Chapter 4 — Appointment Under the Stars

During the following week, Ngoc Han was busy with the Chemistry midterm exam, temporarily putting aside all thoughts about the Astronomy club. But on Thursday afternoon, while cleaning up her desk drawer, she found the club introduction flyer she had stuffed into the bottom of her bag the day before, the folds crumpled from being crushed under a pile of books.

She sat blankly looking at the flyer for a while, then suddenly remembered Nhat Quang's words that night - "I was also afraid to look up at the sky." There was something about that simple sentence that lingered in her mind all week, like a small seed that silently sprouted even though she didn't mean to cultivate it.

She recounted that sentence to Yen Nhi during lunch on Tuesday, hoping her friend would help analyze whether she should continue to join the club or not.

"It sounds like he's understanding you," Yen Nhi commented, her eyes sparkling meaningfully. "Not the nosy kind, but the real... sympathetic kind."

"I don't think that much," Ngoc Han waved her hand, even though her cheeks were a little pink. "Just a random statement."

"Yeah, let's just say so," Yen Nhi smiled, not quite believing it but not forcing you to admit anything. "But I think you should come back and try again. Maybe this time it will be different."

During the remaining days of the week, in the midst of stressful study hours for the midterm exam, Ngoc Han kept thinking about her friend's advice, considering whether to continue to avoid it like she had for many years or try to step out of her familiar comfort zone for once.

On Friday night, she decided to go back, even though she still had many hesitations. This time, she arrived a little earlier, when Nhat Quang was alone preparing equipment on the rooftop, the other members had not yet arrived.

"Ngoc Han! You're back." Nhat Quang looked up from his unfinished work, his bright smile could not hide his happy surprise. "I thought last week was the last time you came by."

"I was just... thinking about it," she replied, a little embarrassed. "Besides, I still need to complete enough extracurricular activities."

"Is that so," Nhat Quang nodded, although his eyes didn't seem to completely believe that reason, but he didn't ask further. "You're early, want to help me get ready? There's no need touch the telescope if you're not ready, just organize these notebooks."

Ngoc Han nodded, sat down to help, feeling relieved to be assigned a specific job, not having to directly face that scary telescope.

While working, Nhat Quang started a conversation naturally, not asking directly about the reason she avoided astronomy, but instead told her about previous observations, about the time the whole club stayed up all night waiting for a total lunar eclipse but in the end it was completely obscured by clouds, causing the whole group to just laugh and look at each other.

"So it's not always successful," Ngoc Han commented, unable to help but laugh at that half-hearted story.

"That's right," Nhat Quang nodded, his voice still cheerful. "Astronomy teaches me an important thing: trying doesn't always have the expected results, but that doesn't mean you should stop trying. Maybe next time the sky will be clearer."

He stood up, brushed his hands off, and looked out at the gradually darkening eastern sky. "My grandfather once said that going to sea is the same. There were trips out to sea for a whole week without catching any fish, the sea was rough, the weather was bad, everything was against me. But he never gave up his job, because he believed that the sea, like the sky, is always fair to those who are patient enough to wait."

"Your grandfather must be a very special person," Ngoc Han said, unable to hold back the curiosity mixed with admiration in her voice.

"He is the most special person I have ever known," Nhat Quang replied, his eyes shining with pride. "If I have a chance to introduce you to him, I'm sure he will love telling you stories. He often complains that no one is willing to sit and listen to him tell sea stories anymore."

That sentence made Ngoc Han pause for a moment, an indescribable feeling rose in her heart. She looked at Nhat Quang diligently checking every screw on the telescope base. His patience and optimism were like a breath of fresh air blowing into her normally closed life.

As the other members gradually arrived, that evening's observing session began with a special event — Nhat Quang announced that a small, sporadic meteor shower could be observed tonight, not a major meteor shower but enough to create a few pleasant surprise moments.

Ngoc Han stood in her usual position, slightly behind the group, but this time she did not turn away completely, just looked up at the sky cautiously, as if testing the limits of her own endurance.

"Hey! One!" One member shouted excitedly, pointing to the eastern corner of the sky, where a thin streak of light had just passed by and then disappeared in just a split second.

Ngoc Han, reflexively, raised her head just in time to see the streak of light disappear, a strange feeling arose in her heart - not quite joy, not quite pain, but a complex mixture of both, as if an old door had just opened after many years of being closed.

"Have you seen it?" Nhat Quang turned to ask, his eyes bright with excitement.

"I see," Ngoc Han replied softly, her voice trembling a bit, her heart beating faster than usual, but this time it wasn't because of fear.

He looked at her for a moment, seemingly noticing a slight change in her attitude, but did not say anything more, just smiled and turned back to continue instructing other members to record the time and location observed in the common notebook.

Throughout the rest of the evening, Ngoc Han gradually became more open, even proactively asking a few questions about how to distinguish the constellations, making the Eleventh grade girl sitting next to her unable to hide her pleasant surprise at this obvious change. Nhat Quang stood not far away, occasionally glancing towards her with a secret smile, as if silently celebrating a small step forward that they both understood the meaning of.

"Do you want to try looking through the glass for a bit?" He asked again, this time his voice was gentler, without any pressure. "Just take a look, it's okay if you're not ready."

Ngoc Han hesitated for a second, took a deep breath, then nodded slightly, walking closer to the telescope for the first time since joining the club. She bent down, pressed her eyes to the eyepiece according to Nhat Quang's instructions, and in that moment, a dim area of light appeared before her eyes - not a single star, but a cluster of tiny stars, sparkling like diamond dust scattered on a deep black velvet background.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Nhat Quang asked softly, standing right next to him.

"So beautiful," Ngoc Han whispered, her voice full of surprise, forgetting for a moment the fear that was still present in her heart, her eyes still did not leave the eyepiece as if afraid that the sparkling image would disappear if she blinked even once.

Nhat Quang showed her how to rotate the lens to focus more clearly. His voice was low and patient as he explained step by step, not in a hurry even though other members were still waiting in line for their turn. "This star cluster is called the Rua cluster, also known as the Pleiades," he said. "Ancient people from many different cultures all have their own legends about it. Some places call it seven sisters, some places call it seven lost brothers, each a star, forever shining side by side even though they can't touch each other."

Ngoc Han listened to that story and somehow felt a deep sympathy for the image of stars shining close together but unable touch them, like a wordless metaphor for the distant relationship between her and her father.

"Thank you," she said softly, taking her eyes off the eyepiece and turning to look at Nhat Quang with a rare sincere smile. "I think... I might try to look a few more times."

"Whenever you're ready," Nhat Quang replied, his bright smile this time seemed even warmer than before.

That night, on the way home, Ngoc Han rode her bike slowly, looking up at the sky a little more than usual. She wasn't ready to completely let go of old hurts, but for the first time in years, she felt a meteor streaking across the sky no longer simply reminding her of her father's broken promises, but also carrying something new and gentler — a cautious invitation for her to try looking at the night sky with a different perspective.