My memories chapter 1

Here is the full English translation of the excerpt you provided:

"Dad, why is there a statue of a person lying down in the village park?"

Upon hearing this, the father's eyes welled with tears, and the corners of his mouth gently curled into a smile.

"That's the guardian of our village, son. He's someone different from the rest. They call him eccentric and strange."

"So why does this person have a statue lying here?"

The father smiled, gently patted his son's head, and said, "This is a story from our village, son. Do you want to hear it?"

The boy jumped up with excitement, eagerly listening as his father began to lead him by the hand and tell the story.

"Back then..."

Back then, my village, Hill, was very poor, situated in a rugged mountainous area. It was very hard, with our region being affected by landslides due to heavy rains and floods. However, our village was somewhat protected by the mountains, so the damage was minimal. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself! My name is Giang, but everyone calls me "Dum." I don't even know when this nickname started.

Suddenly, a loud voice yelled: "Hey Giang, get down from that tree! What are you lying up there for? Do you want to fall and die? Do you want to meet your grandparents?"

Giang blinked his eyes and responded very seriously: "Mom, I climbed up here to think strategically. I've heard that successful people need to look from above, so I climbed up to think!"

The branch couldn't withstand that "strategic thinking" and decided to give up on this unfair life. I fell straight into a mud puddle, the muddy water splashed all over my face. At that moment, I looked up with sparkling eyes, grinning.

"Hee hee...hee."

My mother was furious, and the laughter from the crowd made her face turn bright red from embarrassment. Seeing this, she slammed the door and left me outside. I dragged myself to the water tap and hurriedly washed my face. A light breeze blew, the rustling of the leaves echoed, blending with the laughter of the children playing outside. Suddenly, memories of the past rushed back to me. I pulled out the charm my father had given me, filled with longing for the carefree days of my childhood.

I miss it so much. I still remember the images of my father, his thin frame, his dark gray skin, always going into the forest to collect herbs, and the image of him in the rice fields.

I decided I had to do something to make my father happy, so after school, I saw him sleeping soundly. I quietly approached him, step by step, seeing him lying there, and my heart swelled with love for him.

"Alright, let's do this!" I thought to myself. I reached out and gave my father a strong push, rocking him back and forth like a hammock. Seeing that he still hadn't woken up, eyes half-shut, I remembered that when someone is unconscious, you need to splash water on their face. So I splashed water on his face.

My father suddenly woke up, not understanding what had happened. I was delighted to see him awake, and proudly crossed my arms over my chest:

"Dad, listen to me sing! 'When Dad loves me, I look like Mom. When Mom loves me, I look like Dad. Our whole family loves each other, far away we miss, close we smile.'"

When he heard me sing, his face looked like it was about to explode, turning red and his teeth grinding. His voice was full of anger:

"I was sleeping, and you woke me up! I'll show you what 'close we smile' means!"

And so, that day's meal was awkward; I couldn't stand or sit properly. Those red marks on my body stayed with me for a long time.

School years were a time of innocence for me. I still remember the friends around my age, like Tày, Vinh, Tý, and Dũng, who we also called "Fat" because he was the fattest in the class. Dũng's family was the wealthiest in the village, so he often had snacks like chips and lollipops, which we rarely got to enjoy.

Tày and Tý were like twins, both with dark skin and lean builds. However, Tày was slightly taller than Tý by exactly 3 cm. Though Tý wasn't tall, he had captivating fox-like eyes that attracted many girls at school.

Finally, there was Vinh, the smartest of the group. In a class of thirty-five students, he always ranked fifth from the bottom!

As for me, I considered myself the genius of the group. My hair was always messy, and my skin was pale like a foreigner's, so sometimes they teased me as a "genius," but not the smart kind, rather the "quick-witted" kind.

The miracle that brought us together as a group began during a school field trip to the forest. At that time, our school organized a trip to the mountains. Everything was fine until Tý suddenly split from the group, claiming he needed to go to the bathroom. The problem was, he didn't inform the teacher or the group leader and just decided to go by himself.

I, Fat, Tày, and Vinh were at the back of the group, and when we turned around, the whole class had disappeared. Only Tý remained, like the head of a snake, leading us wherever he went: when he turned right, we turned right, and when he turned left, we followed. He stopped at a green tree, obviously "having had enough," and immediately began relieving himself. He then cheerfully whistled, "Viu viu…"

We were all frozen, not knowing what to say. Tày lightly tapped Tý's shoulder, which made him jump, scream, and cry:

"Ghost! Ghost!"

He screamed and cried, clutching his face. But slowly, he opened his eyes and realized it was just us. His face showed confusion, not understanding what had just happened, and he asked, "What are you guys doing?"

Shivering, he hugged himself, "Please, I still have my old mother at home, and a bowl of soup waiting for me. Whatever you do, don't kidnap me!"

Tày, getting annoyed, replied, "Who wants to kidnap you? We were following you because we thought you were with the group!"

Tý was still confused, scratching his head and asking, "So where are the teachers?"

The question froze us all. A terrible silence fell over the group. Eventually, we realized a shocking truth: WE WERE LOST!

In this situation, most people would panic, but we, upon realizing we were lost in the forest, acted like nothing was wrong. We decided to "survive on our own" and moved forward. Hand in hand, we wandered around the forest, joking and playing, with no clear plan, like lost frogs. At that point, Vinh's "genius" brain kicked in.

Vinh suddenly became serious, his voice full of authority, "We need a plan."

He raised his hand and pointed towards the sun, speaking mysteriously, "It's the sun! Follow the direction of the sun."

We were all still confused. Seeing our blank faces, Vinh cleared his throat and explained with a "dangerous" tone, "The sun always shines, and shining means it's not dark. If we follow it, we'll never be lost, because it will never be night!"

We burst out laughing and clapped, admiring Vinh's "genius" idea.

"Great, Vinh! That's brilliant!" we all chimed in.

So we followed Vinh's "strategy," walking and walking... and walking. Eventually, when we were exhausted, the sun began to set, and we still hadn't seen the sun again.

Meanwhile, Teacher Lan, the young and enthusiastic class teacher, was like a bright flower among the students. From a distance, she looked like a caring mother to us. Her face was bright, her skin was fair, and she was as gentle as a dove.

She smiled kindly and called out, "Keep going, everyone, we're almost there!"

The principal, always concerned with everything, also felt reassured seeing this joyful scene. However, to make sure no students were lost, he asked Teacher Lan:

"Teacher Lan, please do a roll call."

Hearing this, Teacher Lan immediately called, "Alright, everyone, gather up! Form four straight lines for me!"

The children quickly lined up. Teacher Lan began calling names:

"One, two, three, four... thirty."

When she reached the number "thirty," her heart began to race. Sweat started to bead on her forehead as she stammered, "C-children, please count again!"

The children obeyed and counted again:

"One, two, three, four... thirty."

The world seemed to collapse around her. She quickly ran to the principal, pale as a ghost, and stammered:

"Teacher... teacher... my class... five students are missing!"

The principal froze, standing motionless like a statue. He barely moved, lightly slapping his face to regain his composure. He then snapped back to reality, furrowing his brows and immediately gave orders:

"Teachers, we have a big problem! Five students from class 6C are missing. Half of you take the other students to safety, the rest, assist with the search and contact the forest rangers and the emergency rescue team immediately!"

Upon hearing the orders, everyone immediately took action without missing a beat. However, deep down, everyone could sense the chaos and concern that couldn't be hidden.

As for us, we still didn't know when we would find our way home. Our faces were flushed with exhaustion and embarrassment. That was the moment when we realized how important it was to follow rules and keep track of each other in a group.

Later, we managed to find our way out with the help of the emergency team. But until that time, the situation remained a mystery to me.