Chern and The Fallout: A Time of Triumph

The air hung heavy and still, the heat oppressive. The villagers had long since stopped tending their fields, seeking refuge from the sun in whatever shade they could find.

Chen, a young man of seventeen, was no exception. But unlike the others, he felt a burning desire to restore his people's fortune from these scorching days. As he sat with his back against the wall of his house, he thought about his poor parents who, over the past year, had gone from being wealthy landowners to struggling to feed their youngest son. He knew that it was only a matter of time before they would be able to provide for him no longer. The thought of leaving them to fend for themselves weighed heavily on his heart. He had to do something! But what?

He heard footsteps crunching on the dry earth behind him and looked up as little Tuan came trudging up the path that led to Chen's home. The boy was no more than twelve years old and was easily the poorest farmer in all of the village. He wore nothing but tattered rags and was always covered in dust and grime. His once sandy blond hair hung in dull clumps around his face and shoulders.

Chen stood to greet him and smiled when Tuan reached him. "Hi Tuan."

Tuan nodded at him and replied in an exhausted voice, "Hi Chen."

They walked through the door into Chen's living room where his mother was preparing dinner for them. Seeing Tuan enter her kitchen she scolded him but then saw that he had been followed by Chen who gave her a smile which caused her scowl to transform into a smile of her own as well. She turned again to Tuan and said, "Well done Tuan! You were able to bring food home today!" Tuan looked guiltily down at the floor as if he were trying to hide the fact that he'd brought home anything at all.

His mother handed him a bowl filled with rice and vegetables and told him kindly, "Eat up now."

Chen sat down next to Tuan and took out some dried fruit which he offered to Tuan who gratefully accepted it as well. They ate quietly while their mother cleaned up after them and took a seat across from them at their small kitchen table. She smiled affectionately at her two sons before saying in an overly serious tone: "Now boys...I know you're not very happy here anymore..." Her voice caught slightly on those last words and she quickly wiped away a tear that had escaped from one eye before continuing: "But this is our home now...and I don't want you going anywhere else until I can take care of you myself."

Chen reached out across the table and placed his hand atop hers which lay flat on its surface. He gave it an affectionate squeeze before saying "Yes Ma...we'll stay here with you." His mother smiled sweetly at both of her sons before turning her gaze towards Tuan who still sat quietly eating his dinner beside Chen. It seemed as if she sensed something different about him tonight because she stared intently at him for a moment until she finally asked: "Tuan...why do you look so troubled?"

She was met by silence as Tuan continued chewing slowly on his bite of food before finally swallowing hard upon which he answered weakly: "It's nothing Ma..." His mother shook her head disbelievingly at that statement but didn't press further after seeing how much effort it had taken for Tuan even get those few words out. She sighed softly before saying: "Very well then...but please promise me that you will visit me tomorrow morning before you leave for school." She waited patiently while both boys nodded solemnly in agreement before getting up and walking back over to her cooking pot which had begun whistling loudly during this conversation over by the three of them. She took off its lid and plopped it into a sink full of water before turning back around with a smile on her face where she found both boys staring curiously at her wondering what she was smiling about now when things were so dire for them all right now...so she explained: "Oh that? Well I just remembered the day we moved here!"

She walked over to an open cupboard and pulled out a small vase filled with withered flowers which she set down carefully on the table between Chen and Tuan along with some fresh water from an adjacent sink where she also cleaned her hands before sitting back down again opposite them once again: "There we go! That looks nice doesn't it?" Both boys nodded silently again yet couldn't help but smile as well when they saw how proud their mother looked sitting there in front of the vase with these flowers which must have meant very much to her all those years ago when they were freshly picked in another place far away from all this poverty they currently lived in now...