short story
by: me in 8th grade
Life in Vietnam
The town was awake at 5:00 in the morning. Mai woke up in a cold sweat from a horrible dream. She dreamt that the Communist soldiers from North Vietnam took her and her mother away and killed her mother right in front of her eyes. When she woke up, she looked around to see if everything was all right. She called out for her mother, but there was no answer. She started crying into her pillow, not knowing where her mother went. About five minutes past, and her mother rushed in to see what was the matter.
“Are you alright, Mai?” Her mother asked with worry.
“Mẹ, I dreamt we were taken away by the Communists and you were killed right in front of me,” Mai cried.
“Con, it’s okay. It was just a dream, I assure you that nothing bad will happen to me or to us,” her mother promised her, “Now get ready. We have to go down the river to try to trade and sell the fruit we’ve grown this season. Come on, get out of bed, and get dressed, and then come outside to help me pack.”
The warm autumn season was perfect in Dalat. The liveliness of the people in the community flourished through everyone. The bright morning sun shined down on the many workers packing up their boats to sail down the cool, yet muddy winding river. Boats packed tightly together in the river, so close they graze each other while moving. That particular morning, the sky was clear of clouds and there was a gentle wind sifting through the trees.
Mai got up from her bed and got dressed as quickly as she could. She knew how important these days are to her mom and wanted everything to run as smoothly as possible. She stepped outside and rubbed her eyes, Gosh, it’s so bright this morning, she thought to herself. She found her mother out on the docks, with her nón lá on to shade her from the sun. She looked so tired already and Mai started feeling bad because she woke up late and couldn’t help her mother from the start.
“Mẹ, do you need any help? You seem tired,” Mai asked.
“Of course! I’m always welcome to any help, but sadly, work is never done around here. Can you grab the basket of potatoes from the kitchen and put it on the boat? We have to get ready soon, the peak hours of selling and trading is approaching quickly and we want to attract the high-quality buyers and traders,” her mother said, with a touch of exhaustion.
When everything was loaded on to their boat, they set off down the river. There was already about twenty boats there, trying to sell or trade as many goods as they could before other people came to do the same. It was about 11:30 in the morning when Mai and her mother made their way down the river, they were a little late in their schedule, but luckily many people were still at their homes loading their boats. Mai’s mother seemed a bit unenthusiastic that particular morning, it seemed like she was worrying about the dream Mai had that morning.
The afternoon sun shined directly above the river of Dalat. The sky was clear of clouds and birds flew overhead in perfect formation. The grass, greener than ever before, with a slight hint of mint in the air made the day even better. The boats anchored about a third of a mile away from Mai’s house and busy merchants negotiating with others, trying to get the best deal as possible. The tall, swaying trees protected the boats and people from the sweltering heat.
Mai and her mother sold ¾ of their goods and were almost ready to go home. Mai’s mother wanted to stay for a bit longer because she wanted to see if someone would want the rest of the goods. They stayed out there for another thirty minutes, but realized that it was no use. Mai pulled up their anchor and they made their way home. During the ride home, Mai had an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. She didn’t know why, but she knew something dreadful was going to happen and she was scared.
“Mẹ, I think something’s wrong. You always told me to listen to my instincts and I think that something bad is going to happen if we go home,” Mai said with worry.
“What could possibly go wrong? Today is just like any other day, con. Maybe you’re tired and you’re daydreaming. I’ll fix you some food when we arrive home, okay?” Her mother reassured her.
“I just have this feeling that my dream is going to come true, Mẹ. I don’t want anything to happen to you because I won’t know what to do anymore. Please don’t leave me, I need you here,” Mai cried.
“Mẹ yêu con. I would never leave you, no matter what. No communist could ever take me away from you because I won’t let them,” her mother said.
Mai was still feeling uncomfortable and cringed when she and her mother arrived at the docks in front of their house. Something in the atmosphere was different and she instantly knew for sure, that something had gone wrong. She moved with caution and stuck beside her mother, just in case something happened. As they worked towards their house, Mai saw that the lights were on in their house. She knew that she didn’t have the light on because that morning was too bright for the lights to be on.
“Mẹ, I think someone is in our house, the lights are on.”
“I think we left it on this morning and forgot to turn it off before we left,” Mai’s mother said, with a hint of anxiety.
When they opened the door to their house, two men were standing in the family room. They had a Communist uniform on and they appeared to be angry. Mai and her mother stood in the doorway, frozen. She knew that her dream came true; her mother was about to be taken away. She started crying and she held on to her mother as tightly as she could. The two men approached us and gave Mai’s mother a letter.
“Dear Ms. Nguyen, your husband Mr. Bao Nguyen, failed to pay government taxes in the past three years. We were informed that he has passed away, having no possible way of paying. Since you are his wife, you are entitled to all of his responsibilities, including this. We are here to inform you that since the payments were not made, we are forced to arrest you and your daughter for further questioning,” her mother read out loud.
“xin lỗI Ms. Nguyen,” one of the officers said, “We are obliged to detain you and your daughter.”
“NOOOO!! You can’t take my mother away! It wasn’t her fault that my father died without informing her what she had to do!” Mai screamed at the officers.
“And it is not our fault that we have to arrest you and your mother. We are just doing what we have to do, our job. Now come along.” The officer said.
Mai and her mother left their house, riding in a car with the two Communist soldiers. She looked at her mother, watching her cry silently, praying for hope and support. Mai had one final look at their house, fading away.
( keep in mind that i wrote this in 8th grade for an impromptu essay write, so it's realllllllly bad. )
