Warm sunshine after the thunderstorm

Báo Lâm Đồng•30/06/2023

Illustration: Phan Nhan

While wandering down the street, Tâm was startled when a hand grabbed his collar from behind. He turned around. It was the nanny. She looked at him like a criminal, her voice angry: "You escaped three times in two months at the orphanage! You're unruly! Because of you, I've suffered so much, been reprimanded by the director several times! When you come back, I'll lock you in the storage room and see if you can escape!" "Let go of me, I don't want to go back to the orphanage, I have to find my father." "You don't have a father to find." "You can't say that, I have a picture of my father." "What's that in your shirt pocket? You must have stolen something from someone, right?" Looking at the nanny with bloodshot eyes, Tâm snarled: "It's my mother's diary, I didn't steal anything." "If it's not stolen, let me see it." "No! No one is allowed to touch my mother's mementos."

Despite Tâm's objections, the nanny tried to reach into his shirt to take his diary. Tâm bit her hand hard, causing her to scream in pain, and he ran away. "You good-for-nothing!" the nanny shouted after him. "I'll make you a homeless wanderer! I'll never look for you again!"

The first time Tâm went to the garbage dump, swarms of black flies swarmed everywhere he stepped, the stench was so strong he wanted to vomit, but he knew he would starve to death if he didn't earn any money. Remembering his mother's words: "Earning money through your own labor is not bad, stealing is." His mother's words were a source of encouragement, and he began to search. Suddenly, he heard a series of intermittent cries that sent shivers down his spine. Standing still and listening, he heard the cries again, weak and faint, like a dying creature. Gathering his courage, he approached... it was a dog, only the size of his calf, emaciated and skeletal, breathing faintly, covered in a thick layer of yellow ants. He picked up the dog and brushed off the ants. "Did your owner abandon you? I'll take care of you." Tâm quickly left the garbage dump with the little dog in his arms.

Life was a constant struggle, with hunger and plenty to eat, so Tâm was dark-skinned and thin. When his mother was alive, every night in their rented room, he would lie in her lap, listening to her lullabies and stories, and fall asleep without realizing it. Now, every night, he huddles in a corner of the shack outside the cold, abandoned coffee plantation. In the beginning, he was very scared, clinging to the wall, covering his face and crying until he was exhausted and fell asleep. The first day he found the dog, he was so happy, but the dog was very weak and he thought it wouldn't make it. With a dozen or so coins, he bought milk and fed the little dog spoonful by spoonful. Because it had been hungry for many days, the dog swallowed the milk quickly but its eyes were tightly closed and it didn't move, which worried him a lot. On the second day, the dog managed to stand up, but its steps were shaky and unsteady. Hoping to save the dog, he was so happy he wanted to cry. By the fourth day, the dog was more agile; wherever he went, the dog followed. He named the dog Orphan. Now, every evening, Tam is no longer lonely. He and the Orphan Girl play and cuddle until bedtime, the Orphan Girl snuggles into his arms and lies still, and they both sleep soundly.

Living with Tâm, Mồ Côi also shared the same hardships of sometimes having enough to eat, sometimes not, but she grew very quickly. A few months later, she was as tall as Tâm's thigh and weighed almost ten kilograms. Before Mồ Côi arrived, Tâm was often bullied and robbed by older street thugs and drug addicts. Now, Mồ Côi was like a bodyguard; if anyone approached and raised their voice at Tâm, Mồ Côi would bare her fangs and growl, making the thugs turn pale and not dare to bully her. Mồ Côi was also a valuable assistant to Tâm in collecting recyclable materials. Every day, Tâm would carry the sack, and Mồ Côi would run ahead searching for beer cans, plastic bottles, soda bottles, etc. At the garbage dump, Mồ Côi would jump onto towering piles of trash, digging and rummaging through them. With Mồ Côi's help, the amount of recyclable materials collected increased, and Tâm began to save money.

A man, knowing that Orphan was a very rare breed of dog, begged to buy him. The amount of money the man offered for Orphan was something Tâm could never have dreamed of, but he absolutely refused to sell him.

Tam bought a shoe-shining kit hoping that shining shoes would help him meet more people and maybe even find his father. Since then, besides shining shoes, he still goes scavenging for scrap metal with the orphan girl in the mornings and evenings.

Having worked as a shoe shiner for over a year, shining shoes for many people, Tâm would always show a picture of his father to ask about it after finishing a job, but everyone would shake their heads. Undeterred, he continued to ask anyone he had the chance.

One afternoon, Tâm and the Orphan Girl went to the garbage dump. Suddenly, it started raining heavily. Afraid of getting his mother's diary wet, he quickly tucked it into his chest and lay face down on the pile of garbage, letting the rain pour down. The Orphan Girl also lay prostrate beside him… After more than an hour, the rain stopped, but Tâm and the Orphan Girl were soaking wet and shivering. That night, Tâm developed a fever; his body was burning hot. The Orphan Girl sat beside him, whimpering as if crying. Tâm had a high fever all night, and by morning, his body was ice cold. The Orphan Girl, biting at his clothes and seeing no sign of him moving, ran out into the street and stopped an old woman walking on the sidewalk, startling her. The Orphan Girl sat down, her front paws clasped together as if begging. Seeing the dog's tears, the old woman bravely stroked its head, and the dog immediately grabbed her hand and pulled her away. Sensing something was wrong, she hurried after the dog. Stepping into an abandoned shack, she saw the child curled up and suddenly understood. Touching the boy, she found him ice-cold, his eyes vacant and lifeless. She quickly ran out into the street, hailed a taxi, and took him to the hospital…
"What is the child's relationship to you?" the attending doctor asked. "I found him lying motionless in the abandoned shack, so I brought him here. He's probably a homeless child. Please try your best to save him; I'll pay the hospital bills."

Several hours later, Tâm regained consciousness.

“Are you awake? I was so worried!” “Why am I here?” – Tâm’s voice was weak. “I was going to the market, your dog blocked my way and dragged me to you. I saw you had a high fever and didn’t know what you were doing, so I brought you here.” “Thank you, Grandma. But where is my dog?” Hearing Tâm’s question, the dog, Mồ Côi, crawled out from under the hospital bed, jumped up, licked Tâm’s face and neck, surprising the old woman. She exclaimed, “Good heavens! What a smart dog! You’re so lucky to have it by your side. I have to go now, but I’ll come visit you. I have some money for you to buy food.” “Thank you, Grandma, but I can’t accept money from you. When my mother was alive, she told me not to accept money from anyone until I’ve done something for them.” “You’re such a good child. Consider it a loan from me; pay me back when you have money.” “Then I’ll accept it because I’m completely out of money. I’ll definitely earn money to pay you back…” The old woman left the hospital room just as the nurse entered. Seeing the dog, she exclaimed, “Heavens… why let the dog in here!” “It’s my only friend, please…” “No, the doctor will scold you when he arrives.” “Then let me ask it to buy a loaf of bread and tell it to come out.” Tam gave the dog twenty thousand dong. Holding the money in its mouth, the dog ran out to the hospital gate, to the glass display case selling bread, and tapped its paw. The bread seller was startled and stood still, watching. Seeing the dog holding the money and still tapping its paw on the counter, he seemed to understand and asked, “Do you want this?” The dog ran over and dropped the money at his feet.

Taking a plastic bag, the Orphan Girl put the cakes inside, received the bag of cakes from the shop owner, and hurried away, much to the astonishment of those present.

Back in the ward, the Orphan dropped the bag of cookies onto the bed, and the nurse gasped, unable to believe her eyes. "You see," Tâm said, "he's very well-behaved. Please ask the doctor to let him stay with you; he won't hurt anyone."

Without answering, the nurse stared intently at Tam's face as if searching for something, making him tremble slightly. He mumbled, "Why are you looking at me like that? Do you think I'm a bad person?" Tam's question startled the nurse, who quickly clarified, "No, no, I just wanted to take a good look at your face... I think I've seen it somewhere before..." Then, the nurse strode out of the ward... Entering the head doctor's office, without greeting him, she said directly, "Dr. Tuan, I find it very strange." Dr. Tuan, who was working, looked up and sighed, "What are you talking about? I don't understand!" "That homeless boy who came into the emergency room this morning, he's very strange! His nose, his mouth, and his eyes..." "Get impatient, tell me! What's wrong with his eyes and mouth?" "They're exactly like yours!" "What are you saying?!" "If you don't believe me, come and see for yourself."

...

Tam was dozing off, the dog lying beside him. Seeing the doctor enter, the dog, named Orphan, jumped down, ran to rub its head against the doctor, wagging its tail joyfully as if meeting a relative, and bit the doctor's sleeve, pulling him towards Tam. Something compelled Doctor Tuan...
Wishes come soon.

Looking at her innocent yet intelligent and quick-witted dark face, a pang in his heart made him freeze, and memories suddenly pulled him back to his student days.

Over ten years ago, he met her. Her face was as bright as the full moon, her deep, dark eyes filled with a melancholic sadness, always seeming on the verge of tears. "Chieu Thu"—a name that evoked such sadness, combined with the shyness of a first-year university student—captivated him. After nearly a year of pursuing her, on Chieu Thu's 19th birthday, he proposed… Subsequent dates filled him with overwhelming happiness, but when he took her home to meet his mother, and learned she was from a farming family in the remote B'Lao highlands, his mother's attitude changed instantly. She coldly refused to see him, silently went to her room, and slammed the door shut, leaving him standing there for hours without coming out. She said she would starve herself to death if he married a girl of unequal social standing! Heartbroken, he took Chieu Thu back to the dormitory. That was the last time they saw each other.

...

Tam woke up, confused to see the doctor staring at him. “I’m sorry for bringing the dog here.” Tam’s words interrupted his train of thought, bringing him back to reality. Sitting down beside Tam, holding his hand, the doctor’s voice was gentle: “Your dog is very well-behaved, I like it too. Tell me about your life. Where is your family, and why are you living as a vagrant?” After a moment of hesitation, Tam began to tell his story: “I don’t have a father. My mother passed away two years ago. When she died, I was taken to an orphanage, but I wanted to find my father. When she was alive, I sometimes saw her look at a picture of a man and cry. She said it was my father. She said he was very busy and couldn’t come home yet, but he would one day. For years I’ve kept the picture with me and searched, but I haven’t found him.” “Can you show me the picture?” Tam took out the picture and showed it to the doctor. Upon seeing the picture, Dr. Tuan trembled. He tried to control himself and asked, "Did your mother leave anything else for you?" "A diary." "Could you lend me the diary for a moment? I'll look at it in my room and then bring it back." "Yes, of course."

Back in his room, Dr. Tuan slumped into a chair and quickly opened his diary.

Date... Month... Year... Stepping into university for the first time, everything felt new and unfamiliar. I have to try my best so as not to disappoint my parents.

Date... Month... Year... The first time I met him, I was so nervous. He asked me questions, and I just mumbled because I couldn't think of anything to say!

Date... Month... Year... The first time he took me out, we tried all sorts of delicious and exotic foods, but I didn't dare eat too much, afraid he'd laugh at me...

Date... Month... Year... The second time we went out, he held my hand and my heart was pounding as if it wanted to jump out of my chest!

On [date], he proposed to me. It was a truly blissful night being with the one I love. I couldn't resist... I just lay still, closing my eyes and savoring the happiness, the sweet, euphoric feeling of our first time together.

Date... Month... Year... On the day I went to meet his family, I tried my best not to burst into tears! When I got back to my room, he had already left, and I cried until my eyes were swollen.

Date... Month... Year... His mother came to see me, asking me to stay away from him. His family had arranged for him to study abroad. For his future, I decided not to see him again, but my heart aches so much, as if someone is crushing it!

Date... Month... Year... I'm twenty days late! I can't continue studying anymore. I have to leave the lecture hall! I have to go, I have to earn money to prepare for my child...

Closing the diary, he trembled, his mouth bitter, his throat constricted. He couldn't believe that the woman he loved had to leave him in such utter loneliness. In the early days before his departure for his studies abroad, he had frantically searched everywhere for Chieu Thu, even going to B'Lao, but none of his friends or parents knew where she was. Hundreds of phone calls went unanswered... At the last minute before boarding the plane, he still hoped to receive a call from Chieu Thu. But he waited in vain. Five years of studying abroad, and upon returning home, he still hadn't received even a single word of news from Chieu Thu.

At that time, in the Central Highlands, the healthcare system was still severely lacking in diagnostic equipment and doctors. He volunteered to transfer to a hospital near where Chieu Thu's family lived, hoping to use the knowledge he had learned to treat the sick in that remote B'Lao region, and also hoping that one day he would find the person he loved.

...

With heavy steps, he returned to the hospital room, sat down, hugged Tam tightly, and burst into tears like a child, his voice choked with emotion:
"Tam!... You truly are my son... I'm sorry for everything..."

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