Chapter 2 — After Forgetting Your Husband

When he pushed the door open and entered, the room was filled with the sweet scent of white porridge. My daughter, named Tham Tue An (I knew her name was Tue An, called Tue Tue at home), was sitting on the edge of the bed, using a small spoon to cool the porridge and then feed it to me. Very nice name, I hope you have a peaceful life. But she was too thin, not like a child who had been carefully cared for. Her tiny wrists were gently squeezed to touch the bones. The door was pushed hard, Tue Tue's hand shook, porridge spilled onto the blanket. The girl immediately jumped down from the chair, quickly pulled out the tissue and wiped it: "I'm sorry mom, I didn't mean it." I held my child's hand: "It's okay, are you burned?" The girl shook her head, but her eyes stared blankly at the door. I followed my child's gaze. A man stood at the door, wearing a black coat, his shoulders still lingering with the cold air outside. Eyebrows and sharp eyes, lips pursed into a straight line. The first look he looked at me showed no concern. There is only scrutiny.

“How long are you going to cause trouble?”

He opened his mouth, his voice was low and cold like a piece of ice stuck to his ear. I looked at him: "Are you Tham Duat Hanh?" His eyebrows furrowed: "Mom said you lost your memory, I thought the doctor was overdoing it." Tue Tue took a half step back towards me, her whole body glued to the edge of the bed. I rubbed my child's head, raised my eyes and asked: "What relationship do we have?" Tham Duat Hanh walked in, threw the car keys on the nightstand, the sound of metal colliding made his eardrums ache.

“Husband and wife.”

He glanced at the porridge stain on the blanket, his eyebrows furrowed even tighter: "Even eating rice makes it dirty like this." Tue Tue whispered: "It was me who spilled it."

“Did you ask me?”

The girl immediately fell silent. A feeling of tightness in my chest came, as if my body had recognized this relationship before my brain. I said: "Don't talk to children like that." Tham Duat Hanh's eyes stopped on my face, he sneered: "If you lose your memory and still know how to defend your child, it seems you haven't forgotten everything."

“She is my daughter, can't I defend her?”

He looked at me for about two seconds, as if he had just heard a joke.

“Diep Tri Chi, if you had this toughness before, you wouldn't have sent yourself to the hospital.”

My hand that was lifting the blanket stopped. Tue Tue clutched my sleeve, her fingernails from the hospital gown digging deep into my skin. The child is afraid of him. Afraid of his own father. Tham Duat Hanh walked to the window and pulled out the curtain. The sudden light shone in, blinding my eyes and making the back of my head jump.

“What did the doctor say?”

“It might recover, it might not.”

He turned back: “That's good.” I looked at him. His voice was steady without any hesitation: "In the past, you liked to dig up old debts, but now you've forgotten it. Let's keep the house quiet." Tue Tue's breathing suddenly became disordered. I pulled her to sit next to me and asked: "What is old debt?" Tham Duat Hanh did not respond, took out his phone to look at the message. The screen shows a WeChat message, the sender's name is "Ha Tuyen". Ha Tuyen: *Duat Hanh, I have a stomachache again, please don't stay in the hospital for too long, I'm scared.* I saw it. And he knew I saw it, but he didn't even bother to hide it. He texted back: *Coming soon.* I asked: "Who is Ha Tuyen?" Tham Duat Hanh's finger stopped.

“You.”

Tue Tue suddenly spoke: "Dad lied." Tham Duat Hanh's face mumbled: “Tham Tue An.” Tue Tue cowered in fear, but still stiffened her neck and said: "Auntie Ha just call dad. Mom has a high fever, dad told the adults not to pretend. Aunt Ha complained of a stomach ache, dad drove to pick her up in the middle of the night." The hospital room was so quiet that only the sound of the infusion machine could be heard. Tham Duat Hanh stared at her: "Who taught you to say these words?" Tears circled Tue Tue's eye sockets: "No one taught me, I saw it myself." Tham Duat Hanh took a step forward.