Chapter 7 — Appointment Under the Stars

Saturday morning, Ngoc Han and Nhat Quang took the bus to the coastal area where Mr. Sau lived, a small old tile-roofed house located just a few hundred meters from the beach, surrounded by a few vegetable beds and a green gourd trellis.

"Grandpa, I'm home!" Nhat Quang called out loudly as he pushed the gate into the yard.

An older man walked out of the house, with a sturdy figure despite his white hair and tanned skin due to many years of exposure. His eyes lit up when he saw his grandson, then turned to look at Ngoc Han with curious curiosity.

"This is Ngoc Han, my clubmate," Nhat Quang introduced. "Ngoc Han, this is my grandfather."

"Hello, sir," Ngoc Han bowed politely, a bit nervous before the old man's sharp eyes.

"Hello," Mr. Sau replied, his voice was deep and warm, with a gentle smile at the corner of his mouth. "Come inside, I'll make some tea for you to drink. It's too hot to sit outside in the yard."

The house inside is simple but neat, the walls hang a few old photos of fishing ships, and a maritime map that has yellowed over time. Mr. Sau poured tea for the guests, then sat down opposite, his eyes never leaving Ngoc Han.

"Do you also like astronomy like Quang?" He asked directly, his voice somewhat questioning.

"I... am learning more," Ngoc Han replied honestly. "I didn't like it very much before, but recently I've started to find it more interesting than I thought."

"Is that so?" Mr. Sau nodded, his eyes softening. "That's good. Many kids nowadays only know how to look at their phones, not many of them look up to the sky anymore."

Nhat Quang told him about the plan to organize a meteor shower observation event to save the club. Mr. Sau's eyes lit up with excitement when he heard that.

“Perseids,” he said, nodding. "He remembers that one year, probably more than forty years ago, he was floating in the middle of the sea right during the big meteor shower. The whole train turned off all the lights, sat on the deck and watched the stars fall all night, so beautiful that no one wanted to sleep even though they had to work hard the next day."

"Can you tell us more?" Ngoc Han asked, her sincere curiosity overwhelming her initial shyness. "We need more real-life stories to include in the presentation."

Mr. Sau, seemingly very happy that someone really wanted to listen, began to tell a series of stories about trips to sea, about how sailors used the North Star to keep the right direction when the compass failed, about nights when the sea was rough and only the glimmering starlight could help the whole ship find their way back to shore safely.

"Back then, there was no satellite navigation like there is now," he said, drawing imaginary lines on the table as if he were sketching an old voyage. "Every captain must memorize the positions of dozens of main stars, knowing what time they rise and set according to each season. He still remembers, his vocational teacher in the past forced his students to draw star maps by memory, not to look at books, until they knew it by heart before they could actually board the ship."

"It must have taken a lot of time to learn it all," Nhat Quang commented, although he had clearly heard this story many times before but still seemed as excited as the first time.

"Three long years," Mr. Sau replied, his voice full of pride. "But once he memorizes it, he remembers it for the rest of his life and can never forget it. Now, even though his eyesight is much worse, he can still close his eyes and point to the correct position of each main constellation in the sky."

"Once," he continued, his voice low and full of nostalgia, "his ship encountered a big storm and lost contact with the mainland for three days. The locator was completely broken, so he had no choice but to rely on experience and the sky. On the third night, when the storm passed and the sky became clear again, he looked up and saw the Nam Tao constellation, determined the exact position, and led the whole ship back to safety. From then on, he always believed that, no matter how stormy life is, he just needs to look up. Look up, there's always something to rely on to find your way."

Those words made Ngoc Han speechless, an indescribable feeling of emotion rose in her heart. She thought about her own situation, about the years she intentionally avoided the night sky as a way to escape the pain, and wondered if she was missing out on the very "something to rely on" that Mr. Sau had just mentioned.

"Are you okay?" Nhat Quang asked softly, noticing the sudden pensive look on her face.

"I'm fine," Ngoc Han replied, trying to smile, even though her eyes were a little teary.

Mr. Sau observed both of them with the sharp eyes of a person who has gone through many ups and downs in life, seemingly realizing something behind her reaction, but he did not ask further, just quietly poured more tea, letting the atmosphere of the small house gradually return to its usual warmth.

"Honey," he said after a while, his voice gentle as if he was sharing something just for her, "I have lived to this age, witnessed many storms, many nights of rough seas, I realized one thing: the sky is never at fault. The fault is in what people assign to it. With the same star, some people see hope, others only see sadness. But that star, by itself, is always there, shining, not shining. judge, ask for nothing."

Ngoc Han looked up at him, not sure if he was referring to anything specific about her situation or not, but those words were still deeply engraved in her heart, like a new seed planted in soil that had been dry for too long.

Before leaving, Mr. Sau gave them both an old notebook with a faded leather cover similar to the one Nhat Quang used at the club.

"This is my old nautical notebook, there are a few blank pages left," he said, handing it to Ngoc Han. "I'll keep it and use it, maybe it will be useful for the club's records."

"Thank you," Ngoc Han said, hugging the notebook tightly in her arms, touched by that unexpected and meaningful gift.

"Next time you're free, come visit again," Mr. Sau advised, sending them both to the gate. "He likes to listen to us tell stories about school and clubs. It's much less sad than just sitting alone looking at the ocean all day."

"Yes, I promise to bring Ngoc Han to visit more often," Nhat Quang replied, bowing to him before they both walked out the gate, heading towards the bus stop.

On the way home, sitting on the bus, Ngoc Han flipped through the pages of an old notebook, looking at the faded handwritten lines recording coordinates, weather, and Mr. Sau's brief personal feelings after each trip to the beach.

"Thank you for bringing me to meet you," she said softly, turning to look at Nhat Quang sitting next to her. "Today is one of the most meaningful days I've had in a long time."

"He also likes you very much," Nhat Quang replied, smiling. "He rarely gave old notebooks to anyone, it was the keepsake he treasured the most."

Ngoc Han looked down at the notebook in her hand, her heart filled with a new warm feeling, and for the first time in many years, she felt like she was standing on the threshold of something greater than friendship, even though she was not yet ready to name it out loud.

The bus swayed slightly with each turn, the afternoon sunlight shining through the glass window illuminating both of their faces. Ngoc Han glanced at Nhat Quang sitting next to him, his eyes were half closed, perhaps a bit tired after a long morning of chatting with him. She observed the lines on his face in that soft light, realized she was staring intently longer than usual, then quickly turned away to look out the window, feeling her cheeks heat up for unknown reasons.

"What are you thinking?" Nhat Quang suddenly opened his eyes and asked softly, startling her.

"Nothing," Ngoc Han replied quickly, a bit flustered. "Just thinking about what my uncle just told me."

"You have many stories," Nhat Quang smiled, rubbing his eyes to become more alert. "I grew up listening to those stories, maybe that's why I love astronomy so much that I can't stop."

The two continued to talk softly for the rest of the way, the atmosphere between them becoming more and more comfortable and closer little by little, like two friends who had known each other for a long time, not just a few weeks ago.

When the bus stopped at the stop near Ngoc Han's house, the two got off the bus and lingered for a while before parting. "Thank you for the whole day today," Ngoc Han said, squeezing the notebook tightly in her palm. "I will keep this notebook very carefully."

"I believe you will do that," Nhat Quang replied, smiling. "See you at the club meeting next week."

She nodded, turned and walked home, but in her heart there was still the warm feeling of a long day with him, and Mr. Sau's profound teachings were still echoing somewhere in her mind, like a small lighthouse that had just lit up in the dark sea where she had locked herself in for many years.