Chapter 22 — Cartographer of Lost Roads

Ten days before the public consultation, Van Khue received a text message that made her blood run cold. A strange social network account, with no profile picture, no personal information, sent her a link with the short text: "You should see this before continuing to do foolish things."

The link leads to an article on a not very reputable news site, with a sensational title: "The Truth About the Group 'Exposing' the Kim Xuyen Riverside Project: Personal Motives or for the Community?" The article, although not naming names, was descriptive enough to recognize that it was a reference to Van Khue and Duy Khanh, accusing them of "taking advantage of historical stories to burnish their personal names", even vaguely hinting that "one of the campaign leaders had a personal motive directly related to a former cadre involved in the case", a roundabout way of speaking but enough to hint at the relationship between her and her grandfather, as if implying that she trying to "wash away the sins" of the family instead of truly serving justice.

Van Khue trembled as she read the entire article, feeling insulted and exposed at the same time. She immediately called Duy Khanh, her voice choked with anger and a bit of panic. "They already know about my grandfather, brother. They are trying to turn this story into a personal scandal, to discredit us before the consultation."

"Calm down," Duy Khanh said, his voice trying to stay steady even though he couldn't hide his worry. "This is a classic smear tactic — when the content cannot be denied, people will attack the motives of the messenger. We have done nothing wrong, the truth is still the truth, regardless of the motives of the person who discovered it."

"But if people believe that article, they will doubt everything we presented at the consultation," Van Khue said, her voice still shaking.

She told Mr. Tuyen this whole story that night, partly because she didn't want to hide anything from him anymore, partly because she needed advice from someone who had lived through many more ups and downs than her. He sat quietly listening, his face did not change as she feared, on the contrary, there was an unusual calmness.

"The more they attack individuals, the more it proves that they have no other way to refute the truth," he said, his voice slow but steady. "You know, in the past, when he was still wondering whether to redraw the map or not, Mr. Bon also used the same trick - not arguing about right or wrong, but just forcing him into the position of having to choose between his family and his conscience. That's what weak people often do, my son, playing on fear, on personal feelings, instead of facing the truth directly."

His words calmed Van Khue somewhat, and she became even more determined not to let those baseless accusations shake her or the group's spirit.

Lawyer Hoa, when informed about the incident, advised the group to stay calm, not overreact on social networks, and avoid getting into a useless argument that could obscure the focus of the story. "The best way to respond to a smear campaign is to let the truth speak for itself," she said. "At the consultation, let the evidence and witnesses speak for you. Once the public sees the sincerity and authenticity of what you present, those vague accusations will automatically lose their weight."

At the same time, another concern was also hanging in the air — according to information Kha Duy Thinh gathered from a few workers he knew working near the project area, the construction company had begun erecting a corrugated iron fence around the entire land, gathering machinery, and according to the internal schedule he overheard, the felling of an old banyan tree to open a road to the construction site was scheduled just three days after the public consultation — as a tacit signal that regardless of the results of the consultation Regardless, the company still intends to proceed according to the set schedule.

"They are playing a risky move," Duy Khanh commented when hearing this news. "Perhaps they calculated that, even if the consultation session went unfavorably for them, the final decision would still take time for the city to process, and during that time, if the demolition work had been completed, the request to restore the status quo would become almost impossible. The banyan tree, once cut down, cannot be replanted."

That news made the group even more determined, and at the same time considered a backup plan — if the consultation did not result in an immediate halt to construction, they would need to mobilize the community to organize a form of peaceful, legal protection around the banyan tree area, combined with sending an urgent application requesting the Department of Culture to consider recognizing the banyan tree as a "heritage tree" according to current regulations, a procedure that could help postpone felling while awaiting review.

Bao Nghi immediately began drafting a dossier to request recognition of a heritage tree, collecting photos, making preliminary measurements of the tree's trunk circumference through an acquaintance who was a park ranger, and synthesizing folk stories related to the banyan tree that members of the "Memories of Van Dang" group have shared over the years - the story of the banyan tree once being a shelter for the whole neighborhood during a big storm in 1972, the story of the tree's roots once embracing a bird's nest that continuously nested. For many generations, old people still believe that there is a tree god residing at the banyan tree, blessing their safe journeys back to sea.

"If this application is approved in time, at least we can keep the banyan tree, no matter what the outcome of the consultation," Bao Nghi said, her voice filled with determination as she presented her work progress to the group.

Three days before the consultation, Van Khue took Mr. Tuyen to meet lawyer Hoa in person to carefully prepare for his testimony. He sat quietly and listened to lawyer Hoa's instructions on how to present clearly and concisely, focusing on core events, avoiding overwhelming emotions and losing the persuasiveness of the testimony.

"You don't need to express yourself flowerily," lawyer Hoa said, her voice gentle but professional. "Just say what happened, in your true voice and emotions. Sometimes, simple sincerity is more persuasive than any carefully prepared speech."

Mr. Tuyen nodded, his hands were still shaking slightly from worry, but his eyes carried a clear determination. "I've been preparing for this moment for thirty years, though I didn't realize it until recently," he said, his voice low but firm. "I won't back down anymore."

That evening, when returning home, Van Khue received another call from Mr. Khai, her department head. His voice was somewhat different, no longer as worried and cautious as before.

"I just decided," he said, "that I will go to the public consultation, personally. I think it's time for me to also contribute some of the truth that I know, about the list of 'sensitive records requiring limited access' that I have seen. I can't keep silent anymore like I have been for so many years, Van Khue. You have shown me that sometimes, fear is not a good enough reason to remain silent."

Mr. Khai's promise touched Van Khue deeply, feeling more clearly than ever that the story she accidentally revealed from an old map has now spread, touching the hidden courage in so many people who once chose to stay silent out of fear, and is gradually awakening them, one by one, to step into the light together.

That night, Van Khue had difficulty sleeping, tossing and turning with a series of thoughts in her head - about the defamatory article, about the endangered banyan tree, about Mr. Khai's promise, about her grandfather's determined face when preparing for the upcoming consultation. She took out her notebook and flipped to the first pages, where she wrote down the first question when she first started this journey: "Where did Van Dang Hamlet go?" Looking back at those words now, she realizes that her journey to find answers has taken her much further than she ever imagined — not just finding a lost neighborhood on a map, but also finding a part of her family, finding a new love, and most importantly, finding the courage she never knew she had.

She texted Duy Khanh before falling asleep: "Tomorrow, no matter what happens, I will not back down." A few minutes later, her phone lit up with a short but powerful reply: "I'm always here, with you."