Light from Scars - Short story by Luong Dinh Khoa

Nhat stopped the bike, the kickstand clattered on the ground.

- We're having instant noodles again today, Mom - Nhat whispered as he gently pushed open the creaky, patched door.

The musty smell and the incense scent mixed together, lingering around the simple altar placed against the wall. The portrait of his father with his half-awake, half-asleep eyes, and his mother with her gentle but austere smile, seemed to be watching his every move. His father passed away when Nhat was 8 years old, a black dot deeply engraved in his immature memories. His mother passed away when he was 15, bringing the whole world down with her. From then on, Nhat grew up with endless memories and caring meals, sometimes with the sympathetic looks of his uncles and aunts.

Ánh sáng từ những vết sẹo - Truyện ngắn của Lương Đình Khoa- Ảnh 1.

He remembered the night his mother died. The rain poured down, relentlessly. His mother's heart-rending cries next to his father's body, those painful sounds haunted him to this day, like an incurable scar in his soul. When his mother left, his world collapsed.

But then, his mother's last words kept ringing in his ears: "Try to study hard, and later fix this house to be solid, so that I can feel secure living alone." Those words were like an invisible string pulling Nhat out of the abyss of despair, keeping him clinging to life.

Nhat cherishes the dream of becoming an architect, not only to rebuild this house, but also to fulfill his mother's last wish...

***

The rain was still drizzling outside the window. Today, Nhat had delivered nearly ten orders, each worth only fifteen or twenty thousand dong. His hands were calloused and rough from driving a motorbike in all weather conditions. The old motorbike had stopped suddenly several times in the middle of the road, the engine sputtering as if it was about to explode. Luckily, he had some mechanical knowledge, so he was able to fix it himself. Once, when he met a difficult customer who canceled the food order halfway, Nhat stood rooted to the spot in a puddle, looking at the cold food package in his hand, his throat choking. He knew he had no guarantee from any company. As a freelance shipper, Nhat had to accept all of that, swallowing all his resentment.

- Knock... knock... - The sudden knock on the door startled Nhat. Who would come at this hour?

Nhat hesitated, gripped the latch tightly, took a deep breath to calm himself, and slowly opened the door. A middle-aged woman, dressed simply but with kind, warm eyes, stood there. She did not seem to be a regular customer.

- You... are you Nhat? Tran Huu Nhat? - The woman asked, her voice warm, carrying a bit of cold wind and the smell of rain - I'm Sau, introduced here by an acquaintance. I have a little gift to give you, from a small fund of people who want to help students with special circumstances.

- God? I... don't know... - Nhat was surprised, his eyes wide open in confusion.

- No need to know much! - Aunt Sau smiled kindly, the smile seemed to dispel the cold of the night - Just accept it, so you will have more motivation to continue your education. The sender... they said you deserve to receive it.

Aunt Sau's eyes stopped on the simple altar. A flash of pity and sympathy passed through her eyes, like a gentle breeze touching his heart. He felt her sincerity, a sincerity that did not need to be expressed in words.

Aunt Sau said nothing more, turned and walked away. Her figure gradually disappeared into the night and drizzle, like an illusion.

Nhat held the envelope, he felt it heavy in his hand, not only because of the money but also because of its meaning. He saw a small letter with no name, just a few lines of handwritten, neat handwriting. Each stroke seemed to be written with all his heart: "Don't give up. The future is waiting for you. Every scar can become a light."

Nhat clenched the envelope, a warm feeling spread, driving away the surrounding cold.

2. At the same time, in a shabby rented room near the Han River, Ka Tham was lying on the bed, holding her stomach. The pain was so excruciating that it felt like someone was twisting her intestines, making her unable to sleep, her forehead was covered in sweat despite the cold night. After only a month of studying civil law, she received the shocking news: stage 3 Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Ka Tham remembers the moment she staggered out of the counseling room, her legs feeling weightless. She remembers the dilapidated house in the Loc Tan coffee plantation, Lam Dong - where Ka Thuyen's mother, with her thin, austere figure, was waiting. She remembers the days when she was 11 years old, barefoot picking tea leaves, her calloused hands hoeing weeds to pay for her own schoolwork. Every penny of tuition was soaked in sweat and sun and wind. A long journey of effort and sacrifice to achieve her dream of university. And now...

Ka Tham tried to ignore her illness, go to class, and force herself to study. But the terrible pain and the lymph nodes that appeared all over her body, clearly visible under her skin, did not allow her to do so. Every step was a struggle, every lecture was torture. She asked the school to defer her studies for a year, and heavily let go of her unfinished dream.

When she returned home, she chose to be treated with traditional medicine. Fortunately, after three months, the lymph nodes began to shrink and the pain gradually subsided. After Tet, she was miraculously healthy.

"I have a chance to go back to school" - Ka Tham whispered. That thought pulled her to the back of the house, her hands trembling as she prepared the hoe and sharpened the sickle. Her journey back to school began again in the way she was very familiar with: working in the fields, plowing to save every penny.

When she got better, she returned to Da Nang , working part-time at a coffee shop to earn money to go back to school, determined not to let the disease defeat her.

***

At the coffee shop this morning, a woman named Thu - a friend of a lawyer Ka Tham had known before, came to find her. She had heard Ka Tham's story through the lawyer's introduction. Her eyes looked at Ka Tham with affection and a hint of pity.

- Ka Tham, I know you really need money to go back to school. This is a little bit of kindness from me and another friend. Please accept it, so you will have more motivation to continue your studies. My friend has also gone through many hardships, also raising a child alone, so she understands and wants to help you...

Ka Tham was speechless. The sum of money was much larger than she had ever dreamed of. Attached was a handwritten letter: "...Each of us bears scars. Scars of pain, of loss. But it is those scars that light can penetrate. The light of determination, of kindness, of dreams that never die."

Ka Tham realized that this was a passage written by a single mother. She had read it in a newspaper before, and was deeply moved.

3. At a busy sidewalk cafe, the sound of traffic, the smell of roasted coffee and cigarette smoke mixed together, not far from the traditional markets, Duyen sat in a corner. She was serving, her hands quickly cleaning the tables and chairs, while flipping through a worn notebook. She was completing an essay about the will to live. Each sentence was neat, containing many thoughts.

Yesterday, Duyen asked Aunt Sau to send some money and a letter to a young person who was in dire need of motivation. Looking back on her life, Duyen saw herself as a ball being passed back and forth by her parents, with no real destination. Then she said goodbye to her parents and her partner one by one. Each separation was a stab in the heart.

She gave birth to Gao, a "god-given" child. Although Gao was a mistake of her adolescence, he was the light and motivation for her to constantly strive to improve herself. She did many jobs: sewing, writing essays, tutoring, serving in restaurants, and selling land... Every penny she earned was soaked in sweat and the bitter taste of life.

Duyen recalled yesterday, reading an online article about a female student in Da Nang, stage 3 cancer but full of determination. Ka Tham's story touched Duyen deeply, as if telling about herself in the past. Although she was also struggling, Duyen did not hesitate to share a small part of what she had, through Ms. Thu - a friend of a lawyer that Ka Tham had met.

The phone rang, interrupting Duyen's train of thought. It was a text message from a friend, informing her that Ka Tham - the girl who had beaten cancer - had officially returned to university. A satisfied smile appeared on Duyen's lips.

4. Three months later. In a special class at the University of Architecture in Da Nang, the lecturer asked the students to present about their "dream house". Tran Huu Nhat, with a thin face but bright eyes, stood up, took a deep breath, his eyes swept across the classroom.

- My dream house is not just concrete and steel blocks - Nhat said, his voice trembling at first but gradually becoming strong and determined - It is a place to keep memories and nurture the future. It is built not only with cement but also with the longing for my mother, with the promise of an orphan, and with the kindness of strangers I don't know.

Nhat told of the deliveries in the rain, the wind whistling in his ears, the numb fingers, the uneaten meals on a hungry stomach. He told of his mother's advice, his dream of becoming an architect and his desire to build houses for orphans. At the end of his presentation, Nhat slowly pulled out a small, worn letter, clutched tightly in the palm of his hand.

- I received this letter on a rainy night. It was anonymous, but it was a light in my darkness - Nhat said, his eyes filled with tears, his voice choked - It said: "Don't give up. The future is waiting for you. Every scar can become a light". I believe that the person who wrote this letter is also someone who has gone through a lot of suffering, but has risen up with determination and kindness. I want to thank that person, even though I don't know who they are.

Amidst the thunderous applause that echoed throughout the auditorium, a girl from the last row quietly stood up. Her long hair was loose, her face was thin but her eyes were determined and bright. It was Ka Tham. She walked slowly towards Nhat, her eyes filled with sympathy and understanding.

- Hello Nhat! Perhaps, we received help from the same inspiration. I... also received a similar letter.

In that moment, it was as if an invisible thread connected them. Not by blood, but by pain, by the will to rise. And by the kindness that radiated from someone somewhere in this city.

***

In a small corner of the city, after a long day of work, Duyen hugged Gao. The three-year-old girl leaned her head on her mother's shoulder, breathing steadily, sleeping soundly. Duyen looked out the window. Outside, the rain had stopped. The night sky was dotted with twinkling stars. She knew that Nhat was studying hard, Ka Tham was continuing his dream. The two unfortunate lives she had accidentally known through the pages of the newspaper, had touched and shared warmth, and were now strongly continuing their journey.