chi?n tranh

As night crept on, Trung found himself unable to sleep. He was worrisome, and not very tired at the moment. He was up worrying about himself and his family - the war had kept going, and there was no end in sight. He worried about his country - what would this fighting to do to it? As there seemed to be no shut eye in store for him, he decided to go watch the sky. He tip-toed around his sleeping family, and snuck out in the night to watch the stars.

Trung lied down, letting his worries slip away for the moment. They were replaced with awe; the night sky never failed to amaze him. He looked up and saw countless dots of light. He imagined it to be just like his city- the one he wanted to make to one day. He had heard stories of places in Europe and America, and as he didn’t like his country’s invaders at all, he dreamed on end of living in one of Europe’s great metropolises.This train of thought brought back the sorrow, the worry of war. He was suddenly reminded of what was going on around him- the grief and the pain stuck his mind and his heart as he lay there watching. He’s up there somewhere, Trung thought to himself.

He caught himself slipping into this sadness- so Trung tried to calm himself. He reminded himself that he was safe where he was, and not to worry about it right now. In order to keep his mind in another place, he decided to think about what tomorrow would be like. First, he would have to take his sisters, Anh and Truc, with him to the river. The family needed water to cook and drink, and they all needed to bathe. They would have to carry the water back with them, and his sisters would help his mother start the meals for the day. Upon their arrival home, Trung knew he would have to help his father in the fields for most of the day.

As Trung reached the end of the day in his head, he again began to look up at the stars. He noticed a few of the constellations his brother, Binh had shown him. He began to remember nights just like these, when him and his elder brother would stare up into the night’s darkness and talk. His brother had taught him a lot, and he missed him very much. The nights they would share were some of Trung’s best memories. Those were beautiful, clear and peaceful nights, and the brothers would stay up into the late hours of the night talking between themselves.

Trung also remembered the day those nights came to an end- the day that Binh was lost. His brother had left to go down to the river to bathe and get water for the family. However, Binh never returned. Trung remembered how sad his parents were when not even a body was ever found. Their oldest son had been lost, presumably captured by invaders. It really took a toll on them- Trung still saw how hard it was for them to bring up his brother. It took them months just to let him take his sisters down to the river alone after that day.

Upon remembering those nights and that day, a few tears dripped down Trung’s face. He went back to his star gazing, alone. He began to fall asleep, and this time he let slumber prevail. He fell asleep out there, under the stars. Trung dreamed of stars, and of big cities and of his brother, and slept all through the night with these dreams.