Nam was still too young to understand the problems of adults. He only knew that, every night, his mother told him fairy tales and his father carried him on his shoulders to walk around the yard. Until one day, suddenly, they both disappeared from his little world.

The boy was sent to live with his paternal grandmother, an elderly woman with tired eyes and unsteady steps. She loved him with all her heart, but she couldn’t fill the immense void in the boy’s soul.

One rainy afternoon, Nam sat by the window watching the raindrops hit the tin roof. In a trembling voice, he asked, “

Grandma, why is it taking Mom so long to come back to me?”

The old woman, with a lump in her throat, could only stroke his head:

“Son, your mother now… lives somewhere else, she won’t come back.”

But Nam was too young to understand. In his innocent mind, he thought that if Mom was gone, she would return someday. Or maybe, if he looked for her, he would surely find her. With that thought in mind, he ran off into the pouring rain.

The streets were covered in water. He was wearing an old raincoat, his small feet splashing in icy puddles. People saw a boy walking alone, murmuring through tears,

“Mom… I’m looking for you…”

He stumbled and scraped his knee, but quickly got up, determined to continue. In his memory, the road to the market was where his mother used to take him. It must be there.

A passerby stopped, worried:

“Little one, where are you going alone in this rain?”

Nam raised his red eyes.

“I’m going to find my mom. She left me a long time ago…”

The words tore at the adults listening. Some tried to take him home, but he resisted, sobbing:

“No! I have to find Mom; she’s waiting for me.”

News of a 4-year-old boy walking in the rain in search of his mother spread through the neighborhood. A neighbor recognized him and went to tell the grandmother. The elderly woman, terrified, ran as fast as she could, her heart sinking, until she found her grandson soaked under the eaves of a house, staring into space with sad eyes.

She hugged him tightly, but the boy burst into tears:

“Grandma, did Mom really abandon me?”

The old woman’s tears mingled with the rain. She didn’t know how to respond. Her grandson wasn’t to blame. The fault lay with selfish adults, too preoccupied with their own happiness to consider a child’s heart.

And then, like a miracle, a familiar silhouette appeared. It was her mother, Mai. She had returned from a visit that day, never imagining the scene she would witness.

Nam looked up in disbelief. Suddenly, his little legs gave way and he burst into tears. He ran to her, shouting desperately,

“Mom, you’re back with me!”

That innocent, heartbreaking cry left everyone silent. Such a simple phrase, yet one that contained all the longing for maternal love.

Mai held him close to her chest, her heart shattering. Since his remarriage, she thought everything was fine. But in that instant, she realized that her son was still her soul, her entire life. No man, no new home could replace those innocent eyes.

Weeping, she whispered between sobs,

“Forgive me, son… I was wrong. From now on, I’ll never leave you again.”

The rain continued to fall, but within that embrace there was an indescribable warmth. Nam wiped his tears against his mother’s chest, clinging to her with all his strength, fearing he would lose her again.

That day, the image of the 4-year-old boy walking in the rain looking for his mother, and his words, “Mom, are you back with me yet?”, brought tears to millions of eyes. Many understood that, while adults get lost in selfishness and arguments, the only thing a child’s eyes yearn for is a hug and the presence of his mother.

And from that moment on, Mai decided to leave the superficiality behind and return to her son. Because she understood that there is no greater happiness than being with him in his childhood, regardless of the poverty or the storms raging outside.