Friend in the infirmary

Illustration: Phan Nhan

1. Tall, slim, but very masculine. Long, naturally curly hair and eyes that are a mysterious microcosm. His most outstanding feature is his eloquence and ability to steer conversations. Sometimes witty and wise, sometimes thoughtful and speechless, very difficult to grasp. In short, he has all the "symptoms" of a man who makes a girl fall in love without intending to love him.

That day, he and I made a coffee date again. He invited me to have breakfast, I chose porridge. Knowing that I didn't like porridge, he asked why it was so strange, I said it was because my toothache had been so bad that it hurt like hell. He was worried: Why didn't you say anything? Then he stared at my mouth, revealing the unsightly braces - making me blush. After a while, he told me to take out my dentures and open my mouth for him to see. Oh, what? I could do anything he wanted except let the man I admired look at my empty mouth. It was scary, like a toothless female devil. But he said, take it off! He said it like an order, I knew he wasn't joking, which meant I had no right to refuse.

I opened my mouth shyly. He suddenly pressed his finger down on my gums, I was in pain and cried.

- Arrange to go to the dentist soon!

No, I'm afraid of the smell of hospitals. I made an excuse: I have a history of traumatic brain injury so I wanted to have some remaining tooth roots pulled out, the doctor said that without a prescription from a neurologist at Cho Ray, I wouldn't dare touch it. But it's been ten years now, medicine is improving every day, now I'll go back to the doctor to see how it goes. I shook my head, tears welling up. He said to just decide like that, if you don't want to, we'll break up today. I obediently nodded after that warning.

2. He took me to Nha Trang, a fairly large private dental center. He said this place was recommended by a close friend. The person who created it was a talented doctor, a former soldier on the battlefield, after liberation he passed the medical university entrance exam specializing in dentistry, then studied dentistry in France.

After the ultrasound and examination, a young dentist - with a thoughtful expression - said:

- Severe gum infection, red and swollen gums around the tooth root, many pus pockets appear.

He immediately asked the dentist: Is there still time to save it?

- If not treated promptly, the tooth socket will be damaged. If we don't do it now, in just one month, even a trillion dollars won't be able to save this tooth - the dentist exclaimed.

- But I have hemophilia… and… I stammered, then whispered in his ear, “And I don’t have enough money for such a big plan.” My lover then tactfully confided in the situation, and the dentist told them to wait a moment.

A moment later, a man still wearing white and blue but looking old enough to retire came out to greet us. He carefully looked at the medical records, hesitated a bit, then said:

- To do it thoroughly, it will cost time and money, but it must be done soon.

- But?

- Understood. Don't worry, if finances are not enough now, patients can pay in installments.

Oh, this is something very rare that I have heard. As if afraid that I would not believe him, he said:

- Since the opening, not just now, in case of "emergency", if the patient is in difficulty, we have a support program.

Ok. One big worry gone.

I lay on the table while they ground, drilled, and chiseled my few teeth. I lay there with my mouth open and tears streamed down my face. Not because of the toothache, but because of the pain in my heart. It had been ten years since the fall, and I still had to endure the pain. When would I ever stop suffering from it? Thinking about it made me unable to hold back my tears.

After three summer months, I got my permanent porcelain teeth. I thank my lover for giving me the motivation to revive myself. Because of that, my love for him has both worship and gratitude. And also, I want to thank from the bottom of my heart the virtuous dentist who gave me thoughtful and dedicated advice, and the chivalry that brought me a fruit basket as a reward after "inaugurating" the new chewing structure by gnawing on three corns at once to avenge the time when I sat there swallowing my saliva watching people eat.

- Teacher in Dong Hoa, which commune are you from?

Yes, Hoa Tan.

- Hoa Tan, I used to have a friend there but after liberation, he returned to his hometown, I continued my studies and then we lost each other.

- Is there no way to contact you?

- It must be because I'm too busy working. But in my mind I still miss you, there's something very uncomfortable, I also want to find you but keep putting it off. Sometimes I think pessimistically, I wonder if we will ever meet again in this life? In life, how many people can easily have a beautiful friendship and then not know how to preserve it...

He spoke but looked away to the door, not at us. Then he fell silent. I am bad at communicating so I didn't know how to break that tense awkwardness. Luckily, my lover helped me out:

- We are from Canh Phuoc, do you remember which village your friend is from?

- I don't know which village, but at that time he said his house was near Xom market. Because the market's name sounded strange, I kept remembering it.

Oh, what a lovely coincidence. I asked the friend his name. He said his name was Tan, Hai Tan. Oh, that's my dad, doctor, that's my dad...

3. The car stopped outside the alley, my father was already standing in front of the door waiting. Not having time to go inside, the two men with more than half of their hair already gray hugged each other, their arms making movements like they were arm wrestling when they were young, I understood that was their secret code of communication.

The old round wooden table where my father used to sit and drink tea every day, today there were distinguished guests, the table suddenly felt more solemn as it was witness to the reunion after so many years. I was sitting downstairs but because of my good hearing, I heard every word of the story of my two friends on the battlefield. The more I listened, the more I secretly admired them.

At that time, Uncle Thanh was a doctor in the battlefield. He was from the sunny Central region but had gathered in the North. It was hard to believe that a young man who had graduated from high school had temporarily stopped studying and joined the battlefield in the South. The Central Highlands battlefield was arduous and fierce. Lack of salt for a long time caused the bodies of doctors and patients in the infirmary to swell. As for my father, he was left in the infirmary because he was wounded in the face. Hungry, thirsty, sick, at night he only dreamed of eating a bowl of stale rice with a bowl of fish sauce with chili pepper from his mother. It was terrible, because he only ate his fill in his dream, so when he woke up he felt even hungrier.

In the war zone, death was always hovering over our heads, within an inch of our lives. That time, a bomb was dropped on the infirmary. My father, a sick soldier, was lying on top of the doctor who was treating his jawbone because of a crossfire. Struggling to sit up from the dirt and rocks, the two friends hugged each other like two relatives who had just returned from the dead. Another more dramatic time, when hearing that there would be a raid on the infirmary with a delegation using helicopters, the head doctor ordered the infirmary to be moved. A silent feat. The infirmary had 16 people, officers and staff. Moving through the forest was already difficult, now we had to carry a lot of equipment, medicine, and food reserves, and walk through the forest under the bullets. After so many hardships, we succeeded, and when the bombs were dropped, the infirmary was settled in a new, safe place. The entire infirmary was determined to endure hunger, thirst, and pain, not leaving any trace or clue. During that move, the patient soldier, my father, did his best to help the infirmary. That same time, Doctor Thanh lost his way to the new gathering place. A stretch of road had many small holes, the perimeter and distance between the holes were also evenly scattered. Panicked, it turned out to be an elephant path. The scholarly doctor tripped and fell headfirst into a hole on the side of the road, luckily tripped over a bush and ended up lying on the edge of the stream. And again, guided by the supernatural world , my father went to find a new friend, and finally brought the doctor back to the infirmary after several days of struggling with his leg wound. The wild fruits that his friend picked that day in the forest were more delicious than any delicacy in the world - Uncle Thanh recounted the story in a choked voice.

4. On April 30, 1975, the infirmary was still in the forest - when my father returned to his battalion and eagerly devoted all his strength to the final battle.

Around 5pm, Dr. Thanh was telling his story while tears slowly rolled down his cheeks - in the infirmary, he turned on the radio and heard the news that Saigon had been liberated since noon. The whole infirmary cheered with joy, even the forest rejoiced, bursting with sacred happiness after so many days of waiting.

Who would have thought that in just a moment, both of their heads would turn white. It was strange to think that two people who fought side by side in the fierce bomb and bullet wars of the past, now in peacetime, it was hard to meet each other… After Uncle Thanh finished speaking, the two friends raised their teacups and clinked them together…

At this point, I could no longer listen obediently and had to "impolitely" interrupt: Even though we are not together, the feelings between you and Dad, who met at the fierce infirmary years ago, are still sacred and inviolable... - the two cups of tea were lightly clinked and brought to the lips, two faces covered with wrinkles were looking at each other with all sincerity...

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