Short story The River Waits…

- Do you like going to the floating market too? Me too.

We didn't know each other, had absolutely nothing in common, and even went to the same university but in different departments, and even came from different provinces.

- It's fate.

Illustration: Tran Thang

That girl often told me that. And that girl also had a very strange name but I thought it was very beautiful: it was Song. I was originally from Vinh Long, I was a boy who grew up on boats making a living on the Tra On floating market, and she, she came from Ben Tre , a land known as the peaceful and leisurely coconut land.

- The river is so beautiful. Do you know why my name is “River”? Because my parents met when they were studying at university here, they both loved the river and they named their first daughter after this place.

- Really?

- Just kidding.

She smiled, a smile as clear as the morning sun. She was very playful. The first time we met was when we were both freshmen, I woke up very early just to watch the sunrise by the river. The river was still very early that day, the sky was still slowly turning pitch black and the stars seemed to have just begun to shine brightly in the sky after a long sleepless night.

In front of my university there is a very large park, the park is right next to the river so in my free time I see many students come here to study or enjoy the cool breeze, and then sit on the walls of the park looking out at the river. The river in the morning is something very wonderful, the scent of the river blowing on my cheeks is like a gentle kiss and caress.

A curtain slowly pulled aside, the sunlight began to become more yellow but still warm and the chilly feeling of the night began to be replaced by the heat of the first rays of the day. The river's scent slowly permeated the mainland with a distinct smell: the smell of yellow sunlight, the smell of windy sails, the smell of trains, and somewhere there was also the smell of sweat. I also asked why she went for a walk on the river so early that day, the early morning was sometimes dangerous, she quickly joked:

- So from now on, every time I want to see the river early, will you come with me?

I can't forget that smile, a smile as clear as a river. After she finished speaking, she quickly turned away, leaving behind a faint scent of perfume, like the cold scent of a river. It wasn't until she was far away that I suddenly remembered that I didn't know anything about her, her name or how to contact her. I even thought that I wasn't awake yet, perhaps the girl who appeared before me at that time was just a dream that I hadn't woken up enough to realize.

- I am not a dream.

That was the second time I met the girl. It was more than a week later that I got up early to watch the sunrise alone. And she approached me again to talk.

- How do you know I think you're a dream?

- It's fate.

She joked again. And that was also the time she told me her name was “River”. The second day we started talking more, and also started walking around the riverbank. Normally I like to watch the river from the wall and rarely go down to walk, because I feel like the river is full of couples and I am a lonely guy.

I asked her what she was studying, she smiled and said: "We'll tell you next time, every day is a secret, if we tell each other everything, what's the point of being interested in each other anymore?" It was also the first time I realized that walking on the sand wasn't such a bad experience.

The third time we met, I found out she was from Ben Tre.

- A girl from the coconut land and a boy from the floating markets. How interesting. How do you feel about having a friend from the coconut land?
- I want to go to Con Phung, want to try rice snail pancakes at Con Phu Da. The peaceful countryside scenery in the land of shady coconut trees is truly a very beautiful and peaceful landscape.

She loves her Ben Tre just like I love the river. We talk about our birthplace with a pure love for our homeland but are intertwined by the desire to reach each other's place of residence. The way she clearly expresses her love for the river is not only in her words but also in her eyes. I always like to see her dreamily watching the river, as if immersed in something far away. I love the river because the place where I live is also where the river lives, I was born and saw the river in the world. But there is something very strange about her, and usually people who love rivers are people with a lot of thoughts.

In the next meetings, I learned that she studied construction. Another surprise, while I was a teacher, she was a construction girl. When she said she was the only female student in the class, I also said that I was a rare boy in the department and we both laughed at the irony. We usually met once a week and rarely saw each other at school because the two departments were very far apart, but that day, for some reason, I wanted to try going to another department.

Actually, it was the last days of the first year and it was also the time when we would be apart for a very long time in the summer because she would return to Ben Tre. Because tomorrow she would go to the bus station and tomorrow I had to pick up my father so I couldn't see her off. Today was the last day of class so I decided to go to her department to meet her and give her a souvenir.

- Hi, I want to find "River" in your class.

- There is no one in our class named "Song". There is one boy, and only one girl, Dan, is sitting and chatting with some girls from the engineering department over there.

I looked in the direction the boys were pointing, and suddenly saw her, she was looking at me too, her eyes shining with confusion. It had been almost nine months and I still didn’t know the name of the girl I thought I was close to. She seemed to understand my thoughts but didn’t know where to start. I gave her a river snail, a gift from my father to me and I gave it to her.

- I look like an idiot.

That was the last thing I said to her and I didn’t see her again until the second year of school. Strangely, during the first year we had never seen each other even briefly, but as soon as we entered the second year we often met in some space. She always wanted to talk to me but I always walked away and she stopped.

Actually, over the summer months, I seemed to have forgiven her. I was sad, hurt, and had many questions, but every time I went to the river, I remembered the familiar figure of the girl from the top of the clouds. That longing was so strong that it seemed to forgive all her mistakes. But I still didn’t know where to start again, I avoided going to the river every early morning anymore.

The time we met again was at night. The night sky was also beautiful in its own way, thousands of stars twinkling in the sky and the strong winds made every meeting during this time perfect.

- My name is Dan, I come from Ben Tre. I love rivers and my nickname is also Song.

- Is this for real?

I didn't hear her answer but suddenly I felt like she was telling the truth. Actually, I wasn't angry with her anymore, everything about the night had started to become more beautiful in its own way. In the second year, she and I became closer and closer as we started to know more and more about each other.

We even go to lunch together or meet at the canteen during recess and on weekends we go for a walk along the river. She tells me about her sadness, I tell her about my life. We don't have to tie each other to a relationship that needs a name, I like the way we are together so easily.

Time passed by until the last summer of that year. The royal poinciana flowers were blooming bright red across the sky and we were still wearing our uniforms to take a yearbook photo together. Then we went to the river together in our bachelor’s gowns. After looking at the river for a long time, the girl suddenly asked me:

- So if you have to leave the river, will you be sad?

- I grew up here, I can't leave, fate has tied me here all my life.

- So, do you love rivers?

Why did she suddenly become so strange in the last days? It had been four years, wasn't she the one who knew best how much I loved the river? Until I was stunned and burst out laughing, she quickly patted my shoulder lightly like always, an action she always did when she told a joke.

- Silly, don't look so serious. I have to go back to the dorm to prepare my things. It's almost time to go to the bus station.
After that we broke up, she returned to Ben Tre and I stayed in the river land. After graduating, the cycle of making a living also began and I was also busy with the life of a young teacher.

The contacts started to become less frequent, until the news of the merger of the three provinces of Vinh Long, Ben Tre and Tra Vinh . Suddenly, I suddenly remembered the time she asked: Do you love the "river"? Are you sad when you leave the "river"? Oh my god, why was I so stupid back then? It's been two years, I wonder if she still wants to hear the words I want to say to the river. Holding the application for a new job assignment at a school in Ben Tre, I mustered up all my courage to call her, and she quickly picked up the phone.

- I suddenly remembered that I had something to say to the "river", I wanted to go to the land of coconuts.

The other end of the line suddenly laughed loudly and said very gently:

- Looks like you've kept the "river" waiting a bit too long.

WHITE JADE PILL

Source: https://baovinhlong.com.vn/van-hoa-giai-tri/tac-gia-tac-pham/202506/truyen-ngan-song-doi-7650a09/