Page 165 - Thorn In The Heart

Chinh Nguyên

the 10th Sharpshooter Movable Battalion must be loss
replacement of personal and arms force four times.

Nguyen’s father survived with the wounds on his body and
many times he was back home from Don-They military hospital.
Nguyen's mother was always the worry about his father's life
and the family future. She became less talking and more
praying, then cried in silence. It seemed she felt deeply into
depressed by the mental crisis. Therefore she was always crying
at night, sat close to the window to look up the sky and sight
every early morning.

Every Sunday in the Church, she had knelt at the front of
Christ statue to pray for a few hours. Few times she was crying,
sobbing at midnight waking up by nightmares, and she went to
visit him on the battlefront line. Of course, Nguyen’s father was
unpleasant on her actions, and sometimes he pushed her back on
the bus to be back Hanoi. It was danger situation if Vietminh
attacks a hundred canons and mortar shells into his firebase,
while he and his friends were fighting to defense for survival.
Also at the same time he must pay attention to her and keep her
in a safe place, but his soul will confuse and may get big trouble,
it will cost their lives. She did not mind about the unsafe place
events she will die on the battlefield. In her thinking was she
would like to see her husband by face to face. And touching his
hands to know that he was still alive, crying in his arms and then
she will have satisfaction for anything. It will be happy for her.
It seemed her life adjoined onto her spouse live, losing him she
could not be alive and always she was the body without a soul.

Nguyen remembered at late of 1952 when he just was back
home from class and did not see his mother. Nguyen called his
sister and asked:

"Sister My-Thanh... Where is a mom?"

"She just went out."

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