Ninh Binh, the land that taught me love

Happy to have had a protected childhood, grown up in love, and proud because the Lac Hong blood in my heart taught me how to turn storms into the strength of humanity.

Author Lan Thu Pham Nguyen with the work " Ninh Binh, the land that taught me to love ".

Place of composition: Hamlet 7, Khanh Hoi Commune, Ninh Binh, Vietnam

Introduction: My childhood was associated with a thatched house with mud walls, where on stormy nights, family was everything. Every time a storm came, I saw my parents, each holding a pillar to support the house for fear of it collapsing. My three brothers and I were put in a basket, covered with raincoats and pushed under the bed, that was the safest place. After the storm, there was a flood, my parents' feet were eaten by water, both painful and itchy. My three brothers and I were placed on a high table in the middle of the house, surrounded by water and all day long, the only thing we had to do was chase the ducks away from pecking at the house walls. At that time, in my childish soul, a dream was kindled: "If I were Mi Nuong, daughter of the eighteenth Hung King, I would marry Thuy Tinh so that there would be no more storms, thunder, floods, and my parents and villagers would no longer have to suffer...". Now, as an adult, I know that dream does not need to come true. Not because the storms have stopped visiting, but because I have found a power greater than Thuy Tinh: that is the power of human love. No matter how fierce the storm is, it cannot drown human love, in the midst of it, it becomes even more connected, "when one horse is in pain, the whole stable stops eating grass". When I think back to those stormy days, I no longer feel pain but only happiness and pride. Happiness because I had a protected childhood, grew up in love, and pride because the Lac Hong blood in my heart taught me how to turn storms into the power of human love.

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