Illustration: Phan Nhan

Not long after spring, kite season comes. That is when the winds start to blow across the river, into the villages, across the fields, and then in all directions. My grandmother steps out the door, praising the cool breeze. I look at her and smile. The breeze is really cool! As cool as if I had just jumped into the river in front of the house to bathe, or sat on the back of a buffalo crossing the river, feeling its smooth skin. "In this day and age, having a buffalo is already a blessing!" - I thought to myself. Even though my childhood is far away.

*

I can't count how many kite seasons have passed through my life, because there were years when kite seasons came two or three times, adding up to more than enough. I let time keep all those memories for me.

Like me, Ly also looked forward to the windy season to come so that she could pull the string to make the kite fly into the vast blue sky. Ly's eyes looked up at the clear sky. In the middle of the field where only the stubble remained, some places had been burned, smoke rising to several layers of sky, I saw Ly, a slender figure, barefoot, running after the kite that had now flown past the roof of the house, suspended over the wide river.

On the afternoons with pale sunlight, we often went to the fields to fly kites, sometimes near the fields, sometimes far away, sometimes all the way to the village dike that had been bent over for many years. My village was beautiful and peaceful, just like the village of Kukureu that I had seen in the story of the two maple trees by Aizmatov that I had read when I was very young. Looking down from the dike toward the village, I saw my village as a painting with the yellow of thatched roofs, straw, the green of bamboo hedges, the brown of the land, the purple and yellow of the grass and flowers...

Back then, my grandmother often joked: "You two are so close. When you grow up, I will marry Ly to you and make her my granddaughter. Thinking about it will be so much fun!"

Then grandma laughed out loud.

I glanced at Ly, saw her blushing! I also felt my face burning. Shh! - I interrupted my own thoughts - Kid, still not even blowing your nose yet getting married and asking for favors.

But from then on, I paid more attention to Ly. Every time I saw Ly's soft figure walking past my front yard, I would watch until her image blurred behind the green bamboo trees hanging down the path of the people of Ha village.* The kite season had not yet passed. The kites were still fluttering in the sky that year!

The closer the windy season gets, the more the sky is filled with kites. More and more people fly kites, the kite fields become more and more crowded. The cheerful voices and laughter from the fields can be heard all the way into the village.

Five days since the day a young man cycled into the village, passed by the kite field, lingered for a few minutes to look at something and then cycled away, I did not see Ly. I found it strange but did not pay much attention. The field was located next to the road leading to the village, so there were many people passing by, sometimes there were complete strangers, just by looking at them I knew they were not from my village. They were just travelers passing by, taking this way because for a long time the sound of the beautiful and prosperous fields of Ha village had been heard in the neighboring areas.

One time, I saw Ly sitting behind a strange young man on a bicycle across my yard. I was stunned. A question mark hovered in my mind. A strange feeling suddenly rushed through me, making me both uncomfortable and curious. I followed the shade of the bamboo hedge to Ly's house and saw her sitting by the window combing her hair.

I called softly. Ly looked up. I stood talking to Ly through the window bars:

- I haven't seen Ly flying kites these days.

Putting the comb on the table, Ly whispered:

- I have some work.

- What is it, can you tell me?

Seeing Ly hesitate for a long time, I continued:

- I just saw Ly riding a bicycle with that young man.

Looking at me, Ly nodded:

- Yes! I'm going... I'm going to be a model for the artist.

I opened my eyes wide:

- Model?

Ly smiled, sweeping the scraps of paper on the table to the ground with her hand. My curiosity seemed to be somewhat satisfied, but the feeling of frustration remained. Without Ly in the kite-flying field, I suddenly felt those red and green kites had become pale and tasteless. It no longer made me so intoxicated that every afternoon I would excitedly walk out to the field, waiting for the wind to lift the kites up like lifting the beautiful dreams of my innocent, naive childhood, sometimes happy, sometimes sad, but my grandmother said that would be an emotion that people would never forget for the rest of their lives.

*

From then on, the field was empty of Ly.

I still often went to the fields after the days Ly did not come. The kite flying season gradually passed, the wind became weaker, only the sunlight still glittered, covering the whole peaceful, quiet countryside. I lay on the grass, arms behind my head, looking up at the blue sky, I wished Ly and I could be small again like when we were little, having guavas and tamarinds also split in half, sharing equally. In my ears, I heard the sound of the bell of Lac Duc pagoda in the neighboring village, echoing all the way to my Ha village. The sound of the temple bell always made me calm, my soul was strangely clear. Therefore, every full moon and festival, my grandmother often invited me to go to the pagoda. As I grew older, the times I went to the pagoda with her became less frequent. I lay listening to the bell ringing and fell asleep without realizing it, until I woke up to see the sunset starting to cover the flowery grass.

Afternoon, Ha village is deserted. The wind blows across the river, making the water full. My grandmother comes back from the neighbor's house, takes off her hat, and sighs:

- Ly is about to get married! Poor girl! She's so young.

I looked at my grandmother, bewildered. My chest felt a tight, painful squeeze. Oh my God! Ly was getting married, and to whom? Ly was not yet twenty. Why did Ly get married in such a hasty situation? I asked my grandmother, as if I was afraid someone would ask, so I was in a hurry and flustered:

- Oh my! Ly ​​is getting married? Who is Ly getting married to, grandma? How do you know?

My grandmother looked at me calmly. It seemed like she could guess that there was a deep sadness inside me. The sadness was seeping into my soul, through every capillary. The sadness invaded both my heart and mind. My grandmother said gently:

- I heard her parents married her to some artist! The girl didn't seem to like it, she kept crying. Poor thing! That family still has old ideas.

I looked sadly out the window. The yard was dark. The sky was also dark, making it impossible for me to see the evening birds fluttering over the river. I suddenly felt in my heart the image of Ly and I in those old days. The kite seasons when we were together, pulling the string of a kite and sending so many wishes into it. Now Ly was about to get married far away, not knowing if it was happiness or sadness, not knowing whether that painter would love Ly for the rest of his life or not… I felt my heart aching. Suddenly, a kite fell from me, a kite string that was being stretched suddenly broke, heartbreaking…

- Come on, don't be sad anymore. I'm sorry too. I just wish that when you two grow up, you two will become a couple.

I sat still. Suddenly I heard the wind blowing behind the house, heard the river rising. Could I tell my grandmother that I also wished that every kite season we could be together, to admire the beauty of the flying kites and the profound beauty of my Ha village, which has not changed over the years...

But that day is only in a dream. Just a dream!*

The peaceful Ha village has lost a charming and graceful village girl. Ly has followed her husband to the city, when will she return to this place? Sometimes I wonder if Ly still has the beautiful image of the kite season of the past? Is Ly's dream still as brilliant with kites flying in the blue sky? But whether she remembers or forgets, it doesn't matter to Ly anymore. I secretly hope that happiness will smile on Ly.

Time flies.

The day Ly returned to Ha village, alone, I met Ly at the entrance of the village, next to the field where we used to fly kites in the old days. I smiled and greeted Ly, and Ly nodded slightly in return. We didn’t say anything to each other, just silently looked at each other, then looked towards the field where a few children lingered to fly kites before the whole countryside was immersed in the red color of the brilliant sunset…

As Ly walked away, I then summoned all my courage and said, just loud enough for Ly to hear:

- Ly! Are you happy?

Ly turned back, looking at me thoughtfully. Her eyes were sparkling and seemed to be… rippling with tears. Ly smiled, nodded slightly, then turned away coldly and continued walking towards Ha village, which was fading away in the sunset. I echoed Ly:

- When Ly comes back to Ha village, Ly and I will go flying kites again! Like old times!

- Yes, those days were fun - Ly replied while walking.

I know Ly also has many worries. The kite's string has broken and the starling has crossed the river!

The kite season of the old year! I will always keep those peaceful, dreamy images!

Source: https://baolamdong.vn/van-hoa-nghe-thuat/202503/mua-gio-thoi-qua-lang-3940272/