THE MAN'S PAIN IN THE TERRIBLE NIGHT

In the fall of 1976, a misfortune happened to Loc's life when he was about to turn thirty-four years old. While carrying stones from the mountainside down to the agricultural vehicle, due to carelessness, Loc slipped and fell, breaking two vertebrae in his back. Since then Loc has been bedridden like a disabled person. Gradually, Loc lost his ability to speak, just like a two-year-old child learning to speak. When the weather changes, Loc experiences pain and struggles as if struggling with life. The moans and screams made the wife's heart ache even more.

It's even sadder when the rainy season comes and we can no longer see Loc sitting on the roof of the house covered with palm leaves. The couple's wedding bed has now been split into two. Xoan placed Loc near the door for convenient care. The opposite side is her bed. All living expenses for the two of them come from the little money earned from Xoan's daily sewing job.

storm

It's been a long time. Xoan began to feel depressed every time she went out and encountered her husband. On the contrary, the business at the shop became more and more prosperous, causing many profit-hungry people to regularly visit the shop. Maybe that's why the loneliness and emptiness in her heart began to stir. A desire to fill my body with male flesh is gradually reviving. Is that why Xoan noticed Bac - a young man with dark skin who often came to her house to fix his clothes?

That said, the two actually had feelings for each other since Loc was still at home. Taking this opportunity, they often travel together more. Even in broad daylight, the streets were crowded with people, but they still caressed each other indifferently like it was a quiet place.

There were many Bac people who stayed at Xoan's house until almost morning and it was the same yesterday. When he stepped out of bed to finish putting on the delicious clothes, Xoan moved slightly to sit with his back against the bed, pulled the blanket up to cover his chest, and said:

- Are you coming back? Why don't you stay with me a little longer? It's not dawn yet.

Suddenly, Bac turned his head back and realized that his lover had just woken up. Bac continued:

- Oh .. I'm going home .. I'll come back tomorrow. Well, just lie down and think.

After finishing the sentence, he returned to bed and gave Xoan an appetizer of a sugarless kiss. In the morning light, Xoan saw him diving quickly across the main road. The sound of the wind creaking at the door made Xoan startled and looked at Loc. Even if Xoan's tears fall after storms and clouds break up, they don't hurt as much as the hearts of those who are still alive. Why isn't Xoan happy? Whose house's rooster crows sounds so bitter? Xoan felt the sky brighten so quickly, as if her life had grown one day older. Hearing the doorbell outside the door, there were calls from passersby mixed with laughter.

- Xoan, wake up, the sun is already three poles up.

Maybe people already know about our family? So Xoan kept her mouth shut and didn't answer.

...

The bad news spread far and wide. Soon, throughout this district, the story of Xoan having a mistress was as old as the world. In front of Xoan, they pretended like they knew nothing. One day, a customer from afar came to the village to see Xoan and order some clothes. Seeing other people coming, everyone gathered together and asked:

- Are you looking for Miss Xoan Moi? – One of the harvesters smiled blandly and said. Then he turned to his sisters and shouted:

- Where are you guys? If I ask you, raise your hand which one is Xoan Moi?

In unison, three or four women raised their hands to identify themselves as the owner, but found themselves laughing uncontrollably.

- You... you... you too.

- I am your Xoan. Hee hee .. – The girl, about twenty-six or seven, said, laughing hard.

After speaking, the group burst into laughter, making the guest confused. A woman in the other group, waving a conical hat, also joined in the lively conversation.

- Did you find Miss Xoan at Vinh Loc tailor shop?

Just when he didn't know what to do and heard someone ask that, the guest cheerfully replied:

- Yes, that's right!

- Then you should go all the way to the end of this dirt road.. when you get to the intersection, turn left.. just a few dozen meters to get there.

The guest thanked the person showing the way and quickly walked away when everyone had just finished their break. Later, I don't know if the stranger asked anything about Xoan, but maybe at that time he would have thought this was a fun party for everyone.

***

Near the end of winter, the weather starts to get cold. The rain kept falling. That's why Xoan is hesitant to open the store early. People coming to the tailor shop are now fewer and fewer. Xoan began to have more time to miss her lover. Who knows Xoan's heart is restless and worried. After watching the rain, I'm bored. Returning in the afternoon also felt quicker. Xoan took out the phone to call Bac but there was no response. So angry at the fish cutting the cutting board, annoyed Xoan scolded:

- Where are you floating and dying again? When it's not there, it's not there, when people need it, then they hide.

Before he could finish his sentence, Bac walked in wearing a raincoat and shouted:

- Who made you angry again?

When Xoan saw him, she whispered happily but still looked angry and turned away.

- No one.. I thought you forgot about this one?

Knowing that Xoan was still angry, he took off his raincoat and gently approached, pressing his chest against his lover's back, gently reaching out his hand to hug Xoan's belly. He laughed and explained:

- Come on, don't be angry with me anymore, okay? I was late because I had to take a detour, so I made you wait so long.

When she was no longer angry at Bac, Xoan turned around and looked up at him. But the blood had already rushed to his heart, Bac bit his lover's lips until it was pouring rain, then he carried Xoan into the room and kicked the door open. If there are only two silhouettes on the wall, then the third person is fast asleep. Who else but Loc? Tonight, a storm filled the world as planned, causing everyone to feel scandalized.

horrifying night

Lying motionless on the bed, Loc turned over again. Every time I turn over, it hurts. Loc's tears continued to flow down his hollow cheeks and gradually seeped into the pillow. Loc's hands clenched together and scratched the mat, the sound of rustling mixed with the sound of grinding teeth, then there was silence, only seeing blood pouring from his lips and dripping down his chin. Loc's eyes widened, revealing his whites. Is it possible that I ended my life like that because I couldn't endure it any longer?

At this time, it was still raining heavily outside. Suddenly, a crow flew by and cried out in front of Xoan's house, making the air even more choking. At ten o'clock in the evening, the country roads were deserted and no one came to ask Xoan to make suits anymore. The wind whistled strongly, breaking the window and hitting the cement wall, accompanied by flickering lightning. Only then did I notice the owl perched on the rafters staring down.

The rain poured into the bed where Xoan and Bac made passionate love tonight. Thi started to feel cold when she put her hands on Bac's body, gently stroked her lover's hair, then suddenly screamed and pushed him hard to fall onto the bed. He was so surprised that he suffered a very painful fall. Actually, in that situation, Xoan saw Loc's face appear pale and scowling at her. Because she was scared, she pushed Bac, causing him to fall backwards. When he crawled up, Xoan secretly glanced at him. Before he could recover, Bac approached where Xoan was lying. But Xoan raised his hand to stop him:

- Uh eh .. eh .. no

Bac did not dare to move forward. He was surprised and asked:

- What happen? Normally, have you ever seen me so scared?

In the flickering oil lamp, Xoan turned to look at her husband before regaining her composure. Xoan crouched in a corner of the bed with a pensive look on her face. Seeing that the situation was calmer, Bac slowly came closer and sat next to Xoan, placing his hand on her lover's shoulder to comfort her. Thi's heart jumped, she turned to look at him, then curled up on her knees, her chin down, trembling like someone suffering from the cold. Bac gently raised his left hand and turned her face towards him. She cried out and fainted. He was sad and didn't understand why his lover was acting so strangely tonight. Perhaps Xoan saw Loc smiling at her just now, not Bac. In a hurry, he began to feel scared because he did not understand what was going on here. He gently placed Xoan on the bed to rest. As for him, he picked up the clothes he had temporarily draped over the bed and put them on.

Suddenly he felt like someone was paying attention to him. Regardless, he didn't seem to bother trying to finish the buttons. When he finished buttoning the third button, he suddenly saw a dark shadow looming behind him on the wall. Panicked, he turned around and could no longer see the shadow. He was sweating profusely and focused all his senses on looking around the house to see if there were any suspicious signs. Only then did he truly feel secure in finishing the last button of his shirt and blowing out the half-burning oil lamp on the table. He opened the door to go home, but the door seemed to be stuck, forcing him to stop. It seemed like some invisible force made his arms weak. The more force he used, the tighter the door became. Frightened, he quickly let go when a voice whispered in his ear:

- Give me back my wife! Give me back my wife..

And a ghostly hand kept pinning Bac's hand on the door latch. Twisting with all your strength and using your right foot to push hard, the door opened, like a gentle breeze shaking the petals of a flower. His foot slipped so he fell to the floor. Even more horrifying was when he saw with his own eyes Loc standing right outside the door, drenched in rain from head to toe. Bac panicked and tried to kick his feet and crawl back, waving his right hand repeatedly while his mouth kept stammering:

- Please forgive me.. Please.. please forgive me.. she seduced me first.

- Give me my life... Give me my life... - the sound echoed in the empty space.

That shadow kept staring at Bac, hoping for an opportunity to pounce on him. In the quiet space, a gentle wind blew through the door, making him so cold that it made his skin prickle. Then when Loc slowly approached the North. Bac tried to back away quickly until his shoulder touched a table leg. His mouth mumbled without making a sound. While with his other hand, he groped for the oil lamp and threw it hard at Loc. But the lamp was aimed towards the wall and rushed in, only the sound of broken glass falling to the floor could be heard. Loc's image became clearer and clearer as Bac frantically got up and walked along the edge of the table, then stopped when he realized he was on the back of Hoa's cat, which was lying with its head turned on the ground. The cat turned over, dug its claws into Bac's leg, howled a few times and then disappeared into the dark night. Staggering, he fell down onto Loc's dead body, whose breath had cooled since early evening. The limp body lay motionless on the bed, but he could smell the smell of skin and flesh soaked in rainwater like vermicelli. One of Loc's bony arms jumped up and hugged his back. Suddenly he felt his mouth go pale without knowing when he had kissed Loc's stained beard. Looking up, he was truly frightened when he saw Loc's eyes staring back at him. He screamed and pushed the wet corpse away from his body. He rolled his eyes and tried to run towards the main door, but he also lost his head because he hit his head against the wall.

After a while, from afar, I could clearly hear the mournful howling of dogs and a loud explosion like thunder. Finally, the space returned to its usual quietness, the wind began to find a direction to blow, swaying the bamboo tops. Tonight would have been a sweet night for Xoan if such an incident had not happened at home. As for the North, he probably took his love with him to the grave with the horror of soaking in the abandoned cold well in the back garden.