Star of Grace
This saying of hers has followed me for many years. When I was little, I didn’t think much of it. When I grew up, I was curious and didn’t dare ask anyone. Until the day I had the Internet, I typed and searched…where is it? Where is the star she talked about, the mute girl, aunt Tham?
I’ve never seen any star name like that..how strange, not only my grandmother said it, but Mr. Dam also said it..and people like my grandmother and Mr. Dam never say anything wrong..bringing that curiosity until now, my mind is absent-minded, thinking about it for many nights without sleep..
Yesterday’s story is still there, today’s story just won’t sleep… I think it’s my fault… I suddenly wandered back to the market with my nephew, groped my way back to the mute girl’s village, now everything is asleep, now it’s messed up again, I wish I could tell the youngest, the youngest to give me advice…
Well then…let life be, discuss what Mr. Dam said…what will come will come, why think about it, how long is life, why worry and get tired
Ugly stars, beautiful stars…this has been around for thousands of years and comes from Chinese culture…
They say that life has both good and bad luck, good and bad things that come to us. If something goes wrong, there are stars like Rahu, Tu Tu, Ketu…
Good is the sun, the moon, wood virtue…etc.
Those who have bad luck every year should make offerings to the stars before the full moon day to ward off bad luck.
My grandmother told my aunt that this year she will have good luck.
The mute woman was told by the man that she was blessed by a heavenly star for the rest of her life…what kind of person is not only beautiful on the outside but also has accumulated blessings on the inside… back then I didn’t believe it, didn’t care, and now today…
Manh..
Ah, my nephew’s phone calls made me so excited, my heart was filled with longing… suddenly I realized…
It turns out that this life… also has bad luck, good luck.. like those shamans.. keep saying that this person’s fate this year will be unlucky.
Many times I think about the saying my grandmother said life is long, there are still many men, when she said it to my aunt that day… I think about it until now… I don’t know how it penetrated her ears… I only see that from that day on her cheeks are always rosy on her face, always sparkling with smiles, always looking innocent and playful, looking at her swaying, the village boys following her… like bees following fragrant and colorful flowers.
During those days, my aunt would come over during the day with the mute girl, whispering and looking at me with a smile. She didn’t say anything, but the corners of her eyes seemed to be smiling.
Now I’m absent-minded, my mood is uncertain..the past few days the strong guy called to ask..
Uncle, what do you think?
It also did not expect, I was absent-minded.. after all, Cuong also carried heavy worries… just a minute… for the story under the pine slope to happen.. for many years, he was worried about his aunt’s letter, full of resentment.
All at …
After the drizzle, my nephew and I went to the market to sightsee, then to the mute lady’s village, adding something to our worries…
Remember the moment me and Manh returned to the old house of the mute girl… the old village, over the years also changed with the times, the road along the riverbank to the old village had shady bamboo groves… now there are two rows of electric poles along the road planted with flower beds, spring rain moistens the soil and the trees turn green, the old village of the mute girl now also has a corrugated iron roof house, jutting out onto the main road
Slow down, I said, wait for that lady to come and ask for directions to the village.
Hey, sister
What’s up, uncle?
Could you tell me how to get to Mrs. Lanh’s house?
She received, oh…she received it already, uncle.
Oh my god…how long has she been dead?
Oh, it’s been a while..now you go along this road for about 200m, there’s a house with a gray tiled gate.
Yes, thank you.
I walked leisurely…oh yes, there is still the old jackfruit tree at the gate.
Her son, through a few sentences of conversation, seemed like he had been waiting for this moment. The story flooded back from his memory.
Because his mother passed on what she had told him.
He said that after the year the two of you came here to pay respects, the day your mute brother came to my house to meet my aunt… I don’t know why your mute brother made a land certificate for 2 fields in her name, the money her mute parents lost in a traffic accident was compensated and deposited in the bank, he withdrew the interest and made a fence around the land, over the years the children in the house were given the land to her… how long did they wait… I don’t know how God arranged it… after a few years the receiving lady was old… he brought all the papers to my house to give to my mother, uncle
Where are your mute brother and his wife now?
Ah…her sister-in-law, her mute sister-in-law, died of cancer…her brother sold the old house and went to the Central Highlands to make a living, uncle.
Have they been here for a long time?
I don’t understand why…for so many years I haven’t seen them come back.
Then I was taken to a 2-acre plot of land to take a few pictures, take a photo of the documents left behind… I sent them back to the child she received years ago…
It turns out that after so many years of blood and affection, there are still lingering feelings. This world has changed a lot…there is still a bit of this waiting for the mute girl to return to the village and claim it back.
But…what I remember forever is the humanity…the concern of the person who received the letter.
Throughout the trip…the strong guy is an IT guy, he silently recorded everything that happened that day.
Nearly 3 weeks later he called back.
Uncle..
what
I have this story to ask you
Then it told
After the meal at the market… someone called him several times… he didn’t pick up because it was an unknown number.
Then they texted to ask to meet…to ask about the guest who stopped by for dinner.
The strong guy said he was just a tech driver for a living…so he didn’t know the other person’s information or phone number.
It wants to hide..
Then he told about the time he sat with Cuong…he was still silently waiting…because his aunt’s letter was like a needle piercing his heart…and always believed that in this world he still had a child…after the night under the pine hill…lost
Thanks to the camera…recording the car’s number…I asked my nephew to ask through the registration information to find out the serial number of the strong guy.
Now it asks me if you want to meet Uncle Cuong..
I just said..no
So now, many years later, I remember that day.
……………………………
Morning of the 4th day of Tet..
After a night full of events in the early spring morning, as if filled with sweet emotions, I woke up, the mute girl and the old lady had left because there was a delivery..a few friends invited me to go to the spring festival in HL village at the beginning of the year, the children walked quickly, carrying each other on my mother’s bike to the village entrance.
Stopped by Mr. Dam’s house to borrow a bike..a bunch of kids wandered around cycling back to the district town..the first days of spring, light rain, a little sunshine, a few drops of rain, Mr. Dam told me to just take his bike, he won’t go far during Tet..if there’s nothing to do at night, come over to his house to sleep.
But my soul is strange, waiting for the pink girl to return, and wishing for the night to come quickly so I can see the mute girl.
I don’t know why the handsome man has been taking care of my aunt these past few days. They must be dating. She’s always as fresh as a blooming flower. During the day, she comes over to whisper to the mute girl. At night, she doesn’t come over. I…glance at the mute girl.
Remembering his words, the young rice plant has taken root, sprouting green leaves swaying in the wind.
rosy cheeks, smile like blooming flowers, hair as smooth as clouds floating in the wind, shimmering with pink sunlight…through the night of the 4th…the 5th I prepared my books to study for the first day of the year…the night was late, the sound of worms chirping…suddenly the mute girl stood behind…pressing her belly against my back…then whispering breaths
She held out the book..I read the small words and felt surprised..
Tu. I miss you.. go inside and sleep..
Then she quietly came back in..the pink nightgown..the faint scent of perfume..her shadow walked through the door in the dim light..I watched, my heart filled with emotions.