Chapter 1 — A Nhu's Delirious Words

After coming back to life at the age of three, my aunt spread news throughout the village that my mother was having an affair. In my previous life, just because of one sentence from her, that night my father, as soon as he got home, beat my mother. Since that slap, the beatings never stopped. During the day, my mother kneaded dough at the breakfast restaurant, her arms were covered with bruises. Mom always wears long-sleeved shirts, even in the hot summer, she doesn't take them off. The eyes of the people in the village looking at her mother became increasingly dirty. The children even threw stones at their mother, scolding her as a "promiscuous woman". Mom couldn't bear it anymore, hugged me and jumped into the river. Only later did the truth be revealed. Turns out my aunt was jealous because my breakfast restaurant was doing so well. With just three sentences, she destroyed my entire family. When I opened my eyes again, my aunt was sitting in my yard biting melon seeds. As soon as she opened her mouth, she was about to splash dirty water on my mother. That same evening, I had a high fever that didn't go down for three days. People from the whole village came to see. I was so feverish that I was delirious, repeating the same sentence over and over again: "There's a man under your bed... I saw it..." 1 The room was so quiet that you could hear the crackling sound of the oil lamp. Do Mai Hoa was the first to react. She raised her voice and laughed loudly. "Oh my, she's so feverish that she's confused, isn't she? Can the ravings of a three-year-old child be believed?" She bent down, trying to touch my face. I screamed, snuggling deeper into my mother's arms. "No! On my hand there is the smell of a black man!" As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of the women standing outside the door immediately changed. People in the village believe that when children are unconscious with fever, they can see "unclean" things. Especially since I was only three years old. At an age where lying is not yet fluent. Mom hugged me tightly, her voice trembling. “Sister-in-law, A Nhu is sick, don't touch her.” Do Mai Hoa's face twitched. "Tu Nuong, what do you mean by that? Your daughter talks nonsense, do you also suspect that I follow her?" My father interrupted from outside, frowning. “What's all the fuss about?” Do Mai Hoa's face immediately changed. "Thu Sinh, I have to judge for you. You were kind enough to visit the child, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he said there was a man under your bed." After speaking, her eyes were still red. In her previous life, she was the same. First she cried, then she pretended to feel sorry for herself, and finally my mother couldn't explain herself even if she had a hundred mouths. Dad looked at me, then back at her. "She's so feverish that she's confused, sister-in-law, don't accept children." Do Mai Hoa laughed coldly. "Of course I don't tolerate a child. But it's hard to know who taught him these words." This statement is clearly aimed at my mother. Mother's face turned white. “Sister-in-law, I don't have it.” “What are you in a hurry for?” Do Mai Hoa raised her voice. “I just said one sentence and you felt like your tail was stepped on.” Outside the door, whispers began to sound. “This sentence doesn't sound right.” "Before, she said Tu Nuong seduced men, but now her daughter says there are men under her bed." "In the end, who is under the bed?" I closed my eyes, my heart gradually relaxing a little. It works. As long as people in the village start talking about Do Mai Hoa, she will no longer be able to concentrate on throwing dirty water on my mother. But I'm still too
small. Just soaking in cold water for too long, my body finally couldn't stand it. When the healer arrived, he checked my pulse and said the cold had penetrated my body and needed to be decocted and taken. Mom stayed up all night looking after me. Dad sat on the doorstep smoking cigarettes, not saying a word. When it was almost dawn, Do Mai Hoa left. Before leaving, she stood at the yard gate, glaring at me gloomily. I know she won't stop. Sure enough, the next morning, the rumor changed to another form and spread everywhere. "To Tu Nuong has a habit of being startled, teaching her daughter to bite people randomly." "The money she earns from that breakfast restaurant is not clean at all. Who knows what she relies on to make money?" "Phuong Thu Sinh is also pitiful, being cheated on but still helping others collect money." Mom's hand holding the bowl of vermicelli shook, hot broth splashed onto the back of her hand. Mother's face was white with pain but she didn't make a sound. A man going to the market deliberately smiled and said: "Tu Nuong, give me some more meat. From now on I will come every day to take care of your business." The people nearby laughed loudly. My father's face immediately darkened. He threw the money box down on the table. “If you eat then eat, if you don't eat then get lost!” The man was embarrassed and left. But I saw my father's chest rising and falling violently. The previous life was the same. First is doubt. Then anger. Finally, the fist fell on my mother. I grabbed my father's trouser leg and called in a childish voice: "Dad." I raised my little face, still red from fever. “Mommy doesn't have a black man.” “I just got it.” Dad's pupils shrank, and Mom immediately covered my mouth. “Ah Nhu, don't say nonsense.” But I still stared at my father, saying every word clearly: "Shiny shoes, under the bed." Dad's face changed. He attaches great importance to face. In his previous life, Do Mai Hoa had grasped this point. Just using a few gentle sentences drove him crazy. In this life, I have to stab that thorn back into her body. At noon, Cau Oa, a child in the village, ran to buy cakes. His mouth is very wide, he can't keep anything he hears secret. While mom turned away, I gave him half a cake. "Mr. Cau Oa, last night I saw a pair of shiny shoes in my aunt's house." Cau Oa's eyes lit up. “Really?” I nodded, deliberately lowering my voice. "It's not yours. You're wearing grass shoes." Cuu Oa took the cake and ran away. In less than half an hour, half of the children in the village were singing: "Bright leather shoes, hidden under the bed, in my room is a black man." When Do Mai Hoa came to the door, her face was distorted with anger. As soon as she walked in, she pointed at my mother's face and scolded: "To Tu Nuong, are you still ashamed? You're not clean enough to teach your daughter to harm me!" Mom was scolded by her to the point that she kept backing away. But my father suddenly stood up. “Sister-in-law, what are you in a hurry for?” Do Mai Hoa was speechless. Dad stared at the old canvas shoes on her feet. "Mr. Dai Dung wears grass shoes, where do you get shiny leather shoes in your house?" The eyes of the people standing in the courtyard watching the excitement immediately lit up. 2 Do Mai Hoa is, after all, someone who is used to arguing. She only blinked in panic, then immediately slapped her thighs and sat down on the ground. "Oh my god! My brother-in-law's whole family wants to force me to die!" “I married into the Lam family for more than ten years
years, serving the elderly, taking care of children, and finally having dirty water thrown on him by a three-year-old child!” Her cries were both shrill and resonant, quickly attracting people passing by. My uncle, Lam Dai Dung, was also called. He is an honest person, his face is blackened by the sun, and he still holds a hoe in his hand. Seeing Do Mai Hoa sitting on the ground crying, he immediately panicked. “What's wrong? Why all the noise again?” Do Mai Hoa rushed forward and punched him in the chest. “Your sister said I was having an affair! Are you in charge or not? Mother's eyes turned red. “Brother, I won't say.” “Don't say?” Do Mai Hoa pointed at me. “Isn't your daughter taught by you? How old is he to already know men's shoes? He awkwardly looked towards his mother. “Little sister, childish words cannot be spread around.” Mom opened her mouth but couldn't say a word. My heart was both painful and impatient. I slid down from the bamboo chair, walked in front of him and raised my head. “You.” He bowed his head and looked at me. “A Nhu, be good, don't say nonsense.” I bit my lip, tears falling drop by drop. “A Nhu doesn't say nonsense.” “That person is limping.” Everyone was silent. At the east end of the village there was a man called Trieu Cripple. When he was young, he fell and broke his leg. His wife passed away early. He often wears shiny black leather shoes bought in town. He likes going to the market the most, he feels it's very flattering. Do Mai Hoa's cry immediately stuck in her throat. “Fart!” Do Mai Hoa jumped up. “Are you all crazy? Relying on the words of a child to slander me! What relationship do I have with cripple Trieu?” In the crowd, someone whispered: "A few days ago I saw Mai Hoa coming back from the small road to the east." “She said to go dig wild vegetables.” “Are you wearing new clothes to dig wild vegetables?” Do Mai Hoa's face turned red. She rushed towards me and tried to hit me. “Damn you girl, I'll tear your mouth out!” Mom immediately hugged me protectively. That slap didn't hit me but fell on my mother's shoulder. A “pop” sounded. Mom was in so much pain that she moaned softly. My father's face was completely dark. “You beat my wife?” Do Mai Hoa still intends to continue to harass. But my uncle grabbed her. “That's enough! Go home!" I hid in my mother's arms and said hoarsely: "There's a red cloth under the bed." “The red cloth covered the shoe print.” This is not something I made up. In my previous life, after I died, my soul seemed to have been locked in the village for a long time. I once saw when Do Mai Hoa was asked to collect her debt, she pulled a red cloth package out from under the bed. Inside were cripple Trieu's leather shoes, and also a man's belt. At that time, no one cared whether she had an affair or not. Because my mother passed away. The truth comes too late, completely useless. In this life, I have to make it come a little sooner. Do Mai Hoa's face was as white as kitchen ash. My uncle's face also changed. “Mai Hoa, is there really a package of red cloth under my bed?” "Do not have!" She shouted. “Even you believe them? Lam Dai Dung, are you still a man? He was scolded to the point that he lowered his head. My father laughed coldly. “Yes or no, won't we know when we go back and see?” Do Mai Hoa's eyes rolled continuously. “On what basis are you allowed to search my house?” The more she stopped, the more excited the people in the village became. Nh
But in the end, he still didn't dare to immediately take someone home to search. He said bad things in the house could not be spread outside, then pulled Do Mai Hoa away. I know that's not enough. Just based on a few "delirious" sentences, she will think of a way to explain it away. She even hated my mother more. In the evening, dad drank wine. “To Tu Nuong, tell me the truth, are what you say outside true?” “Thu Sinh, do you even doubt me?” Dad roared: "If it's not true, why don't they say it's someone else and just you?" In his previous life, he also said this. Next, he will raise his hand. I panicked and rushed forward, hugging my mother's leg. “Dad, don't hit mom!” “Dad will force mom to die by the river!” Dad's hand stiffened in mid-air. It was as if something had suddenly taken his soul out of him, sitting on the chair all night without saying a word. But the next morning, the number of customers coming to the breakfast restaurant had decreased by half. The villagers' tongues still did not stop. I stood at the door, looking at the river behind the village. I knew I had to make a loud noise. Then use fire to completely burn away the fabric that hides this shame. 3 To the west of the village there is an abandoned brick kiln. That place is not far from cripple Trieu's house.