Dancing girl

In the cultural programs, I really like the illustration dance. The slender girls, colorful costumes make the performance more lively and attractive. But if the singer is called, standing out on the stage, the dancing girls are always hidden. People usually focus on the singer, but I like to watch the dancing girls.

Kieu is a girl who dances very beautiful dances at the tourist area where I am in charge of the green area. The tourist area is located on an offshore island. It is a place where many tourists come to visit and have fun every day. Also every day, a dance group of 5 people performs on the stage at the lake in the green area at 10 o'clock. And one of those dancing girls is Kieu.

When the dance program began, I often went to watch and I noticed the girl with the fresh face and long hair. The lake reflected the rays of sunlight, reflected the clouds. The girls danced on one side, and on the other side of the lake were chairs for the guests to sit on. Some days there were many guests, some days there were few. Some days people clapped, some days the dance ended in silence.

Kieu and I have known each other since then. Sometimes on days off, we would go out to eat together or I would take Kieu for a walk on the streets. I still just stopped at looking at that dancing girl and the dates as if we were friends. Kieu's purity and clear laughter made me feel like a confession would destroy Kieu's good impression of me.

Kieu is 22 years old and has been with Huong's dance group for several years, performing everywhere when requested. Kieu's father remarried. At first Kieu lived with her mother. But then her mother also had another man. Finally Kieu rented a room with some friends. Such a beautiful young girl, with such a tragic situation, but still radiant and innocent. I am 40 years old and divorced once. My wife took our children abroad after marrying a foreigner. I love my wife and children very much. But I had to sign the divorce papers my wife had written for me because I could not give her the life she wanted.

I was moved by Kieu, a strange emotion when I heard her tell me about her life. I didn't dare to say anything because of the age gap and my own hesitation. And then the days just passed. Every day, I was in charge of managing the green area with the swimming pool and every day I prepared everything so that the dance performance would not be interrupted. Of course, there were rainy days when the dance group could not perform, we sat at the water counter of the tourist area, talking as if it would never stop...

Then Kieu was absent from the dance group. Ms. Huong said that Kieu quit to get married. Kieu did not inform me and did not invite me to the wedding. I heard from Ms. Huong that Kieu fell in love with a phone salesman, very handsome in appearance and often came to the port with a white car, picking Kieu up when the ship from the island docked. On Kieu's 22nd birthday, the guy organized a very grand party and proposed. I listened to the story and consoled myself, every choice of a girl has a reason. In love, sometimes just because you are meant to be together, you cannot end up together.

Kieu had been married for about a year. Since the day she got married, the dance group's performance contract ended. She and I lost each other in the crowd, until one morning we met again in front of our house. I felt sad and bitter when I had no place to rely on, she thought of me.

Kieu married a handsome, wealthy-looking husband, but a thug on the inside. After getting married, they rented a house in a newly opened residential area. Every day Kieu opened a coffee shop to sell street coffee to the residents around the area. But Kieu's husband was jealous and beat him every night as if to vent his hatred. Kieu did not dare to say anything to anyone. Until that night, after a fit of unfounded jealousy, he chased Kieu out of the house like chasing a stranger in the rain. At that moment Kieu thought of me.

That day, the rain kept falling like lullabies, and in the early morning, I heard someone calling my name. I thought the call was a dream, until I opened the door and saw Kieu sitting huddled on the steps of the house, next to her small bag, as if Kieu was going somewhere and had stopped to take shelter from the rain.

Kieu was in front of me. Kieu had been to my small house, gone to the market and cooked. Kieu had also blamed me for always missing my ex and not finding someone else to light the fire in the kitchen. I had wanted to ask, “Can you?” but I didn’t say it.

After seeing Kieu rest and eat, I did not keep Kieu, and could not keep her. That night, I saw Kieu off to her mother's house. She whispered to me: "Thank you. When I finish the divorce procedures, I can return to this place..." She got on the bus, the bus rolled away in the shimmering lights, taking Kieu further and further away...

Short story: Khue Viet Truong

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/co-gai-mua-a189972.html