Chapter 21 — Appointment Under the Stars

Two days after that fateful call, Ngoc Han still had not fully regained her spirit, even though she tried to act normal in front of everyone in the club. Nhat Quang, noticing the awkwardness in her smile every time the event date was mentioned, silently arranged a special meeting.

"Do you want to come with me to my grandfather's house this afternoon?" he asked after class. "He just asked about you and wanted to invite you over for dinner. He said there was something he wanted to tell you."

Ngoc Han, even though her mood was still heavy, could not refuse that sincere invitation and agreed to go with Nhat Quang to Mr. Sau's small beach house after school. He welcomed them both with a familiar gentle smile, inviting them to sit down at an old wooden table on the porch, where they could see straight to the sea.

"Quang told me your story," Mr. Sau said, his voice deep and warm, after serving a few simple dishes. "I'm sorry for what your family is going through, but I also want to tell you an old story, maybe it will help you see things from a different perspective."

"Yes, please listen," Ngoc Han replied, her voice polite even though her heart was still chaotic.

"When he was still at sea, there were trips that lasted half a year, not being able to return home even for a day, even when his wife gave birth to their first child," Mr. Sau said, looking distantly at the sea that was gradually turning orange in the late afternoon. "He missed so many important moments in his children's lives, not because he did not want to be present, but because the sea and work sometimes do not allow people to make the choices they want."

"So do you ever feel guilty?" Ngoc Han asked in a small voice.

"Yes, guilt tormented me for many years," Mr. Sau admitted, his voice low and full of sincerity. "But you know, what I learned after so many years is that love is not measured by the number of times we are present, but by the efforts people make to maintain the connection, no matter how difficult the circumstances are. Your father, through Quang's story, seems to be trying in his own way, even though that is not enough to fulfill what you expected."

Ngoc Han remained silent, Mr. Sau's words touched a deep corner of her heart, causing her to rethink the way she was looking at the whole problem.

"I don't say this to defend your father, or to tell you to forgive everything easily," Mr. Sau continued, his voice gentle but full of weight. "I just want you to understand that, sometimes, your own happiness should not depend entirely on the presence or absence of another person, even if it is the person you love the most. You need to learn how to stand on your own two feet, find your own light, even when there is no one around to admire it with you."

"I think I understand what you want to say," Ngoc Han replied, her voice much calmer. "But I still find it hard not to feel heartbroken, even though I know I shouldn't let that pain completely dominate my life."

"Heartbreak is normal, child," Mr. Sau smiled and patted her hand. "I'm not telling you to pretend you're okay when you're not. I just want you to know that you have the right to be sad and continue moving forward. Both of those things can coexist, they don't have to be mutually exclusive."

The dinner that evening was cozy, interspersed with stories about the sea and the stars that Mr. Sau used to navigate on ancient voyages. Ngoc Han felt lighter when she left that small house, not because the pain had completely disappeared, but because she had found a new perspective, a gentler acceptance of what was beyond her control.

On the way home, Nhat Quang quietly walked beside her, not saying much, only occasionally glancing at her with eyes full of concern. "Are you feeling any better?" he asked when the two stopped in front of Ngoc Han's gate.

"I think so," Ngoc Han replied, smiling, a more genuine smile than in recent days. "Thank you for bringing me to meet you. What you said really helped me a lot."

"My grandfather always had such a profound perspective," Nhat Quang smiled, his eyes warm. "I'm glad that might help you feel a little better."

That night, before going to sleep, Ngoc Han took her father's star map out of the drawer, looked at it for a long time, and then for the first time in many days, smiled instead of crying. She realized that perhaps she did not need to wait for her father to appear to begin healing, but could take the first steps herself, carrying both pain and hope, towards the meteor shower that was approaching day by day.

The next morning, she decided to text Yen Nhi, recounting the entire conversation with Mr. Sau, not hiding the new thoughts that were gradually forming in her heart. "I think I understand something important," she wrote. "I don't have to wait for my dad to forgive me, or wait for him to appear before I can feel complete. My happiness shouldn't depend on someone who is always so far away."

"I'm so proud of you," Yen Nhi texted back immediately, along with a few heart emojis. "That's a big step into adulthood, not everyone is brave enough to look at things that way."

"Maybe thanks to Nhat Quang's grandfather to help me see things more clearly," Ngoc Han replied, a slight smile on her lips as she typed those words. "He has a special way of speaking that makes listeners feel understood without being judged."

At school, the club meeting that afternoon took place in a much more exciting atmosphere than the previous days, when all preparations were almost completed. Thanh Ha announced that the number of registrations to attend had reached the maximum allowed level, and the technical team confirmed that all observation equipment had been checked and calibrated for the final time, ready for the upcoming big night.

"Only three days left," Nhat Quang said, his eyes sparkling with excitement as he looked around at the group busy completing the final stages. "We have come a long way, from a club with only a few members at risk of dissolution, to now, preparing to welcome hundreds of people to admire the beauty of the night sky."

Ngoc Han looked around the living room, looking at each member's radiant and enthusiastic faces, feeling a deep pride welling up in her heart. Although the journey ahead still has a few small challenges to overcome, she believes that, with the companionship of these precious friends, she will be strong enough to face whatever awaits her.

At the end of the meeting, Mr. Dat stopped by to announce an unexpectedly good news: the local television station, after hearing that the scale of the event had been adjusted and approved, offered to send a crew to film a short report introducing the club and the event, scheduled to be broadcast on the evening news the day after it took place.

"This will be a great opportunity for the club to become more known and attract new members for the next school year," Mr. Dat said, his voice full of excitement. "I think you should prepare yourself, there may be a short interview with a few club representatives."

That news made the group even more excited, although there was also a bit of new pressure knowing that the final rehearsal needed to be more perfect than ever. Ngoc Han, although her heart still had the residue of the complicated emotions of the past few days, felt a new flow of positive energy gradually replacing the previous gloom, as if the light at the end of the tunnel was beginning to reveal itself after the stormy days she had just experienced.

On the way home with Nhat Quang that night, she told him the good news about the television station, her bustling tone completely different from the silence of the previous days. "Do you think you'll get an interview?" she asked, jokingly.

"It's definitely you," Nhat Quang smiled, looking at her with affectionate eyes. "You're the one with the most telling story — from someone who once hated the night sky, to becoming one of the most positive faces of the entire club. That's the most inspiring thing any show would want to exploit."

"I'm not sure I'm ready to tell that story in front of the camera," Ngoc Han said, a little embarrassed. "But maybe, at some point, I will be brave enough to share it, not because of the camera, but because I need to say it myself."

"When you're ready, I'll always be there to listen," Nhat Quang replied, his voice gentle, making Ngoc Han's heart strangely warm in the cool August evening, when the first stars were starting to dot the dark blue sky above their heads.