The short story "The Soul of Piêu" was published in Suối Reo Magazine in 2018.

Over more than 20 years of writing, he has published 6 novels and over 100 short stories in books and in national and local literary magazines. Among them, the short story "The Soul of Piêu," published in 2018, stands out as a work that marks a significant milestone in Kiều Duy Khánh's writing style and his exploration of character's inner world.

The short story "The Soul of the Piêu Scarf," first published in Suối Reo magazine in April 2018, tells the love story of a young Thai ethnic couple, Sừa and Tươn. They met on a Hạn Khuống night in Cò Chịa village. They only sang one song together and shared a cup of wine, but from that day on, Sừa was always like "a fox intoxicated by the hunter's lamplight, dazed and bewildered." After many days of longing, Sừa brought his bamboo flute to Tươn's house, using its melodious and mournful sound to express his feelings. The flute's gentle, urging me on for many nights finally won Tươn's heart. She opened her chest, took out her "Mặc Piêu" scarf, and invited Sừa up to her house. Their beautiful love, like the Piêu scarf, lasted through the seasons of the bauhinia and rice blossoms, and when the bauhinia tree shed its seeds, they became husband and wife.

But challenges arose for the young couple's love. After many years of marriage, Tươn's waist remained smooth, round, and white like a peeled banana. Their parents had consulted shamans and sought herbal remedies everywhere, but Tươn still couldn't conceive. Following advice from many, Sừa sold the largest buffalo in the house to take his wife to a major hospital in Hanoi for examination. After that trip, Sừa seemed to transform into a different person, spending his days slumped by the fire with a bowl of wine and his pipe, lost in thought. When his wife asked about the examination results, Sừa told Tươn that their inability to have children was due to an illness he had.

The climax of the short story "The Soul of Piêu" is the death of Sừa after a cold. After two years of widowhood mourning her husband according to the custom of "abstinence from marriage," Tươn's mother urges her to remarry. However, it is only then that she learns a truth that Sừa had kept hidden for many years: the reason Tươn cannot have children is due to her, not Sừa. Tươn goes to her husband's grave and cries until her "Piêu scarf" is soaked. Then Tươn takes a knife and cuts the Piêu scarf into two pieces; one piece she places on her husband's grave, and the other she wears on her head so that from now on her husband's soul will forever follow Tươn and her spirit will forever be directed towards him...

The short story "The Soul of Piêu" features a structure that intertwines the past and present, skillfully woven by the author, with all the details carefully concealed to prepare for a surprising and deeply moving ending. Author Kiều Duy Khánh shared: "When writing this work, I spent a long time researching and understanding the customs, traditions, and love stories of the Thái ethnic group in the past."

"The Soul of Piêu" deals with the theme of love in a modern social context, but the author expresses it through a writing style deeply imbued with the traditional culture of the Thái ethnic group in the Northwest region. Throughout the story, the author primarily uses the art of internal monologue, profoundly revealing the character of the mountain people, while fully portraying the conflicting and painful emotions of the characters. In addition, writer Kiều Duy Khánh is also very successful in using the art of comparison and personification: "Their two arms still coiled with strong, sinewy muscles like the old, gnarled wooden trees on Sắng Mountain..."; “Sừa’s breasts were plump and red, full and firm like the liver-like rocks at the foot of Khau Chia mountain…” “Long, drawn-out dreams like small streams winding their way over precarious cliffs on the slopes of Pó Bua mountain,”… All these details are skillfully exploited and incorporated into the work in a familiar and natural way, allowing readers to imagine the scene and immerse themselves in the story with genuine emotions.

Besides the Suoi Reo magazine, the short story "The Soul of Pieu" has also been published in many domestic newspapers and magazines. In 2018, the short story "The Soul of Pieu" won third prize in a short story competition organized by the Vietnam Writers Association and the Hoa Binh Provincial Arts and Literature Association; it was selected by Vietnam News for translation into English and published online. Recently, the short story "The Soul of Pieu" was read in the Literature - Arts section of the Son La online newspaper, contributing to its dissemination and introduction to readers both domestically and internationally.

Hoang Giang