Chapter 29
Familiar and Strange
November 6
Family has always been everything to relatives. Whenever they have been tired, relatives return to their families and forget all their worries. As long as they are together, even if "affection" is confused because of someone, and even if the "intention mind" is melancholy because of flowers blooming for "love", the heart becomes calm after the storm of gratitude-affection.
Amid quiet waves and calm winds, Thanh Hang "accidentally" brings flowers to visit relatives. The flower smiles gently at the statue. The smile brings peace to the mother, and the solemn bow wins the affection of Sam and his father.
Ironically, the statues are waiting for someone's figure to come back. The flower blooms again because of the figure in the heart of the statue. So the flower is friendly but cannot be familiar with the statue.
The heart is as calm as water, but now immediately waves rise again. Affection becomes infatuated again, and the mind of intention becomes confused again, entangled by the red thread that binds them together.
The statue is hidden in the darkness. Fate does not let go but is entangled with hundreds of silks.
God teases the predestined wrong, while the Silk Old Man and the Matchmaker Goddess guide the relatives to show the way for the flower to visit the statues.
The statues greet its loved ones but do not respond to the flower. Hanna is surprised by the indifference, but she still smiles softly the first time she is ignored by others. The flower still heads for the center of the storm.
Every relationship begins with sincerity. A pure flower falls into a situation that easily causes those with feelings to misunderstand her. Under the unfamiliar gaze of the statues, the flower becomes "fake."
The mother frowns, finding it hard to understand the minds of her family members. She hasn't said who Hanna is yet, and the family members keep their distance in front of the girl, each of them building an invisible barrier with silence. The young have their own reasons, and it is inconvenient for the elderly to intervene. She says simply:
- Hanna will have a bone marrow test tomorrow!
The "fake" flower can't yet be "real" in the eyes of the statues. Regardless of whether the flower is "real" or "fake," this decision rekindles hope for Luu Ly. Even if their dearest person lives or dies, the statues must bow to thank the flower.
The statues have not been insensible objects.
The "statues" are affectionate people.
The flower is happy because the statues are more sympathetic to her. Hanna smiles softly:
- Luu Ly will live. Such a cute little girl, the Grim Reaper can't bear to take her life!
Luu Ly coughs and calls her mother:
- Mother, I am thirsty.
Luu Ly's sudden fainting is common in hospitals, and doctors, nurses and family members take turns on duty to guard against unexpected situations. The little girl has been awake for a few days, breathing steadily, but her face is pale and haggard.
The second time she meets her youngest granddaughter, Thanh Hang no longer lowers her head and cries under her granddaughter's thin body. The grandmother struggles to resist the suffering that always pushes her to collapse. The breadwinner comes to her descendants with a forced smile to liven up the spirits of the relatives.
- Luu Ly!
Luu Ly greets her with a smile, and the little girl raises her eyebrows in surprise:
- Oh, grandma is crying?
Thanh Hang wipes away her tears in a hurry:
- Oh no, it's just dust flying into my eyes!
The Lan sisters and Ngoc lower their heads and secretly wipe their tears. Every time Luu Ly has met her relatives, she has always been busy talking, laughing, and telling stories. The little girl has just said a few words when she suddenly has a severe cough. The relatives gather around Luu Ly, and Hanna is the first to react. She and Ngoc panic, helping Luu Ly.
Ngoc and her daughter hurriedly help Luu Ly take her medicine, but the little girl vomits as soon as she drinks it. Her face is pale, and she keeps vomiting dryly. Fear makes Hanna's pupils dilate, and she hurriedly massages Luu Ly's acupoints.
Ngoc is in a state of confusion; Hanna behaves strangely. Anxiety suffocates her spirit, making the mother forget everything, blurting out:
- What are you doing?
Everyone is stunned, not understanding what Hanna means. The girl urges the Lan sisters to call the doctor immediately, but the phone is out of signal, so the girls hurry to find one. Hanna gently strokes Luu Ly's chest area.
- My family has a medical tradition, and I have saved people in this situation before. Her blood is unstable, and I'm afraid it's too late for doctors to help!
Hanna has been the only one who has brought a dream back for Thanh Hang. The girl in the dream has never turned pain into a nightmare. The offspring are separated by invisible barriers, so the mother must act as a bridge to bring her family closer. Thanh Hang puts her hand on her daughter's shoulder:
- Don't hesitate any longer!
The flower has always wanted to be friendly with the statue family. The dearest one always believes in the flower. Last night, the statue understood the "heart" of the flower. That heart is giving the little girl warm emotions, and the sincere heart convinces the statue to believe in the flower.
Hanna concentrates on massaging the acupuncture points. Luu Ly breathes evenly every minute and every second, the little girl stops dry vomiting, but continues to cough.
The Grim Reaper lets go of his scythe, and the angel appears. The doctors run into the room with the Lan sisters. Hanna wipes the sweat from her forehead and steps back to let the doctors save the patient. Luu Ly is more stable but fear still crushes Thanh Hang's heart, scratching every trace of fear on Ngoc's and her daughter's faces.
- The patient is in a stable condition. - The female section chief carefully advises the female doctors - From today on, you will take turns to watch over Luu Ly 24/7. Don't make any more mistakes! - The section chief says to the youngest doctor - Hong, you take care of the patient today!
Ngoc and her daughter are overjoyed, and the whole family bows to thank the doctor. The female chief of the department immediately corrects the credit:
- The person who deserves the thanks is Hanna! Luu Ly has a pulmonary embolism, and her blood circulation is blocked. She helped Luu Ly regulate her blood and breathing, so we were able to save the little girl!
The female chief of the department says goodbye to everyone. The doctors follow her out of the ward. All attention turns to Hanna. Hanna risks her life to save Luu Ly. If she failed, Hanna would become a sinner.
If she had been indifferent to Luu Ly, she would have avoided every danger of falling into the center of the storm. Ordinary people would, of course, stand with their arms crossed and watch. But Hanna does not turn a blind eye; she disregards everything to save the patient from the Grim Reaper's scythe.
The pure flower is carefree without calculation.
The statue is embarrassed in front of the flower.
The moment the flower bloomed for love, indifference enveloped feelings for the flower. Now the statue cannot remain unfeeling.
Suong is no longer cold; the frost ice melts in the flower's warm feelings for her family.
Lan timidly lowers her head. Her fingers twist and intertwine awkwardly. The girl is afraid that the flower will see her confused and shy face.
Ngoc is embarrassed by the flower. She once felt a pang of heartache when the flower exuded a mellow fragrance in her mother's dream. She was once indifferent when the flower bloomed for love. But now, she can no longer be "insensible" to the pure flower.
The three stone statues bow their heads in shame before the sincere heart.
The flower that bloomed for love now emits fragrance for the statues.
The flower is no longer strange in the eyes of the statues.
The flower is real, not fake.
Sincerity restarts the old relationship. The mother and her two daughters express their thanks according to Hanna's hometown ritual. Bowed postures replace gratitude and an apology for doubting the flower. The flower responds with a sunny smile that dispels the darkness surrounding the flower and statues. The flower and statues move towards Luu Ly together.
The mother quietly builds a bridge for her offspring to meet. God does not let down those who are pure-hearted. Finally, empathy can help the mother lead her loved ones to go in the same direction and return on the same road. That delightful empathy opens a festival in Thanh Hang's heart. The mother is about to enjoy the joy of reuniting with her family.
Affection warms the cold air. Nature sympathizes with humanity. The golden sun emits a soft glow, dispelling the darkness, and the bleak room is brightened in the morning light.
Not sure whether it is the warmth of the sun or the warmth of people, but there is no more doubt, no sorrow or confusion. The invisible barrier dissolves in the warm human feelings.
- Thank you for saving me, sister! - Luu Ly looks at Hanna with round eyes - But who are you, sister? I have never seen you.
The statues approach Luu Ly calmly, and their hearts are once again shaken by a question not meant for them. The flower smiles gently to hide her shyness.
- I'm a friend of your family!
Thanh Hang smiles slightly, satisfied with Hanna's clever answer. The innocent little girl still confuses the adults with her cute questions:
- So, are you a friend of my sister, my mother or my grandmother?
Hanna doesn't have the courage to tell the truth. She doesn't want to lie to the innocent little girl, so she hesitates, wants to speak but stops. She doesn't know how to answer to avoid embarrassment. The curious people standing outside are full of suspicion, whispering and discussing:
- Hey, that girl looks familiar.
- She looks like Hanna?
- That mysterious girl?
- Why is Hoang Kim's mom here?
When Luu Ly hears the "mysterious girl", she smiles like a flower:
- Ah, I know. Sister is my uncle Kim's girlfriend?
It seems that the statue's heart is quiet and the flower's heart is calm, but the innocent question once again raises distracting thoughts. The statues bow their heads silently and linger with their restless monkey mind. The flower is shy and oscillates with the hazy horse-will.
The person who brings the flowers to the statue is worried that the gossiping crowd will be arousing greed, hatred, and delusion towards the family. Fearing that the world would nitpick, she and Hanna visited while the worldly people were still asleep.
The worldly people get out of bed, but refuse to awaken from the fascination. Sooner or later, the family faces the storms of life. Unfortunately, the son has not recovered yet, so there is no one to steer the boat, the tossing boat will sink in the storm.
A flock of vultures is relentlessly pecking at the bodies of their loved ones, and the carrion eaters gnawing even the bones will raise a family tomb with the epitaph carved by the world's gossip. She hesitates, and the melon trade crowd will gossip with the world[1]. The mother frowns and barely stands up. Doctor Hong is one step faster than Thanh Hang, and the one who saves people drives away the owls that are peeking into the ward[2]:
- Do you all want to breathe in all the air of the patient?
Agreeing with the doctor, a clear voice echoes in the corridor:
- The patient has difficulty breathing, who is responsible?
A bunch of nosy people turn around, stunned and unable to close their mouths. They stare at the beauty from head to toe with eyes brightly opened wide. The girl is stared at and immediately gets angry:
- What are you looking at? Get out of here!
No matter how thick-skinned you are, you must also be ashamed when being scolded by a woman. The gossiping crowd sneaks away. The lechers try to sneak a peek at her, with Miss-like measurements, making their eyes burn. The girl doesn't care, walks away with a smile to visit the patient.
- Hi everyone!
The Lan sisters smile brightly at the teacher. Ngoc turns from sadness to joy and holds Loan's hand. Luu Ly crosses her arms and greets the teacher. Loan praises the little girl's politeness and approaches her. The slightly opened smile immediately vanishes, and her steps halt as if being held back by a "stranger" yet familiar.
In the past few days, the stranger had been in contact with the media. The world carefully examined every word and every move, but the stranger never wavered in spirit. Now, Thanh Hang's iron-willed mind is thrown off in front of Loan, who is meeting her for the first time.
Ngoc hesitates, wants to introduce Thanh Hang, but in the end she says nothing. Her two daughters are shy. Ngoc is confused and does not dare to glance at Thanh Hang, as if a nation's mother appearing in a civilian family is an earth-shattering secret.
The awkward atmosphere reminded people of the relationship between Ngoc's mother and daughter and Hoang Kim. The complicated story makes it difficult for Loan to understand, and the intelligent teacher can't explain the feelings of mother and two daughters. Now, by chance, the curtain of secrecy is about to be unveiled, the second half of the truth is still hidden in the minds of insiders.
Everyone behaves strangely. Luu Ly smiles innocently and talks to the strange girl. That girl bows to Loan. The traditional way of socializing already reveals the other party's origin. These days, the media have been scrambling to report a mysterious girl from The Sun Kingdom.
The girl who has caused the public opinion to surge is here. The media have fabricated a story that God gave her gorgeous, noble and proud beauty, an aristocratic family, and a luxurious life that made her arrogant like a princess.
Hoang Kim's rumored girlfriend is very friendly to strangers, which completely contrasts with the media's portrayal of her as a puppet in luxurious, ornate clothing. Loan raises an eyebrow and watches the girl's sunny smile.
Loan used to communicate with first ladies, charming misses, or noble gentlemen; everyone was polite to each other at all times, everywhere. That kind of "sincerity" is a fake mask compared to Hanna's way of dealing with worldly people - more real than any hidden facts. But abnormal sincerity becomes fake, forcing Loan to be skeptical. Even though the teacher is suspicious and is sizing up Hanna, she responds to the mysterious girl's social bow with a slight smile.
The family dares not introduce Thanh Hang. The mother of the nation's hero remains silent. Loan cannot ask casually about things people want to hide. The teacher smiles and greets Thanh Hang, while the mother nods quietly.
The unnatural expression restrains her feelings, and she avoids facing Loan for too long. Thanh Hang gently pats Luu Ly's head. The little girl hi hi, hugs her grandmother, and chirps like a skylark, happily talking and laughing with one person after another.
Carefree children help adults release stress. Everyone laughs at themselves and encourages themselves to surpass the storm waves. The wind has just begun to rise, and the family's oars are already rocking unsteadily in their hands. Loan is a benefactor, but the mother and daughters are still uneasy, let alone facing the worldly people.
If the mother and her children do not cast away their burdens and live, they should not expect peace with the tongues and mouths of the world for the rest of their lives. Thanh Hang and her offspring forget all their sorrows and chat with Luu Ly.
Thanh Loan smiles and watches them relieve the pressure. Everyone conceals their own thoughts, so she should not probe out of curiosity. The teacher and Hanna are happy to share the family's happiness.
At this moment, there is no difference between strangers and familiars. Acquaintances or strangers are quietly by the side of the person they care about.
Sam has been standing outside the door for a long time. Although Loan is the teacher of the Lan sisters and the elder sister of that "girl," Sam feels uneasy. He worries that someone might blurt out something. Sam always maintains the belief that he doesn't trust anyone except his family and close brothers. But his mother still smiles, jokes with her offspring.
His mother is most worried about exposing family affairs. She is not afraid, so he has no reason to worry. He informed his mother that Truong Xuan, Anh Tuan, and the track and field team had come to visit Hoang Kim.
Thanh Hang is afraid that Hanna will stay for a long time and Luu Ly will ask about Hoang Kim again, so she says goodbye to everyone and goes to receive the guests.
Loan lingers and plays with Luu Ly until the evening before leaving. She walks to the door, and the mobile ringtone goes off; she picks up the phone, but there is nothing. The teacher laughs upon mistaking the ringtone and listens as Ngoc answers the phone. Furrowing her eyebrows, Ngoc says she will be there soon. She turns off the phone and asks Hong to take care of Luu Ly.
- We're going home for a while.
Ngoc lovingly strokes her sleeping daughter's hair. The mother and her two daughters say goodbye to the teacher and leave the hospital soon.
Notes
[1]The phrase 'melon trade crowd' refers to people who pry, gossip constantly, spread rumors, and speak ill of others.
[2]People also use the image of "owl eyes" to refer to a person who is picky and fierce. The appearance and eyes of an owl represent fear to them, so there is a saying: "an owl looks at the ward," or "peeks into the hospital like an owl," to describe someone who has malicious intentions, is rude, and wants to harm others.