Warm sunshine after the storm

Illustration: Phan Nhan

While wandering on the street, suddenly a hand grabbed his collar from behind, Tam turned around in surprise. It was the nanny. She looked at him like a sinner, her voice angry: “You escaped from the orphanage three times in two months, you are an unruly bastard! Because of you, I suffered, and the director reprimanded me several times! When I come back this time, I will lock you in the warehouse and see if you can escape.” “Let me go, 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 in that shirt, you must have stolen something from someone, right?” Looking at the nanny with red eyes, Tam growled: “It’s my mother’s diary, I didn’t steal anything.” “If it’s not stolen, then show it to me.” “No! No one is allowed to touch my mother’s keepsakes.”

Despite Tam's disagreement, the nanny tried to reach into his shirt to take the diary. Tam bit her hand so hard that the nanny screamed in pain and ran away. "You bastard," the nanny shouted after him, "I'll make you a vagrant forever. I'll never look for you again!"

The first time Tam went to the dump, wherever he went, a thick cloud of black flies flew out, the stench was so strong that he wanted to vomit, but if he couldn't earn money, he would starve to death. Remembering his mother's words: "Earning money by your own labor is not a bad thing, stealing is bad". His mother's words were like a source of encouragement, he started searching. Suddenly he heard an intermittent cry that made him shiver, his skin crawled. Standing still and listening, the cry came out again weakly like a dying creature. Gathering all his courage, he walked over... it was a dog as big as a calf, skinny as a bone, gasping for breath, covered with yellow ants all over its body. He picked up the dog and brushed the ants away. "Did your owner abandon you? I'll take care of you". Tam hugged the little dog and quickly left the dump.

Life was so hard, sometimes hungry, sometimes full, that Tam was dark and skinny. When his mother was still alive, every night in the rented room, he would lie in her arms listening to her sing lullabies, tell stories and then fall asleep without realizing it. Now every night, he curls up in the corner of the hut outside the cold abandoned coffee garden. The first days, he was very scared, pressed against the wall, covered his face and cried until he was exhausted and fell asleep. The first day he found the dog, he was very happy but the dog was very weak and thought he would not survive. With more than ten silver coins left, he bought milk and poured it piece by piece for the little dog. Because he had been hungry for many days, the dog swallowed the milk slowly but his eyes were closed and he could not move, making him very worried. The second day, the dog was able to stand up but his 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 agile, wherever he went, the dog followed. He named the dog Mo Coi. Now every night, Tam is no longer lonely. He and Mo Coi play together until bedtime. Mo Coi crawls into his arms and lies still. They both sleep soundly.

Living with Tam, Mo Coi also suffered from hunger and thirst, but she still grew very quickly. A few months later, she was as tall as Tam's thigh and weighed nearly ten kilos. Before Mo Coi, Tam was often bullied and robbed of money by older street kids and drug addicts. Now Mo Coi is like a bodyguard. If anyone comes near and raises their voice at Tam, Mo Coi will show her fangs and growl, making the street kids pale and not dare to bully him. Mo Coi is also a great assistant in helping Tam collect scrap metal. Every day, Tam carries a sack, Mo Coi runs in front to find beer cans, plastic bags, soft drink bottles... When entering the garbage dump, Mo Coi jumps on the towering piles of trash to dig and rummage around. With Mo Coi's help, the amount of scrap metal collected increases day by day, and Tam has money to save.

A man knew that the Orphan was a very precious dog, so he begged to buy it. With the amount of money the man paid to buy the Orphan, Tam had never seen one in his dreams, but he refused to sell it.

Tam bought a shoe-shining kit in the hope that shining shoes would help him meet more people and, who knows, maybe find his father. From then on, in addition to shoe-shining time, he still went out with Mo Coi in the morning and evening to collect scrap metal.

Having been a shoe shiner for over a year, having shined shoes for many people, every time he finished shining shoes for someone, Tam would often bring out his father's picture to ask, but everyone shook their heads. Not discouraged, he still asked anyone when he had the chance.

One afternoon, Tam and Mo Coi went to the garbage dump, suddenly it started to rain heavily, afraid of getting his mother's diary wet, he quickly stuffed it into his chest, lying face down on the garbage pile despite the pouring rain. Mo Coi also lay prostrate beside him... After more than an hour, the rain stopped, Tam and Mo Coi were soaked and shivering. That night, Tam had a fever, his body was hot as fire. Mo Coi sat next to him, whining as if crying. Tam had a fever all night, and by morning his body was cold. Biting his shirt and pulling, but not seeing Tam move, Mo Coi ran out to the street to block the old lady who was walking on the sidewalk, making her panic. Mo Coi sat down, clasped his front legs as if begging. Seeing the dog's tears flowing, the old lady boldly stroked its head, the dog immediately bit her hand and pulled her away. Sensing something was wrong, the old lady hurriedly followed the dog. Stepping into the abandoned hut, seeing the child lying curled up, she suddenly understood. Touching the child, she felt he was cold, his eyes were white and dull, she quickly ran out to the street, called a taxi to take him to the hospital...
“What is he to you?” the attending physician asked. “I found him lying motionless in an abandoned hut so I brought him here. He must be a street child. Doctor, please try to save him. I will pay the hospital bill.”

A few hours later, Tam woke up.

“Are you awake? I was so worried!”. “Why are you here?” - Tam’s voice was weak. “I went to the market, your dog blocked the way and dragged me to you, saw that you had a high fever and didn’t know anything so I brought you here”. “Thank you, but where is my dog?”. Hearing Tam’s question, Mo Coi crawled out from under the hospital bed and jumped up, licking Tam’s face and neck, making the old lady very surprised. She exclaimed: “Oh my god! What a smart dog. You are so lucky to have it by your side. I have to go home now, but I will come visit you. I have some money for you to buy food”. “Thank you, I can’t accept your money. When my mother was alive, she told me not to accept anyone’s money if I haven’t done anything for them”. “You are such a good child, just consider it as me lending you money, when you have money, you will pay me back”. “Then I will accept it because I have no money left. I will definitely earn money to pay you back”… The old lady left the hospital room at the same time as the nurse entered. Seeing the dog, she shouted: “Oh my god… why did you let the dog in here!”. “He is my only friend, I hope you…”. “No, the doctor will scold you when he comes”. “Then I will ask him to buy a loaf of bread and tell him to come out”. Tam gave the twenty thousand to Mo Coi. Holding the money in his mouth, the dog ran out of the hospital gate, to the glass cabinet selling bread, and tapped it with his foot. The bakery owner was startled and stood still, watching. Seeing the dog holding the money in his mouth, his foot still tapping on the cabinet, as if suddenly understanding, he picked up the bread and asked: “You bought this?”. The dog ran over and dropped the money at his feet.

Taking a plastic bag and putting some cakes in, Mo Coi took the bag of cakes from the shop owner's hand and ran away, surprising everyone present.

Back in the hospital room, the orphan dropped the bag of cookies on the bed. The nurse opened her mouth wide, not believing her eyes. “You see,” said Tam. “He is very good. Please, doctor, let him stay with me. He won’t hurt anyone.”

Without answering, the nurse looked straight at Tam's face as if searching for something, making him tremble slightly, and asked in a low voice: "You look at me strangely, or do you think I'm a bad guy?". Tam's question startled the nurse, who quickly explained: "No, no, I just wanted to take a closer look at your face... I think I've seen you somewhere...". Having said that, the nurse walked out of the hospital room... Entering the head doctor's office, without saying goodbye, she said: "Mr. Tuan, I feel very strange". Doctor Tuan was working, looked up and complained: "I don't understand what you're saying!". "That little boy who wandered into the emergency room this morning, he's so strange! His nose, his mouth and his eyes...". "I'm impatient, tell me now! What's wrong with his eyes and mouth?". "They look exactly like you!". "What did you say?". "If you don't believe me, come and see."

…

Tam was sleeping soundly, the dog was lying next to him, seeing the doctor come in, Mo Coi immediately jumped down, ran to rub his head against the doctor, wagged his tail happily as if he had met a relative, it bit the doctor's sleeve and pulled him towards Tam. Something urged Doctor Tuan to
wish come soon

Looking at the innocent but intelligent dark face, a sharp feeling in his heart made him stop, memories suddenly pulled him back to his student days.

More than ten years ago, he met that girl. Her face was as bright as the full moon, her deep black eyes were filled with sadness, always looking like she wanted to cry. Chieu Thu - a name that was no less sad, along with the shyness of the first-year student made him fall in love. After nearly a year of pursuing her, on Chieu Thu's 19th birthday, he proposed... The following dates, Chieu Thu gave him a feeling of being overwhelmed with happiness, but when he brought Thu home to meet his mother, knowing that she was a farmer's daughter, living far away in the B'Lao highlands, his mother's attitude immediately changed, she coldly refused to meet him, quietly went back to her room, slammed the door shut, and even though he stood there for hours, she still didn't come out. She said that she would go on a hunger strike to death if he married a girl of unsuitable social status! Sadly, he brought Chieu Thu back to the dormitory. That was also the last time the two saw each other.

…

Tam woke up, confused when he saw the doctor standing there staring at him. “I’m sorry for letting the dog in here.” Tam’s words interrupted his memories, bringing him back to reality. Sitting down next to Tam, holding his hand, the doctor’s voice was gentle: “Your dog is very obedient, I like it too. Tell me about your life. Where is your family, why do you live on the streets?”. Hesitating for a moment, Tam began to tell: “I don’t have a father, my mother passed away two years ago. When my mother passed away, I was sent to an orphanage but I wanted to find my father. When she was alive, I sometimes saw my mother take out a picture of a man to look at and cry, she said that was my father. She said that my father was very busy so he couldn’t come back, one day he would come back. For the past few years I’ve kept the picture with me and have been looking for him but haven’t been able to.” “Can you show me the picture?” Tam took the picture and gave it to the doctor. As soon as he saw the picture, Doctor Tuan trembled. He tried to control himself and asked, “Did your mother leave anything else for you?” “There was also a diary.” “Can you lend me the diary for a bit? Can I go back to my room and look at it and then return it?” “Yes, I can.”

Returning to the room, dropping himself on the chair, Dr. Tuan quickly opened the diary.

Date... month... year... The first time I stepped into the university lecture hall, everything was unfamiliar. I had to try my best to not let down my parents' efforts.

Date... month... year... The first time I met him I was so nervous, when he asked me a question I just kept mumbling because I couldn't think of anything to say!

Date... month... year... The first time he took me out, we ate strange and delicious food but I didn't dare eat too much, afraid he would laugh...

Date... month... year... The second time we went out, he held my hand and my heart was beating like it was about to jump out of my chest!

Day... month... year... He proposed to me. A truly happy night being with the person I love. I couldn't resist... I just lay still, closed my eyes and felt the happiness, floating in the sweet light of the first time.

Date... month... year... The day I went to meet his family, I tried my best not to cry! When I got back to my room, he was gone, I cried until my eyes were swollen.

Date... month... year... His mother found me and asked me to stay away from him. The family had arranged for him to study abroad. For his future, I decided not to see him anymore, but why does my heart hurt so much, as if someone was crushing it!

Date... month... year... I'm twenty days late! I can't continue studying. I have to leave the university! I have to go out, I have to earn money to prepare for my child...

Closing the diary, he trembled, his mouth was bitter, his throat was choked. He could not believe that the person he loved would have to leave him in such extreme loneliness. In the first days of preparing to study abroad, he ran everywhere to find Chieu Thu, even to B'Lao, but all his friends and parents did not know where Chieu Thu was. Hundreds of phone calls only answered the subscriber... At the last minute of boarding the plane, he still hoped to receive a call from Chieu Thu. But, he waited in vain. After five years of studying abroad, returning to the country, he still did not have even a little news of Chieu Thu.

At that time, in the Central Highlands, the medical system was still lacking diagnostic equipment and doctors. He volunteered to work at a hospital near where Chieu Thu's family lived, hoping to use the knowledge he had learned to treat patients in that faraway land of B'Lao, with the hope that one day he would find the person he loved.

…

He walked heavily back to the hospital room, sat down, hugged Tam tightly and cried like a child, his voice choked:
“Tam!... You are truly my son... I'm sorry for everything....".

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