Chapter 27 — Puppets Under the Lights

The day of the district-level cultural festival has finally arrived, a clear late autumn day, with a pleasant chilly air covering the central square where the festival is held. The water stage was built on a much larger scale than the previous community show, with a professional lighting system and an audience capacity of nearly a thousand people.

Minh Long arrived early in the morning with the whole team, participated in setting up the stage, and checked each puppet and each set of control strings one last time before the show officially started in the afternoon. The preparation atmosphere was filled with both nervousness and excitement, completely different from the nervousness and tension of the first performance many months ago.

"Everything is fine," Diem My reported after checking the entire preparation list, her face beaming even though she was still a little nervous. "Costumes, props, sound, lights, all ready."

"Our team is also ready," Minh Long replied, looking around at all fifteen members gathered in the backstage area, each with a clear expression of determination and confidence on their faces, completely different from the hesitation and anxiety of the first days.

In the afternoon, the stands gradually filled with spectators — not only parents and friends of the members, but also representatives from many other schools in the area, traditional art troupes, and even some local journalists who came to cover the event. Minh Long, standing behind the bamboo curtain, looking through the gap to see the large crowd of spectators, felt a thrill running down his spine, but this time, it was no longer fear, but an excitement filled with positive energy.

The program started on time, opening with a slideshow of documentary photos that Minh Long and Diem My had painstakingly prepared, telling the story of the art of water puppetry, about the artisans who have spent their lives preserving it, and especially, about the club's journey from the most difficult days to the present. Mr. Phuc's warm voice-over resounded through the speaker system, telling the story with a deep sincerity that made the entire audience silent with emotion.

When the slide ended, the drums rang loudly, signaling the official start of the performance. The Teu puppet appeared on the water, with a bright smile greeting the audience, opening a series of elaborately choreographed, emotional performances.

Standing behind the curtain, soaking in the water, Minh Long clearly felt the perfect rhythm of the whole show, the absolute harmony between the members after many months of non-stop practice. The scene of the carp crossing the martial arts gate was filled with emotion. Thao, in the main role, controlled the carp puppet to glide gracefully, then "transformed into a dragon" in a dramatic moment. The spotlight shined on the dragon's scales, causing the dragon's scales to sparkle like real ones, and the audience cheered endlessly.

The gathering of the Four Spirits, now expanded and perfected, is the most impressive highlight of the whole program. Eight puppets — dragon, unicorn, tortoise, phoenix, two of each type — move in a complex formation, intertwining across the water to the rhythm of the pounding drums, creating beautiful sparkling patterns under the spotlight, before all converging in the middle of the lake in an impressive climactic moment.

Thunderous applause rang out when the performance ended. Many spectators stood up and applauded endlessly. Some journalists also hurriedly took notes and took photos in time to report the news for tomorrow's newspaper. The whole team stepped out from behind the curtain, wet but radiant with happiness, bowing to the audience amid endless applause.

Minh Long stood in the middle of the line, holding Diem My's hand on one side and Thao's on the other, looking out at the sea of people standing up and applauding, a feeling of overwhelming emotion that was hard to describe in words. He looked up at the afternoon sky that was gradually turning bright orange and red, and in that moment, he felt like he was there, somewhere in the crowd, smiling proudly looking down at his and the club's achievements.

After the performance, the festival organizers invited club representatives to the main stage to award the "Best Performance" award of this year's festival, a great honor that no one in the club dared to dream of when starting this arduous preparation journey. Diem My, as the club's president, stepped up to receive the award, but she firmly invited Minh Long to join her on stage, not wanting to receive this honor alone.

"This award," Diem My told the crowd, her voice filled with emotion, "does not belong to me or Minh Long alone, but to the whole team who worked together tirelessly, and especially, to the legacy of artist Vu Dinh Tai, who laid the foundation for everything we have today."

The crowd applauded enthusiastically, and Minh Long, standing next to Diem My on stage, felt a complete pride and happiness that he had never dared to imagine he could achieve, since the darkest days after his death. He looked down at the crowd, saw his parents standing and applauding, tears rolling down his mother's cheeks but the smile on her lips was brighter than ever, saw Tuan Anh cheering enthusiastically from the sound control area, and saw a sea of people sharing joy with the Club in this memorable moment.

After the award ceremony, representatives of the District Department of Culture came to meet Mr. Phuc and Diem My, expressing their desire to include Nguyen Du School's Water Puppet Club in the list of units receiving long-term support in the district's traditional arts preservation program, including funding to purchase additional puppets, props, and organize periodic performances at large and small cultural events in the area.

"This is great news," Mr. Phuc told the group as the ceremony ended, his voice unable to hide his excitement. "This means that the club is not only guaranteed to survive, but also has the opportunity to grow even stronger in the years to come, even after the students graduate and leave school."

That news made the whole team burst into joy, many members hugged each other in celebration, and bustling laughter echoed throughout the backstage area. Minh Long stood looking at that scene, feeling an unprecedented deep satisfaction - not only because the show was a great success, but because he knew that his legacy had now truly found a sustainable future, no longer having to worry about the risk of being forgotten or lost.

That evening, after cleaning up the stage and seeing off the last audience, the whole team held a small party to celebrate right backstage, with candy and soft drinks prepared by the members' parents. The atmosphere was filled with joy, laughter, and even happy tears as everyone reviewed the arduous yet meaningful journey together.

"I want to raise a glass — Ah, raise a bottle of soft drink," Nam said, standing up in the middle of the group, making everyone laugh, "to thank Mr. Long and Ms. My, for not giving up, for bringing the club from the brink of dissolution to becoming champions of the district festival!"

The whole group shouted in agreement, clinking their soft drink bottles happily. Minh Long looked around at those radiant faces, feeling a deep gratitude to everyone who had accompanied him throughout this journey — from Diem My, who persistently sought him out from the very beginning, to Tuan Anh, his close friend who was always there to support him, to Mr. Phuc, the dedicated teacher who had inspired countless generations of students, and even young members like Thao and Nam, who are continuing to write a new chapter for the legacy that his grandfather left behind. has worked hard to build.

"Thank you everyone," Minh Long said, standing up, his voice filled with emotion. "This journey has taught me so much — about perseverance, about love, and about how a legacy can live on, not by keeping it immutable, but by letting it grow, change, and become part of new hearts. This, I think, is exactly what my grandfather always wanted, and I'm proud that we all did it together."

Applause and congratulations rang out throughout the backstage area, closing out a perfect day, marking an important milestone not only in the club's history, but also in the healing and growth journey of Minh Long himself, who has now found a peace and purpose in life that he never dared to dream of in the darkest days of grief and loss, when all he could see was darkness, not the bright lights waiting ahead.