The lighthouse keeper

Everyone had a rope tied around their waist, engrossed in each pair of punching mine holes. At the foot of the mountain are workers who mix crushed stone and crushed stone with stone crushers that crunch and kick up dust. I think there is probably no job in this world as dangerous and difficult as stone workers. The rock of the mountains, the mountain of the sky, a material used to produce cement, burn lime, build houses, roads, and bridges lies on the ground, yet everyone in my village is poor! Knowing that, we still have to stick to the stone making profession.

My classmates often only studied until the sixth or seventh grade, then dropped out of school, got on a boat to work as a pole leg, and then became workers loading rocks on transport boats. One was a cement factory worker. My father told me: Making stone in the mountains and sailing in the river are two hard jobs full of dangers and uncertainties. I try to study well to enter the Maritime University, or work as an engineer in a cement factory, so I can have a future in life.

I diligently sharpened my textbook until I finished tenth grade when I took the university entrance exam when I unfortunately slipped on a banana peel and was so sad that my heart was broken. Because the family's finances were difficult, my father put me on a transport boat to work as a porter. So my dream disappeared like smoke.

The transport boat my father steered was a wooden boat, with a carrying capacity of more than thirty tons, with three loading workers, plus me, four. Every day, we carry stone from Thach Son mine to Z cement factory. The boat runs through the Rung River, turns into the Ruot Lon River, turns left, turns right, winding seven zigzags. Maybe that's why people call it the Pig Intestine River.

The first time I lived on a boat, I was extremely excited to realize that the sea water is not always blue, but it changes color according to the sunlight. The boat's schedule is every two days. The stevedores who work under the boat are called pole legs. The boat docked at the rocky dock, each poleman took a basket onto the beach to fill the basket with rocks and then asked each other to lift it over their heads to carry it down to the boat.

For the first time I knew what a football team job was. The basket of stones weighed easily up to thirty or forty pounds, weighing heavily on his head. At times, he felt like his neck was broken. Stepping on the jagged path to the boat, there is a long plank bridge from the shore to the boat. One time I lost my footing and the stone basket fell into the water. Touch your face and stand up. The giggling laughter of the girls on the rocky beach made me blush.

My village's sailboat is unlike any other sailboat in other localities in the country. The boat can run in all winds. That's strange! My father said it was because in the middle of the bow compartment there was a long groove running from the bow stall through the bottom of the boat to install a bow rudder called "sam". When running against the wind, lower the "sam" into the water, causing resistance to help prevent the boat from tilting, drifting or capsizing.

That day, my father's boat participated in the achievement competition to celebrate International Labor Day, May 1, organized by the trade union. The drivers have the opportunity to show off their talents. Right from early morning, it was windy from the Southeast. The boats all carried debris from Thach Son quarry to the cement factory, going against the water and against the wind, the boats had to run "bevelled".

I stood at the bow of the boat and adjusted the bow sail. Mr. Hop became upset. The two wind-filled sails swelled, highlighting the sail steel like veins on a bat's wings. The boat tilted to one side, the side almost touching the water. The white waves hit the bow stall. I was frantic and thought the boat was about to capsize, but my father remained calm.

He ordered the pole man to lower all the "sam". Quickly, as soon as the "sam" landed, the boat regained balance and did not drift like before. My father leisurely steered the boat, resting its bow on the wave's head.

The fleet of boats parted the water, making waves, passing the white painted lighthouse and turning into the Ruot Lon river, the sky was already dark. A thunderstorm suddenly came. The sky and river surface were pitch black. The wind gets louder and louder. The sail creaked and stretched the masts. The boat rocked and swayed, water poured over the bow stall. My father ordered: "Lower three steel sails!".

Nung and I quickly loosened the rope and dropped three steel sails. At that moment, I heard a "crack" sound behind me. Looking back, I realized that the boat that Mr. Can was driving was only a little slow in setting sail and the bow mast was broken. In a moment of confusion, I was not paying attention and was busy looking at the boats running behind when my father turned the steering wheel to turn the boat into the Pig's Bowel River. I felt like a giant arm pushed me into the river. I darkened my face and struggled to swim to the boat, but the strong wind and backwaters kept pulling me away.

The boat was going downhill, downwind, and my father couldn't turn the boat back right away. At a difficult time between life and death, luckily a fishing boatman came to pick me up. When he took me back to the white light, my father's boat returned to take me back to the boat. In joy and emotion, my father thanked his benefactor profusely and regretted not instructing me on safety measures while the boat was running.

One week after the boat racing competition ended, Mr. Nhu won the first prize and had a red pennant fluttering on the top of the mast. Mr. Vy's boat won second prize and was decorated with a yellow flag. Because my father's boat caused an accident when I fell into the river, it was given a green flag!

That's when I realized that the job of traveling on the river is not as idle and dreamy as I thought. Extremely arduous and difficult, full of uncertainties and disasters, but it trains people to be seasoned, have a strong spirit, and have a strong will to face the strong winds and waves of life.

In my leisure time, I often sit at the driver's seat and listen to my father talk about river craft: People who travel rivers must understand the channels of each river. The rivers in the upper region only flow one way down to the sea. The Forest River and the Pig Gut River flow in both directions. When the tide is high, the water flows to the mainland, when the tide is low, the water drains into the sea.

If there were no "bumps" like buoys floating on those rocks; Without flashing lighthouses to guide passing ships and boats, it would be dangerous. What happens to ships and boats when they collide with rocks? That's why people compare a lighthouse to a navy soldier guarding the sea. Every night we have to burn brightly.

My father pointed towards the lighthouse at the end of the river built of reinforced cement like a floating house. He said: This lamp was built during the French colonial period and has always been painted white, so people often call it the White Lamp. Some people dream like a lotus flower blooming in the middle of a river. Some people say the lamp resembles a fishing boat. Pragmatic fishing villagers call it the Lantern Tree because from a distance it looks very much like a fish trap.

The lamp stands alone in the middle of the river. All year round, waves crash against the base of the pillar but it still stands bravely with the waves. It is just like its owner - the lightkeeper who saved him that night.

- Is he alone on the lamp, father?

- Alone. He alone manages the Nom lamp, the Den lamp and the "blooms" on the Ruot Lon and Rung rivers.

I sighed in pity: Living alone up there would be very sad, right?

- If you only feel sad, how can you live? Sad or happy is also up to you. You have to find your own source of happiness. Joy is only seen when we are passionate about the place we live, and from there we love the work we do. He loves the lamp just like his father and son must know how to love the boat, the river, and the wharves. Living on a densely populated shore, many things make us upset. Living on the river, friends and neighbors are all hard workers, but people know how to love each other, live with each other with an honest heart, not jealous, competitive, not deceitful. So happy, so happy!

I was engrossed in the natural scenery at sunset when a rowing boat came and followed me. I was startled and thought it was a robbery. During the years of fighting against America's sabotage war on this river, there were often coal robberies, also known as "stalking". They caused a lot of confusion and fear to the ships carrying barges carrying coal from Hon Gai port to Hai Phong.

- So were our stone-carrying boats robbed by them, Father? - I ask.

My father laughed: If you can eat rocks, they won't accept it. But that doesn't mean it's subjective. Vigilance must be raised. In these troubled times, no one can be trusted.

The bamboo boat rowing closer was a boy. He smirked:

- Mr. Thuc! Please give me a ride to the Canh Coc lamp!

I was confused: Who are you and why do you know my name?

- I've seen you many times but you've only seen me once.

- So who are you, where are you going?

- I'll go light the lamp.

- Traffic lights?

- I lit the beacon. Every day I row a boat back and forth on this river.

One time he fell into the river. I sent a boat to help...

So I met my benefactor again. He put the boat on the side. My father recognized an acquaintance and told me: Mr. Pha - the person who saved you that day!

He threw up a rope, I happily caught the end of the rope and tied it to the oar pole. He jumped onto the side of the boat. After greeting my father, he and I sat on the bow stall and chatted until the boat approached the light on the turn into the Chanh River, then he untied the rope to let the bamboo boat drift away.

I looked at his silhouette on the small bamboo boat, bobbing like a leaf floating on the dark river, and wondered: There are many jobs in life, why did he choose the job of a lighthouse keeper? What could fill those lonely gaps for him? It turned out not to be what I thought. That afternoon, I met him by chance, just like the last time. He talked openly with me about his family background.

***

Pha's hometown is a fishing village on the other side of La Khe island. His grandfather used to work as a lighthouse keeper. His father also worked as a light keeper on the Nom lantern. At that time, America's war of sabotage was becoming increasingly fierce. They used B52 aircraft to attack Hanoi and Hai Phong, and block mines on sea and river mouths. The fleet of boats carrying rocks was in chaos like a bee hive. Several boats were hit by bombs and sank. His father and the fishermen rowed out to rescue all the victims and brought them to shore...

He followed his father's profession as a lighthouse guard. Every day, climb the high tower of the Nom lamp to clean the equipment, check the factors affecting the lamp, and check every detail in the reflective system.

Being out at sea all day, without friends or relatives, there were times when he felt sad. That was when he thought about his own life. His first wife had only lived with him for a short time because she could not bear the loneliness, the sadness, the loneliness and the poverty. She was also shy.

The second wife is Man, a child-rearing teacher. While spending all day caring for children, he is still engrossed in the lighthouse all day long. Sometimes when I visit my wife and children, it's just for a short while. One time he was able to go home with his wife at night. A couple is lying down, hugging each other, talking. He asked: Are you afraid of ghosts when you lie alone at night? Man said, I'm not afraid of ghosts, I'm only afraid of people! He suddenly asked: We are surrounded by rustic farmers, why are you afraid?

Man told her husband about a neighbor who repeatedly solicited her. Man reached for the stick at the head of the bed and cried out, thief, thief! The neighbors ran out with sticks and sticks to chase him. It was clear that the house was on fire for the rat to appear. I thought someone turned out to be the village chief!

***

Living on a boat floating here and there, I sometimes feel excited and feel like I am a bird flying in the sky of freedom. I fell in love with river work even more and became a transport boat driver until the Z cement factory moved to Son Thach mine. Where there is a local source of raw materials, the cost of transporting stone can be reduced. I was sent to take a boat driving class. After returning from graduation, he was assigned to drive a ship to carry a barge carrying coal from Ha Long city port to the new cement factory.

One afternoon, my ship pulled a barge carrying coal chips in the middle of a low-water day. Running through the old path, I was afraid it would dry out, so I had to turn the boat around Den Den creek. Fishermen call it Vung Den. A thunderstorm suddenly came and my ship had to take shelter in Vung Den. After dropping two bow anchors and a sturdy rudder anchor, the sailors gathered in the cabin to play "advance". I sat alone on the deck looking at the foggy rain. I saw a man on a bamboo boat rowing into Vung Den. I call:

- Uncle what! Where are you rowing in such wind and rain?

- I'm going to light the lamp and come back here.

- Then please get on the train and have a few cups to warm yourself up first.

The man put the boat against the side and climbed aboard. Both recognized each other. In Mr. Pha's tight arms, I asked: Are you going to guard the lighthouse here? He said: There are many boats passing by at Nom lantern. Standing on the lamp house looking at the city, even though it is far away, I still feel warm.

The means of transportation is not by rowing a bamboo boat like before, but by motorboat. Leave it to the young lightkeepers. They still have many dreams. I'm old now, so the lamp stands firmly and shines all night long.

I've been volunteering to guard the lights here for more than a year now! - He patted my shoulder and laughed.

Inspiration surged, the two of us sang together: "Is life still beautiful, is love still beautiful...".