Chapter 4 — When I was born, I wanted to give my mother another chance

I told everything about the admission notice. But the eldest uncle only snorted: "Girls, whether you go to school or not, it's the same. Since you're engaged to Mr. So, you should obediently stay at home and wait for the wedding day. What's so good about the outside? Don't think about it." That night, neither my mother nor I could eat rice. The next morning, while still dreaming, I looked next to me and saw no one. I jumped up from the bed in surprise.

“Miss Uyen Uyen?”

I quickly put on my shirt and rushed out. The house is empty, the yard is empty. Panic struck. There is also a river here. I cried and ran everywhere looking for her, hoping that my mother would appear like when she was a child, hear my call. An hour later, I found my mother on the riverbank. I was so scared that my legs became weak and I collapsed to the ground.

“Mom!”

I couldn't hold it in anymore and burst into tears. Mother turned her head, her face calm: "Tieu Thu, why are you here?" In my mother's eyes, I saw the same emotions as in my previous life. I staggered and ran to hug her tightly.

“Mom, don't leave me… I beg you… Please don't leave me again?”

My mother patted my back, her voice gentle: "Tieu Thu, I just want to come here to take a look. I want to see the sea... but unfortunately, there is no sea here. I heard that Bac Thanh has a sea, I don't know what it looks like."

"Then let's go to Bac Thanh, see the sea! Let's go tomorrow!"

At that moment, I just wanted to fulfill my mother's wish. Mom looked at me for a moment, then suddenly smiled: "Tieu Thu is no longer the same."

8

I suddenly felt suffocated, wondering if my mother noticed anything. Mom gently tucked my hair behind my ear: "I won't see the ocean anymore, but you're right, you can't marry someone you don't love."

“Mom, have you finally thought things through?”

I suddenly understood why my mother married my father. In the dark night, there is a ray of light shining on you. Although it is not warm enough, it still makes you want to cling to it. The eldest aunt's house was a place full of oppression and suffocation to the point of being unable to breathe. But this time, I've arrived. I want to be my mother's light.

"Miss Uyen Uyen, it's okay if you don't study this year, you can still take the exam again next year."

I took out the money I had saved for the past two months: "In my workshop, there is an aunt who is going to follow her son to Quang Thanh, her room is empty. I have already negotiated, the rent is two coins per month, rent for one year. I can support you, you can rest assured to study, don't think about anything else." Having finished speaking, I was stunned. Over the past twenty years, my mother has always done the same to me. My mother always told me not to worry about anything, she takes care of everything, I just need to study well. Since I was a child, I always drew distant scenarios, bought dresses, bought villas... Until my mother left this world, I never did anything for her.

"What if the admission notice is torn? Is it possible that I can't go to school?"

A man's voice was heard from behind. I turned around and saw my dad walking slowly. In his eyes there was a flash of contempt that I was all too familiar with. Mother was surprised: "Comrade So, why are you here?" Dad glanced out at the river: "I want to see the ocean." Mom was stunned: "So what a coincidence." I was so impatient that I went crazy: "Comrade So... my notice has been torn up, can I still enroll?" Dad nodded: "It will be a bit troublesome, but as long as you have all the documents, you can still enroll." I admit that I don't fully understand this era. Before, I only saw stories about stepmothers tearing up admission notices online.

"The notice is just a certificate of admission. If you two trust me, you can leave this matter to me to handle."

I was so happy that I almost jumped up and down: "That's great!" Mother hesitated: "Comrade So, what I said yesterday was true. I don't like you, and I won't marry you." Dad didn't mind at all: "Comrade Vu, don't worry, I don't want to force anyone to use favors. If in the future you can contribute to the country's science industry, bringing benefits to everyone, then helping you will also help me." I suddenly realized in the young father an indescribable charm. When he stood next to his mother, there was no sense of deviation at all. Dad tried to take care of his identification papers, but to officially enroll, Mom still had to go to Bac Thanh University herself. I can't come along. The next time I went to the train station to see my mother off, the mood was completely different. I stuffed the prepared handkerchief into my mother's palm.

“When you get on the train, open it and take a look. Go there first and get acquainted, I'll come see you soon.”

I looked at my father: "If you dare to bully her, I will definitely not forgive you." Dad looked at me deeply: "You also have to be careful." I snorted coldly, turned my head away: "Sister Uyen Uyen, remember to write to me." Mom hugged me, and the two sisters cried again. Saying goodbye to each other fondly, I wandered alone on the streets of the 80s. Without my mother, this place became more strange to me than ever. As soon as I turned into the small alley, I saw my eldest uncle and three burly men coming out.

“Where is Vu Uyen Uyen?”

I smiled faintly: "Gone."

"Indeed it was him! I knew right away he was the one who stole the money!"

The eldest uncle gritted his teeth and said: "Report to the police! I have to put him in jail!" I raised my hand to block the three men's path: "I'll take the money." 9.

"You took it? Why did you take so much money? Where is the money? Hand it over quickly!"

The old man was so angry that he gritted his teeth. I shook my head: "I've spent it all, I don't have any money left."

"No way! Damn brat, did you give money to Vu Uyen Uyen? Where did he go? Go find him and bring him back to me immediately!"

The uncle's face turned pale with anger. I spread my hands: "I told you, I'm done. Believe it or not, it's up to you, anyway, this has nothing to do with Uyen Uyen."

“Vu Thu!”

The eldest uncle raised his hand and slapped me straight in the face.

"Your mother said you were ungrateful, I still didn't believe it, I didn't expect you to turn out like this! You thought you were my daughter so I wouldn't dare put you in jail? Believe it or not, I'll call the police right now!"

“Report it. But surely someone will ask where that money came from.”

I smiled coldly.

“Dad, as long as you are not afraid, of course I have nothing to worry about.”

I never touched this house's money. That day after bringing my mother home, I thought for a long time how to help her have a better life. Mom used to say my grandparents were a rich family. I guess they sent the eldest uncle quite a bit of money. While my eldest aunt went to the market, I snuck into their room. I don't know if it was because of guilt or not, but the eldest uncle stuffed a thick wad of money into the envelope, not even spending a penny. Inside there was also a letter from my grandfather to my mother. Grandfather loved his mother very much. He told her that if she was in trouble, she could ask him uncle help. Most of that money was the dowry that my grandfather prepared for my mother.

"If you don't keep your promise, don't expect to gain any benefits."

I didn't respect my uncle at all: "Go ahead and report to the police. At most, the fish will die and the net will be torn. By then, I'm afraid my brother's job won't be able to keep up." The eldest uncle's family still had a son. When he went to work in the countryside, he took the place of the eldest uncle. The eldest uncle raised his hand to hit me again. I put my face forward.

"If you want to hit me, just hit me. Anyway, my mouth is not locked, it's best to kill me, otherwise, I will let the whole world know your true colors."

The eldest doctor had the most dignity, grabbed me and dragged me home. I still maintained my stubborn attitude, but my aunt was so angry that she wanted to sell me to clear her debt. They threatened me, I immediately ran to the middle of the yard crying, making so much noise that no one could stand it. In the end, there was no other way, they locked me in the room, forbidden to eat or drink. That evening, people from the neighborhood office came to the house. Aunt Ly, who used to come as a matchmaker, personally asked to meet me. At this point, I realized my father had prepared a retreat for me before leaving. A few days later, I received a letter from my mother. She successfully entered the school. In her letter, she expressed her gratitude to her father. I burst into tears again. I did it. From now on, mother will have a different life. Dad came back, visited me, looked at me for a long time, then called me a name that only I had in my previous life—

“So That?”

10. At that moment, I knew he had also returned. I asked excitedly: "If you're back, why do you still want to get involved with mom? Dad doesn't love mom, so why don't you let her go?" Dad's young face carried a look of regret and torment: "After your mother died, you were in a coma all the time in the hospital. At that time, I knew I was wrong." Dad continued to himself: "In my previous life, your mother and I had never met before and got married."

“Dad once went to the capital and knew that there was a concept called free marriage.”

"I never wanted to marry your mother. It was your grandmother who secretly came to your eldest uncle's house to ask you to marry her. Your mother is kind, before you were born, your mother's salary was all given to her grandmother."

I couldn't help but sarcasm: "Grandma clearly finds her easy to bully. As for dad, he's a man, doesn't he know how to resist?" Dad smiled bitterly: “I wanted to talk to your mother properly, but her answer was— there was nothing to say.”

“So why do you still help your grandparents bully your mother? Still indifferently watching your child being beaten?

Even when mom was sick, dad didn't take her to the hospital? My self-pity increased more and more. Dad bowed his head: "It's my fault for you and your mother. Before, your mother once said something very hurtful. She told me not to interfere in your mother's life, otherwise she would die. I tried many ways to calm the situation, but then realized it was all in vain." Things I had overlooked before now suddenly appeared clearly. As a child, I always saw myself as a defender of justice and despised my father. But he always showed no concern, just quietly took me out to play, secretly bought me soft drinks, and told me not to tell my mother. Dad suddenly smiled: "Don't worry, I will respect your mother's choice."

“So dad, do you love mom?” I asked.

Dad nodded, then shook his head again: "Just follow nature. Currently, your mother is very good Giang, she should stand on a bigger stage.” I think I understand. In this life, mother is so good, how can anyone not love her? I turned my head and in my sight was the image of a woman with two pigtails.

“Being a mother?”

“No way.”

I pouted and muttered: "There's no luck in being your daughter. I don't want it.” At this moment, the only thing we wish for is for our mother to live well. Four years passed, I escaped my eldest uncle's stuffy house. Mom received a scholarship to study abroad. Four years from now, Mom is involved in a research project that she cannot disclose. I also moved to Bac Thanh. Finally, my mother and I were able to sit down and have a proper meal. While talking, a little girl about five or six years old ran into the yard, her hair tied in two bunches, her eyes sparkling. Mom suddenly sighed: "If she hadn't gone to college that year, my daughter would probably be as big as this girl now." She looked at me and suddenly laughed: "Before, this stupid kid kept calling me mom. Every time my mother heard it, she would correct me and call me Uyen Uyen. Sometimes I wonder if I had a daughter like you, I would definitely be the happiest mother in the world."

“Mom…”

I burst into tears. My mother hugged me, a warm hug like when I was a child. I greedily tightened my embrace, but then suddenly remembered that my mother had a new life, so I gently let go.

“Sister Uyen Uyen.”

Mom burst out laughing, then burst into tears. That night, my mother and I slept in the same bed. Like when I was a child, I hugged her. Dreamily, I heard my mother's voice say:

“Tieu That, thank you.” End