The Peace in My Childhood

I overheard that my father passed away after being bitten by a venomous snake while gathering medicinal herbs. He accidentally disturbed a bush where the snake lay hidden. I froze in place, unable to believe what I had just heard. A heavy silence lingered, and from that moment, my body grew weak and lifeless. That day, I felt like a soulless shell. The sun and the moon took turns passing by, and the chirping of birds only deepened my sorrow. The wind blew, but I couldn't feel it. I just sat huddled in a corner.

When people asked me questions, I only nodded. When they spoke to me, I merely shook my head. When they told me to do something, I did it mechanically.

The sound of prayers echoed, accompanied by bells and trumpets in unison. I could hear my mother crying and the sobs of relatives surrounding us. But I just sat there, staring at my father endlessly.

I didn't cry. That's right, I didn't cry. I truly didn't cry. Instead, I smiled faintly and patted my chest. Why? Why wasn't I crying? I didn't know the answer myself.

All I knew was that I wished I had kissed my father more, hugged him tightly, and told him the words I always wanted to say: I love you, Dad. Please wake up. Don't sleep anymore. Don't be mad at me anymore. I want to hear your voice, and I want you by my side every day like before.

That night, I couldn't sleep. I couldn't do anything except sit outside and gaze at the moon. The moon that night was exceptionally bright—round and large. I stared at it for what felt like an eternity. Under the moonlight, I stood motionless.

Two years have passed, and I've grown quieter. My friends noticed and showed me great kindness. One day, while I was walking alone, my group of friends suddenly approached me. Tày threw his arm around my shoulder, grinning widely:

"Yesterday, I accidentally ate a goose egg. If I go home now, my mom's going to beat me to death!"

Vinh joined in, draping his arm over me with a sullen tone:

"Me too. That math test was brutal. I only managed to score... 10 points."

Tày, offended, exclaimed loudly:

"Are you calling me dumb?"

Vinh stammered nervously:

"Well... maybe?"

Tày, furious, pinched Vinh, who yelped in pain:

"Ow, that hurts!"

Meanwhile, Tý and Fat stood behind them, sighing. Fat intervened to calm things down:

"Alright, let it go, guys. We're all brothers here. Hey, how about we go pick some wild apples? Giang, want to come? You just need to catch them while we climb the tree."

I scratched my head, my eyes darting nervously, unsure of how to respond. Seeing this, they decided to drag me along anyway. After a while, we arrived at Mr. Eight wild apple tree. He was resting inside his house, while the tree stretched beyond his yard, unguarded by fences or dogs—perfect for picking. The tree had scattered clusters of apples, some abundant and some sparse, but enough for us to gather.

Tý and Tày quickly grabbed a stick to knock down the apples. Vinh and Fat stood below to catch them, while I used part of my shirt as a makeshift bag. Apples kept falling, too many to count.

Suddenly, a loud voice thundered from inside the house:

"What are you kids doing? Stealing?"

Mr. Eight bolted out of his house, running towards us. Panicked, we scattered in all directions. He shouted after us:

"You brats are dead meat! Rotten kids!"

Running frantically, I couldn't hold my shirt securely, and the apples spilled all over the ground, leaving me with none. Despite this, I felt a strange relief and kept running. We didn't stop until we reached a stream. Looking back, we saw no sign of Mr. Eight chasing us. Exhausted, we collapsed, laughing in relief that we hadn't been caught.

Everyone turned to me with sparkling eyes. Embarrassed, I grinned and revealed two apples I had managed to save:

"I dropped almost all of them, but I still have these two."

Vinh looked puzzled and asked:

"There are five of us, but only two apples. How do we share them?"

Tý chimed in:

"Well, it's thanks to Giang that we even have these. How about this: the four of us will share the bigger apple, and Giang gets the smaller one. Sound fair?"

The group chorused in agreement:

"Fair enough!"

We sat by the stream, chatting and sharing the apples. I lay down, hands behind my head, taking a deep breath. The gentle sound of the flowing water and the cool breeze uplifted my spirits. Seeing me relax, my friends followed suit, lying down one by one, munching on apples and joking around.

Suddenly, Tý leapt up and pointed at the stream, exclaiming excitedly:

"Hey, guys, want to swim? The water's shallow enough today!"

Without waiting, he jumped into the stream, only to shriek:

"It's freezing!"

Tý splashed water at us, soaking our clothes. Shivering, I protested, but Tày, furious, jumped in to retaliate. Soon, everyone joined in the water fight. Water sprayed everywhere like fireworks, and the shallow stream seemed to rise from all the splashing.

After an hour-long water battle, we climbed out, drenched from head to toe. I suddenly remembered the apple I hadn't eaten. Holding it in my hand, my friends looked at me curiously. Vinh asked:

"Why haven't you eaten it yet?"

I smiled, broke the apple into small pieces, and shared it with them:

"I saved this for all of us. Let's eat together."

Everyone took their piece, savoring the taste. The wild apple had a unique flavor—intensely sour at first, followed by a gentle sweetness, and ending with a slight bitterness.

After finishing, I spat out the seeds, watching them roll on the ground. A thought crossed my mind, and I knelt to dig a small hole, carefully planting the seeds and covering them with soil.

Seeing this, my friends eagerly helped—one fetched water, another helped pat down the dirt, and another cleared the surrounding grass. Together, we finished our little project.

I gazed at the spot and said softly:

"I hope this wild apple tree grows quickly. Then we won't need to steal anymore. We can pick as much as we want without anyone yelling at us."

They all nodded in agreement. By now, the sun was scorching. We began heading home, chatting as we walked. At the crossroads, we parted ways—Fat and Tày turned left, Vinh and Tý went right, and I continued straight on the path leading home.