Chapter 26 — Appointment Under the Stars

After Ngoc Han's emotional sharing, the program continued with a short introduction on how to observe the Perseids meteor shower, performed by Nhat Quang himself. He guided the audience on how to locate the Perseus constellation in the sky, the starting point of the meteor streaks, and tips to be able to observe the most clearly with the naked eye without the need for supporting equipment.

At exactly nine o'clock in the evening, when the sky had turned completely dark, dotted with thousands of sparkling stars, Mr. Dat announced that the time when the meteor shower was expected to peak was approaching. The atmosphere in the crowd began to become excited, all eyes looked up to the sky, waiting in nervous silence.

Ngoc Han sat next to Nhat Quang in the organizing committee area, her hand clutching the phone, waiting for the prearranged call from her father. At that moment, the phone screen lit up, showing an incoming video call.

"Dad!" She exclaimed softly, quickly picking up the phone, her father's face appeared on the small screen, behind was a dark scene of the deck with a few flickering industrial lights.

"Ngoc Han, can you see dad clearly?" her father asked, his voice filled with undisguised excitement. "The connection is a bit unstable, but I can still hear and see you clearly."

"I see you very clearly," Ngoc Han replied, tears once again threatening to flow, but this time she smiled instead of letting sadness overwhelm her. She turned the phone around so her father could see the scene of the sparkling rooftop with hundreds of spectators waiting eagerly. "Look dad, this is everything you and I have built together over the past many months."

"So beautiful," her father exclaimed, his voice choked with pride. "I can't believe my little girl can do such amazing things."

At that moment, cheers rang out from the crowd as the first meteor appeared, a slender line of light streaking across the night sky, leaving behind a brief but mesmerizing trail of light. Ngoc Han quickly pointed her phone camera at the sky, even though she knew that the image quality on a small screen could not fully convey that beauty.

"See that, Dad? That first streak!" she exclaimed, her voice filled with excitement like a child's.

"I saw it, it's so beautiful," her father replied, his voice unable to hide his emotion. In those few seconds, even though they were hundreds of kilometers apart, both father and son still shared that magical moment, something that for many years, Ngoc Han had never dared to hope to be able to do.

During the next half hour, dozens of meteor streaks continuously appeared, sometimes sparsely, sometimes with up to three or four streaks at the same time, making the whole crowd constantly admire and coo. Ngoc Han, in the midst of cheering with everyone, did not forget to point the phone up to the sky so her father could witness it together, occasionally bringing the phone closer so that father and son could have a short conversation.

"You know," her father said in a rare moment of silence amid the cheers, "when I was little, your grandfather also took me to see a meteor shower, in this very sea. I promised myself that, when I had children, I would do the same thing. I'm sorry it took me so long to keep that promise, even if only in this way."

"It's okay, Dad," Ngoc Han replied, her voice gentle and tolerant. "The important thing is that Dad is here, right now, with you. That's the most meaningful thing."

The connection gradually weakened as the time to borrow the satellite connection was about to end, but before the call ended, her father was able to say one last sentence, his voice full of determination. "I promise, next time, when I have a long vacation, I will come back to visit you, not through the screen anymore, but for real, to see the stars here with you."

"I will wait for you, dad," Ngoc Han replied, smiling through happy tears, before the call was completely disconnected because the signal was too weak.

She put down the phone, looked up at the night sky that continued to glow with successive meteor streaks, feeling a complete peace and happiness spread throughout her body. Nhat Quang, sitting next to her throughout the call, gently held her hand, did not say anything more, simply was present, fully sharing that sacred moment with her.

"Thank you," Ngoc Han whispered, leaning her head on Nhat Quang's shoulder, her eyes still watching the streaks of light flashing across the night sky. "Thank you for always being here, walking through all of this with me."

"That's where I always want to be, next to you," Nhat Quang replied, his voice warm, squeezing her hand tighter as they both looked up at the sky, where hundreds of twinkling stars witnessed a night that they both knew they would never forget for the rest of their lives.

Around them, the entire terrace area was filled with a festive atmosphere, with sounds of admiration mixed with bustling laughter every time a bright meteor appeared. Children were held on their parents' shoulders to see more clearly, young couples held hands and whispered their wishes, and a group of TV reporters were still diligently recording every memorable moment to prepare for tomorrow night's news.

Yen Nhi, sitting not far away with a few classmates, kept taking souvenir photos, occasionally turning to wink and tease Ngoc Han and Nhat Quang who were sitting next to each other. Thanh Ha and her technical team are still standing by the telescopes, instructing small groups of guests to take turns observing close-up beautiful details in the night sky through specialized lenses.

Mr. Sau, sitting next to Ms. Lan in the front row, occasionally pointed to the sky, explaining to her the familiar constellations that he had learned from his years at sea. “That constellation is Thien Hau,” he said, his voice filled with pride. "In the past, sailors used it to navigate when they lost their compass at sea."

Ms. Lan listened attentively, occasionally nodding, her eyes never leaving her daughter who was passionately enjoying the happy moment with Nhat Quang in the distance. She felt her heart filled with a deep comfort, when she witnessed her daughter, after many years of suffering, finally finding her own light and complete happiness, under the same night sky that she had hated for a long time.

Around ten o'clock in the evening, the frequency of meteor streaks reached its peak. There were consecutive moments when four or five streaks of light flashed across the dark sky at the same time, causing the entire crowd to simultaneously burst into cheers of admiration. This is the moment that the whole club has carefully calculated and timed the peak of the meteor shower to bring the most complete experience to attendees.

"Look!" a young boy sitting nearby exclaimed, pointing to the sky when a particularly bright meteor appeared, leaving behind a trail of smoke that lasted for a few seconds before completely disappearing. The sound of applause and admiration echoed throughout the rooftop area.

Ngoc Han looked up at that scene, her heart filled with a deep sense of gratitude for everything that was happening — for the magical beauty of the universe, for the love of the people around her, and for the long and arduous journey that she herself had courageously walked through to be able to stand here, tonight, fully enjoying this moment without being bound by any old fear or hurt anymore.

Near eleven o'clock at night, when the frequency of meteors began to decrease, Mr. Dat went on stage again to thank all the guests for taking the time to attend, and announced that the observation area would continue to be open for another hour for those who wanted to stay and admire the night sky longer. Most of the audience began to leave clearly satisfied and emotional, many people stayed to take commemorative photos with club members before leaving.

"Tonight was successful beyond my imagination," Thanh Ha said, running to hug Ngoc Han and Nhat Quang, her voice still shaking with excitement. "I heard many parents talking about wanting to register their children to join the club from the beginning of the next school year."

"We did it," Nhat Quang said, his voice both relieved and proud, looking around the terrace area where there were still a few groups of guests lingering to look at the stars through telescopes. "All the efforts over the past months have finally paid off."

Ngoc Han smiled, looked around at the warm and joy-filled scene around her, feeling a deep contentment that she knew she would remember forever, no matter how many years passed.