Also a woman

Hanh thought, then forced a smile, picked up the towel draped at the head of the bed to cover her puffy face, held her 8-month-old son in both hands, walked out onto the porch, with a tattered conical hat, put it on her head... So I quietly left the house in the middle of a summer afternoon like it was on fire.

Hanh's tears flowed down her freckled cheeks. It seems like life is deliberately taking her out to make fun of her. Hanh thought, then forced a smile, picked up a towel from the head of the bed to cover her puffy face, held her 8-month-old son in both hands, walked out onto the porch, with a tattered conical hat, put it on her head,... So I quietly left the house in the middle of a summer noon like it was on fire.

- Mrs. Hien! Mrs. Hien... - Mrs. Ay's voice cracked from the alley. The entire herd of 5 or 6 dogs, large and small, in Mrs. Hien's yard were sleeping soundly. When they heard someone's voice, they ran out and barked loudly. Mrs. Hien lost her afternoon nap because of the sounds of people and dogs. She lazily walked out of the house, her voice reproachful:

- Is that Mrs. Ai? In the middle of a sunny afternoon, what are you so excited about?

Mrs. Ay was panting, one hand patting her chest to reassure her, the other hand pointed towards the New Bridge, her mouth stuttering:

- Cai Hanh, your daughter-in-law... she carried her son... she...

- What is it... you talk like a chicken, no one can understand.

- He... he hugged his son and jumped off the bridge to commit suicide. You... hurry up and see.

As soon as Mrs. Hien heard it, her face immediately changed color, but a few seconds later, it became cold again. In her mind, Hanh would never dare to do that. Because she knew that her daughter-in-law was shy, she loved her daughter more than herself. Mrs. Hien smiled sarcastically:

- It wants to die, just let it die. See if you can die?

- Mrs. Hien, you are just evil. And leave virtue for future children and grandchildren. How could she be so indifferent to the lives of her daughter-in-law and her grandchildren? Are you still human?…

Mrs. Ay was angry and quickly left after saying that. Mrs. Hien stood frozen in front of the alley and then slowly walked into the house. She looked around the house, everything was unusually quiet. The horizontal house (lower house) was originally where Hanh and her mother lived. They did not hear Hanh's lullabies, and they did not hear Giap crying because he was hungry for milk. Mrs. Hien entered the main house and looked up at the altar of Mr. Tu, her husband who passed away two years ago from a stroke.

She stared at his photo. Every word of his childhood days echoed in her ears: "Don't impose your suffering on your daughter-in-law, it's her fault. After all, we are women together...". Suddenly, behind the photo, there was a "clack" sound, the sound of geckos chasing and biting each other, but it gave Ms. Hien goosebumps. In her mind, the image of Hanh and her mother lying at the foot of the bridge appeared, surrounded by villagers who both pitied Hanh and her mother and blamed her for her cruel mother-in-law. Mrs. Hien ran out of the house like a flying arrow. Bare head, bare feet, walking low and high towards the New Bridge, feeling anxious, worried and guilty.

Hanh has been Mrs. Hien's daughter-in-law for nearly 3 years. She thought she would escape the miserable and humiliating life she had experienced before, but unexpectedly... Even though she was determined to be a good daughter-in-law, a dutiful wife, and a mother who loved her children, her mother-in-law still hated her. face.

Hanh's family was poor so she did not have a good education like many people. Life pushed her to become a wife when she only turned 18 one day. The young, fresh, tall, slender girl who had become so sad after just one fall. Because of her trust, Hanh gave the most precious thing of her daughter's life to the man she met for the first time and then became pregnant without even knowing it. The impromptu wedding took place quickly.

After only a month of becoming a wife, Hanh realized that her husband was an addict, a gambler and an abusive man. He took all the wedding money Hanh had saved to gamble and drink. Running out of money, he went home and vented his anger and frustration on Hanh every day. In less than half a year of living together, he brutally beat Hanh, causing her to die over and over again in the hospital 3-4 times, causing her soon-to-be-born child to die prematurely while still in the mother's womb. Thanks to the help of village officials, Hanh was finally able to divorce her vile husband. He got angry, went to the house, doused him with gasoline, and intended to kill Hanh's entire family in revenge. Luckily everyone discovered it in time. The brute, in a state of panic and intoxication, drove a motorbike and fled, then plunged straight into the abyss and died.

After physical and mental injuries, Hanh decided to go to the South to work as a worker. After 3 years of closing the door to her heart, Hanh met Luong when they both worked at the same garment company. Luong is 1 year older than Hanh and has never been married. Luong is gentle, quiet, but hard-working, especially he understands and loves Hanh very much. Feeling Luong's sincerity, she gently opened the door of her heart to let him in. Hanh's parents heard their daughter talk about Luong, talked to him a few times, knew he was a kind person, so they felt secure with their daughter's choice.

After being married for a while, Hanh became pregnant. Near the time of giving birth, Hanh decided to return to her hometown to live with her husband's parents, while Luong continued to stay in Saigon to work as a worker. Luong loved his wife so he encouraged her to work hard, waiting for the couple to save some more capital to buy land and build a separate house for Hanh and her mother to be comfortable. Hanh happily agreed.

Ms. Hien and her husband gave birth to two sons. Luong is the eldest son, and the second son is working abroad. Since Hanh came to live together, Mrs. Hien has not given her daughter-in-law a peaceful day. Mrs. Hien kept the money and wedding gold of Hanh and her husband on her behalf, saying that the house was so shabby that it was easy to be stolen. Then, every month, Luong sent money back to Hanh's mother and child. Mrs. Hien also asked to take it to buy food, diapers, clothes... Even the vegetables, bunch of bananas in the garden,... she also converted it into money to deduct horizontally. vertical.

Everyone in the village knows Ms. Hien's character, so they sympathize with Hanh. While it was peaceful, Mrs. Hien also found an excuse to place an order. When encountering small things, she would find excuses to curse, sometimes pull Hanh's hair, and slap Hanh in the face mercilessly, regardless of whether she was pregnant or breastfeeding. Even though Hanh begged and pleaded... Mrs. Hien still gritted her teeth, clenched her eyelids, and tortured her. She threatened and forbade Hanh to say a word to Luong, otherwise Hanh's life would be worse than death.

Hanh is haggard and withered. The skin is pale green, the eyes are haggard and have dark circles. Many days, due to not eating enough food and lacking breast milk, Hanh felt dizzy and fell over due to anemia and vestibular disorders. Partly because she was afraid of her mother-in-law and partly because she didn't want her husband to worry, Hanh tried to have fun outside. Inside, her depression became more and more serious. Several times Hanh wanted to ask Mrs. Hien's permission to go to Tuyen Quang to visit her biological parents. Mrs. Hien agreed to let her go but did not allow her to take Giap with her. Hanh explained that her grandparents missed her and wanted to see her grandchild. Mrs. Hien spoke harshly and blamed Hanh for having a foul mouth. She had to know how to reason with her so that her parents could understand. Relatives and neighbors knew about it and advised her, but she responded bluntly:

- In the past, my grandmother also treated my mother like that, and then my mother-in-law later treated me the same way. Now I…

Mrs. Hien immediately recalled her past. She said, she had to endure oppression from her mother-in-law, so much so that just by passing in front of her mother-in-law, Ms. Hien would receive a few insults or spittles. Her mother-in-law hated her so much that even when she died, she never once called her daughter-in-law. Meanwhile, she did nothing to offend... Fortunately, Mr. Tu understood and loved her, and she was comforted. The deep wound in the past made her angry and wanted to vent it all on Hanh... to take revenge without knowing that, while Hanh was suffering, she was also not happy.

The mental and physical torture of her mother-in-law made Hanh think of suicide many times. Loving her biological parents and not wanting them to suffer anymore because of her, Hanh told herself that even if she died, Hanh would die in her husband's hometown and definitely not return to her home.

Mrs. Hien ran to the foot of New Bridge and saw the villagers standing around. Seeing her, everyone turned to look at each other, whispering loudly, blaming, and resentful. Fortunately, as soon as they saw Hanh carrying her child wading into the middle of a large stream of water, everyone shouted for each other to come to rescue in time. Hanh was sitting on the ground, her clothes were soaked, her face was blank, tears were still falling. In her arms, Giap's son, after crying for a while because of hunger, was now sleeping soundly. Mrs. Hien breathed a sigh of relief knowing that her daughter-in-law and grandson were safe. It seemed that at this moment, she knew she was wrong.

Knowing that Hanh had to endure many resentments from her mother at home, Luong loved his wife and children even more. He decided to return home to live with his wife and children and find another suitable job. One morning, Luong talked to Mrs. Hien:

- Mom! My wife and children, she has been hurt too much. I don't want her to suffer any more. So, we decided to move into a rented house nearby. After Luong finished speaking, he stood up and walked away.

- Wage…! - Mrs. Hien's voice was hoarse and broken, calling after her son. She was about to apologize, but her son's back had disappeared behind the fence.

Mrs. Hien sat in a dazed state on the front porch, her sad, wrinkled face hanging out into the strange sunlight at the end of the garden. After more than 3 months, Luong and his wife moved out to live separately. Every day that passed for her was filled with torment, repentance, and guilt. Mrs. Hien really has no face left to see her biological children, daughter-in-law, grandchildren, and the whole village up and down below. All day, she just hangs around the house. Occasionally, Hanh and his wife still stop by, sometimes giving her a bowl of crab soup, sometimes a harrow wheel, but they only put it outside the gate of the house, because she locked the door and didn't dare look at anyone after all she had done. .

Today, Giap turns 1 year old. Mrs. Hien stood hesitantly outside the gate, holding a gift box that she wanted to give to her grandchild, but her legs did not dare to move. Hanh saw her mother-in-law standing outside the alley and immediately walked out:

- Mom, go inside... Uncle Giap is always looking after his grandmother.

Mrs. Hien forced herself to follow her daughter-in-law into the house. For dinner, Hanh prepared it properly. Hanh invited her mother-in-law to the table. Mrs. Hien silently looked at her son and daughter-in-law, then silently bowed to the ground. Hanh was happy:

- The past is over, don't think about it anymore!

- Mom... thank you, kids.

Mrs. Hien pulled up the hem of her shirt to wipe her tears and then lifted the bowl of fragrant rice that her daughter-in-law was diligently preparing. Hanh picked up food for her mother-in-law. Mrs. Hien also picked up food for her daughter-in-law. Luong looked at every gesture and look of the two women he loved, his heart filled with joy that was hard to describe in words. Suddenly, little Giap sat on the walker, babbled and called out "Ba...a...ma" and then laughed a little. The three people turned towards the child, looked at each other and smiled lovingly.