The old man stopped and looked upwards. Then with his right index finger he pointed at a high building in front of him and began counting: "One, two, three, four,..., eleven, twelve, thirteen..." He already felt the strain on his neck at this point, not to mention a feeling of dizziness. "Very high indeed!" he exclaimed. He wanted to count to the highest window to see how many stories the building had. Hardly had he got to "fourteen" when her voice boomed.
"Stop it! Stop it! You Idiot!" his wife said as she turned around. He obeyed his wife’s order with alacrity. "How many more floors has it got?" he asked himself, following his wife’s steps. "Some day, when I’m alone, I’ll have to count them," he told himself, turning back to look at the high-rise for a last look as it receded farther and farther away.
At the beach, his wife sat down on the sandy shore about ten metres from the water’s edge while he dipped his feet in the salty water. He had suffered from eczema on the feet for years. His wife had tried to treat his itchy feet before leaving, but in vain. Since they arrived in the coastal city and he began immersing his feet in the sea every morning, it was getting much better. He was happy and his wife was very pleased as well. She took pity on him and looked after him as if he was a little boy under the custody of an old maid. All her feelings went to him, but she was a bit authoritative now.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He felt that the salty sea water was infiltrating his body through his feet. It was good to be at the sea, much better than by the water of the small river of his native place.
"It’s time for us to go home, dear," she said to him. Her tone was still very bossy. He was allowed to soak his feet for thirty minutes only. He opened his eyes wide and retreated. On fine mornings like this, the sea did not seem to have waves. He smiled, looking at the clear water. "Some day, when I’m all alone here, I’ll soak my feet for hours," he told himself. He felt very optimistic.
In fact his son had once said: "Mother, let him go to the beach alone will you? He won’t go astray and get lost."
"Won’t get lost? Your father counts on every building that takes his fancy like a mad man. How can I stand that? Then he wants to be at the beach the whole morning. If he is like this, what will happen to him?"
He did not want to make his wife sad. Formerly, he had been very bossy and his wife had been meek, not daring to look up at him. If the smallest thing in the house was not to his liking, he would stare at her and she would obey his unspoken bidding at once. After he fainted because of high blood pressure and the doctor informed that he had been suffering from a heart problem without his knowing it, things had changed completely. When he was in hospital, especially at one point when he seemed beyond recovery, she had given him such care that he greatly regretted his past behaviour. After leaving hospital, he became a much milder man. At first she was greatly worried about the change. Once she asked him boldly: "What’s the matter with you?" "What a question! If anything was wrong, how could I be this well," he answered, smiling.
She was reassured. Over the days, she began to become more bossy. Thanks to the knowledge of oriental medicine that she’d got from her father, a famous herbalist in the locality, she had treated him effectively, and he was all the more respectful. After more than six months of treatment at home, he had recovered almost completely. He had given up the habit of glaring at her. Meanwhile, she gained the power to run the family. When they received a message from their eldest son in the coastal town that his wife had given birth to a baby boy, and both mother and child were safe and sound, the old woman was very happy. "We’ll have to be with them as soon as possible, darling," she told him. He nodded, smiling: "I’ll prepare everything for this trip. I think we will be away long. You’d better say good-bye to the neighbours first," she said.
He could not go to sleep. For the past few days, whenever he lay on the bed, he found himself restless. He was able to hear the sound of the waves very clearly. It seemed that he would touch the waves if he put his legs down on the ground. Tomorrow, it would be two months that they’d been away from home. His wife was very satisfied with the trip. The sea breeze was fresh and healthy, their grandson was handsome, their son and daughter-in-law treated them well, the house was well kept, and the meals were delicious. They did not want for anything. Meanwhile, his eczema had disappeared completely and he looked quite healthy.
A few days before, when everybody was in high spirits, their son had suggested: "Dad, Mum, would you mind staying here until Tet? It’s only four months away. I’ll take the opportunity and return home with you. It’s been such a long time."
"All right. That’s a good idea," answered the old man.
"It’d be much better if both of you stayed with us all the time," said the daughter-in-law. He’d just smiled.
"How long have we been here, dear? It’s one month and more than twenty days, isn’t it?" he asked his wife when the whole family was having dinner.
"What’s the matter with you?" she asked him.
"Oh, nothing. I just want to know, that’s all," he replied, trying to evade his wife’s suspicion.
In the morning, the sea was calm, as usual. Yet, he was upset. In the end he would have to do everything of his own accord. Quickly he stepped away from the water and said to his wife firmly: "Let’s go home, dear."
"Why? We’ve been sitting here for only fifteen minutes?"
"Let’s go home," he repeated. He began walking briskly across the sand.
"You’ve left your sandals behind. Stop and put them on, will you?" his wife ran after him, shouting.
He kept walking as if he’d not heard. At last his wife caught up with him and dropped the pair of sandals near his feet.
"Why do you do this? If you want to return home, you don’t have to be so hasty," she reproached him.
He stopped to put on his sandals and said in a calm voice: "Don’t be angry with me, darling. Please listen to me. I don’t want to displease you. But frankly, I cannot stay here any longer. Let’s go home."
"OK, let’s go," she said and began walking briskly.
"Just a minute, dear. Er... I mean we’d better return to our native place," he said.
She stopped short. He went up to her, and said in a very serious voice: "Last night I had a strange dream. There must be something wrong with our tombs at home. I’m greatly worried about them."
Being a superstitious woman, she became very frightened. He’d never told her such things before.
The young couple could do nothing but watch their parents pack. The old man tried to cheer them up, saying they would come again next year, especially to see little Bom.
His wife did not say a word.
The train left the station at midnight. She watched him sit motionless and staring into the dark for a long time. Then she said: "You’d better go to sleep."
He sighed and smiled warmly at her. "Don’t be angry with me when I tell you this... The fact is that last night I was only dreaming of the small river flowing through our village. I don’t know why I missed it so much, especially when I felt so good soaking my feet into the salty water." His wife jumped up as if she’d been stung.
He hurriedly explained: "The reason I want to leave is that I don’t feel well these days. I don’t want them to shoulder a burden if I fall ill. I’ve been very happy staying with them, but...," he suddenly stopped and placed his hands on his chest.
"What’s the matter with you?" she said, eyes brimming with tears.
"No problem. Don’t worry too much about my illness," he waved his hands. " "Anyway, I have to return to our native place to take a bath in the river at least once." The train whistled as it approached a bend. The sound disappeared in the dark.
So he was going away from the sea. He would not have the chance to go alone and count the number of floors on that building, or to put his feet in the clear sea water again.
He glanced at his wife and felt pity, no resentment over her bossy behaviour over the past few months. He knew that in the depths of her heart she was a kind-hearted country woman. And in his heart of hearts, he did not want to regain his former patriarchal command. As soon as they reached home, he would yield it to her.
He took a long breath again and smiled. "Let’s go home."
Translated by Van Minh
