Red Silk Ribbon

For the past few days, Mr. Ut has not been happy. He feels constantly frustrated about the incident where thieves broke into the chicken coop and stole the flock of chickens. What's strange is that the coop is located adjacent to his bedroom, where his bedridden younger brother lies. Yet, the chickens still disappeared without a trace. It was a quiet and seamless theft. No noise, no cries. Even Lu, who had sharp hearing, remained silent as if nothing happened.

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The more Mr. Ut thinks, the angrier he becomes. Could it be his ill-fated fortune that prevents him from having chickens to eat during the three-day Lunar New Year? It has been a long time since both of his parents passed away, leaving behind an unfortunate sibling struggling to survive. Mr. Ut has never tasted the flavor of meat for a long time... Sometimes foxes would come in and devour all the chickens, leaving only a few strands of bloody red feathers scattered in the coop.

Some of those feathers would even find their way onto Mr. Ut and his brother's bed.Other times, thieves would sneak into the house when Mr. Ut went to the fields and snatch the chickens away... His brother is truly helpless! Every day, he just stares with his eyes wide open and a twisted smile on his deformed mouth, never uttering a word. And even if he could speak, perhaps the cunning foxes wouldn't dare approach if they were afraid of human voices.But it's not worth blaming him. If anyone should be blamed, it should be Mother Nature for creating such an imperfect creature.

Even if it were an animal with arms and legs, it would be redundant if it couldn't use its limbs for eating or personal activities. Those Western-educated doctors, the elders of past years, did they ever mention anything about his condition? What did they say... something about brain degeneration or deterioration... Mr. Ut doesn't know. His life has always been confined to the fields. His parents were the same! How could they understand the complexities of those above them, those who came before...

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After pondering calmly for a while, Mr. Ut hurriedly entered the house and took a bamboo strip, splitting it with a knife. The land of Mr. Ca, the landlord, is abundant in bamboo, but poor tenants like Mr. Ut can only request the inner part of the bamboo to use temporarily. Others would use the outer parts to weave baskets, mats, or fishing nets... 

Then he twisted the culm to flatten it and started stripping it into smaller pieces, weaving them into the unfinished bamboo mat. Afterward, Mr. Ut placed the bamboo mat over a pre-made bamboo frame that he had made a few days ago. Using small nails and string, he began tying them together. By the time the sun set, he had finished making a rectangular door, with a longer vertical slat on one side. And so, he had a door to install in his house without having to go to the market and spend money on hinges. The long pole was inserted deep into the ground, secured with coconut fiber rope, and now he had an operational millstone door that could open and close...

Ever since the young boy, Bé, grew up a little, the house became even more desolate and abandoned. The neighboring children didn't like going to his house and witnessing a pitiful yet terrifying person. They were right to fear Bé! His pale face always carried a bizarre smile. His wide-open white eyes stared at the children with an inexplicable longing. 

gaze seemed to be directed at no one in particular, as if trying to contain the tiny eyes that kept moving around within the vast whiteness. His mouth looked peculiar too, sometimes twisted or hanging down with a long, red tongue protruding when he smiled at someone. The children in the neighborhood whispered among themselves, "Bé's tongue is so long! Is it longer than a normal person's?" Of course, these things were only whispered secretly among individuals of all ages, afraid that Bé might hear and feel sad. But in life, the more secretive something is, the easier it is to be heard. Út accidentally overheard this and endured it silently. He knew people were right to fear Bé, even though he cared deeply for him...often being frightened by him himself.

Humans have their own fate! Út often said that when he had to take care of his disabled younger brother, isolating themselves from the village. Bé had his own sufferings, and Út had to bear the burden of having blood ties that he couldn't bring himself to discard...