Mom often told people that she fell in love with dad because he loved plants.

Strange, just because someone loves plants and grass, Mom dared to give her life to them. Mom said that looking at Dad's farmer-like appearance, she found him hard to approach, but one day after Tet, Grandpa asked Mom to bring a sickly apricot tree to Dad for "emergency treatment". Mom saw the way Dad took care of the tree, as if he was taking care of a weak child, every gesture was too gentle for fear of hurting the tree.

I don't know where my mother got the idea that a person who loves plants and trees would never harm anyone. After the time my father saved my mother's apricot tree, my mother fell in love with him.

For so many years, every time I tell the story, I still remember the image of my father's big fingers quickly doing each step to save the apricot tree. Starting with mixing the right type of soil and sand to suit the tree's condition, adding a little coconut fiber to keep it moist, my father gently took the apricot tree out of the shallow ceramic pot that people only use to grow trees in the spring for beauty. Then, my father cut down the branches, trimmed off the tangles, and replaced it with a pot with more soil. The next time I came back, my mother couldn't recognize my apricot tree because it had sprouted new, fresh buds.

Mom said, the apricot tree in front of my house was planted by my dad the year I was born. That was the land my grandparents gave my parents to live on. When we first moved in, while mom was busy arranging the kitchen, dad was still most concerned about where to put the apricot tree. That was the apricot tree that dad carefully selected, he wanted the apricot tree to live a long time so that it could be attached to each other like a member of the house.

When I was a toddler, the apricot trees were already spreading their branches all over the yard. Every spring morning, my father would carry me on his shoulders, letting my tiny hands touch the soft, cool apricot petals.

When I was a little older, I realized that my family's apricot tree was the most beautiful in the neighborhood. In spring, the apricot blossoms bloomed with brilliant yellow. From the top of the bridge across the river, I could see my apricot tree lighting up the whole sky. My high school classmates from the town invited each other to come down to play and take pictures together under the brilliant apricot tree. At that time, my father's eyes were so happy! He also left a bottle of cool water ready for guests to drink when they were thirsty.

Just like that, as old as I am, spring has passed. The apricot tree is quiet all year round, but when it is time to pick the leaves, it reveals dense clusters of buds, and the new shoots also sprout very quickly. From the 26th of Tet onwards, the apricot buds are clearly large. During that time, every morning when I wake up, the first thing I do is run out to see if the apricot blossoms have bloomed yet. Around the 29th of Tet, only a few flowers have bloomed, but by the afternoon of the 30th, all the trees have simultaneously burst into color, covering their branches.

Every new year's morning, I wake up to see my father in neat clothes sitting under the apricot tree drinking tea.

In the spring of my 18th year, on a cool morning of the first day of the new year, my father called me to sit under the apricot tree and drink the first cup of tea of ​​the year. My father asked me: “Do you know how many petals our apricot blossom has?”. In fact, I never counted the petals of apricot blossoms. My father asked me: “Do you know how long it takes for apricot blossoms to bloom and then wither?”. That question was even more difficult for me.

It was only later, when I went to school far away, started to like growing green potted plants in the house and felt relaxed when looking at the leaves and flowers, that I understood the meaning of my father's somewhat tricky questions about apricot blossoms. My father wanted his daughter to slow down, especially in the first days of the year. Slow down to have more connection with what is present. Only then will I feel more peaceful. The human mind rarely stops in one place. Looking at the flowers but the thoughts are still somewhere else, how can we know the scent and color of the flowers, how can we feel the beauty of spring? So connecting with nature is also a way to bring our mind back to reality.

Living far from home, but every spring I eagerly return to celebrate Tet with my family. Every time I come home, seeing the apricot tree laden with clusters of flowers, about to bloom bright yellow in the corner of the yard, I suddenly feel strangely moved. It feels like the tree has gone through many rainy and sunny seasons, still bringing fresh flowers to life, the tree is like a member of the family, waiting for me to return every spring.

On the first morning of the lunar new year, my parents and I drank a cup of fragrant tea under the apricot tree. Occasionally, apricot petals would flutter in the spring breeze, their golden color remaining passionate until they fell from the branches.

The first days of the year passed gently and peacefully. My father wanted my whole family to have a real rest, only then would our bodies be recharged with new energy, ready to embark on the journey ahead for each of us.

One year, I stayed home until after the mosquito net, and I would always hear the familiar voice of my father's regular customers: "Thank goodness, Uncle Tu is home!" - that joyful voice also implied that the customer's precious apricot tree had been saved!

Then the rhythm of life for a new year has begun!

LIGHT

Phu Nhuan District, HCMC