and happiness from the past flickered and flashed. There, there was the image of a father carrying heavy love, and a gentle mother taking care of every meal and sleep. The happiest thing was every year on Tet holiday, mother bought new clothes for her children, then took Huyen and her sisters to visit relatives. Alone awake in the cold, Huyen suddenly longed for the embrace and comfort of her mother's hand. If only her mother were still alive, she would surely hug and warm both of them. There were nights when Ly suddenly cried out and called her parents' names. Huyen also woke up in panic, looking around and seeing only pitch-black darkness. When she was calm, Huyen could only hug her sister tightly and tears streamed down her face... There were also times when Huyen dreamed of her mother returning, still with a slender figure, still with her thin hands reaching up to stroke her daughter's head. Huyen was so happy that she cried, earnestly calling her mother's name, but that figure suddenly vanished. Waking up, Huyen realized it was just an illusion, and Huyen faced herself again, the pain and sadness welling up in her young soul.

Faced with the pain and misfortune of Huyen-Ly, along with the care of Mr. Dong and his wife, many kind-hearted people have found ways to help. Right after Ms. Hoa's funeral, the block management board launched a fundraising campaign, supporting the two children with more than 2 million VND. Every day, neighbors still regularly come over, look after and are ready to help Ly sisters when needed. At the beginning of the new school year, Huyen was given notebooks by the school and exempted from all contributions. Recently, Mr. Nguyen Duc Vinh - Head of the Education Department visited Huyen's house and gave her 20 notebooks. Currently, Mr. Tran Van Dong has completed and submitted the application for Dang Thi Huyen and Dang Thi Khanh Ly to enjoy the orphan status according to regulations.

The sisters' house is empty but the study corner is quite tidy. It is called a "corner" but in fact, on the bed there are two chests (boxes) that serve as study tables. The two sisters share a lamp shade, surrounded by neatly arranged books. We asked: "What subject does Huyen like to study the most?", Huyen answered: "I really like to study Literature!". Huyen likes it because "when studying, I find many good ideas, helping me understand more about the life around me". Huyen said that she had already passed the first semester of some subjects and she got good grades in all of them. When asked about her dreams, Huyen was shy and did not dare to confess. We clearly understood the reason for her shyness and embarrassment, so we suggested that Huyen take a pen and a blank piece of paper to write down her own circumstances and dreams.

And finally, Huyen wrote: “My name is Dang Thi Huyen. My father passed away 4 years ago, my mother was sick continuously due to a serious illness, until 2013 when my mother passed away. Since then, my sisters and I have relied on my aunt and uncle. I hope that the superiors, the government and philanthropists will help my sisters and me. I will not let down the superiors, the government, the philanthropists, the teachers, my aunt and uncle and everyone. When I grow up, I dream of teaching children.”

Huyen wrote her circumstances and dreams on paper.

After reading these lines, Mr. Tran Van Dong suddenly sighed: “Because of blood ties, my wife and I took care of two children. My family's circumstances are quite difficult, with many children and my wife often sick. Perhaps, we can only take care of them until a certain point, but the dream of going to school to become a teacher is beyond the circumstances...” Huyen looked around the house. The house was small, desolate and moldy, with no valuable objects inside. Outside, the small garden was also desolate and desolate. Huyen tried to hold back a sigh, her already sad eyes became even sadder. Perhaps, even though she had just turned 12, this 6th grade student had already seen the difficulties and obstacles that awaited her ahead. And to reach her dream, she had to overcome many hardships in life.

We could not forget the impression of the eyes of Huyen and Ly, two children who had to bear the pain of losing both their parents at an early age. Their eyes were so sad, filled with pain and sorrow. Fortunately, those eyes also contained extraordinary strength and hope. Around us, there are still many people with kind hearts, ready to take care of and protect. And our State has been implementing many policies to support orphans and unfortunate children. We believe that one day soon, Huyen will be a teacher for these children...

Cong Kien