Chapter 22 — Contract of the Heart

The following Sunday, Thảo Nguyên chose a quiet afternoon, when the whole family was not busy, to sit with Mrs. Xuân in the living room. She brought along the old letter Mr. Minh gave her, along with two black and white photos placed side by side, her heart pounding because she was nervous and didn't know how to start the story.

"Grandma," she began, her voice trembling slightly. "I have something to tell you, about... about Mr. Bảo Tín."

Mrs. Xuân looked up, her eyes slightly surprised when she heard that name mentioned, the name that she had never proactively said for many years, and was now mentioned so clearly by her granddaughter.

"You know his name?" She asked, her voice a bit confused.

Thảo Nguyên nodded, slowly placing the letter and two photos on the table in front of her. "I'm sorry for not saying it sooner, but I wanted to make sure everything before telling you. Việt Anh is Mr. Bảo Tín's grandson, grandma."

Mrs. Xuân took the letter, her hands shaking so much that Thảo Nguyên had to help her open it. As soon as she read the first lines, her face turned pale, then turned red with pent-up emotions, and tears began to flow uncontrollably.

"This... this is truly your handwriting," she said, her voice choked, her trembling fingers caressing each line of letters that had become yellow over the years. "I remember this letter. This was the last letter I sent him, before my family moved away because of the war."

"Mr. Bảo Tín kept it all his life, ma'am," Thảo Nguyên said, her voice equally choked. "Việt Anh's father said that he used to go to the tea shop to wait for her every first Sunday of the month for nearly a year, before he had to give up hope."

Mrs. Xuân burst into tears, the tears of half a century of waiting and regret were finally released. Thảo Nguyên hugged her, let her cry completely, not trying to stop or comfort her with empty words, simply being present next to her in this emotional moment.

"Back then," Mrs. Xuân said, her voice still choked up after calming down a bit, "every time he came to her house to visit, he always brought a hibiscus flower picked along the way, saying that hibiscus flowers bloom in the morning, wither in the afternoon, but every day there are new flowers, just like his feelings for her — every day is as fresh as the first." She laughed softly through her tears, her distant eyes seemed to be reliving the days of her youth. "She thought it was the cheesiest thing she'd ever heard, but she never forgot it."

Thảo Nguyên listened, imagining a young Mrs. Xuân, shy before the clumsy love confessions of an eighteen-year-old boy, completely different from the image of the serious, thoughtful grandmother she knew every day.

"He studied very well," she continued, "planning to enter pedagogical school, dreaming of becoming a Literature teacher. Maybe that's why she always has a special affection for people who love words and literature." She looked at Thảo Nguyên, a light of understanding flashed in her eyes. "Perhaps that's also the reason why she always supported me pursuing a writing career, even without realizing it myself."

"I don't know," Ms. Xuân said after she had calmed down somewhat, her voice still shaking. "She didn't know he still kept that letter, still waiting for her for so long. She thought he had forgotten her a long time ago, had a new, happy life, and no longer had anything to do with her."

"I won't forget you," Thảo Nguyên said softly. "Việt Anh's father said that until his death, he still kept the wooden box containing these letters as the most precious souvenir of his life, even though he had a happy marriage with Việt Anh's grandmother."

Mrs. Xuân nodded, a sad but warm smile gradually blooming on her lips. “That's good,” she said, her voice much calmer. "She's happy that he had a happy life, even if not with her. That's the most important thing."

"Grandma," Thảo Nguyên said, holding her hand tightly, "I think, this is not a coincidence. Perhaps, fate has arranged for her and your unfinished story to find a way to continue, through our generation."

Mrs. Xuân looked at her granddaughter, her eyes filled with a complex emotion - both emotional, surprised, and as if she was gradually understanding something greater than what she could express in words right now.

"So," she said, her voice soft, "from the first time she met Việt Anh, the strange familiar feeling she felt was not something she imagined. Perhaps, subconsciously, she recognized a part of him in the boy."

"I think so, grandma," Thảo Nguyên replied, smiling through the tears still on her cheeks. "Việt Anh's father was also very touched when he heard about it, and wanted to invite her to an official meeting, so that the two families could review old stories."

Mrs. Xuân nodded, wiped her tears with her hand, a new peace gradually spread on her face. "I really want to meet his son," she said. "To thank him for living a good life, to tell each other what happened during those years of separation."

She was silent for a moment, her eyes looking far out the window, where the late afternoon light was dyeing a soft orange color on the small yard. "You know," she said softly, "there are times when I wonder, if that day I had had the courage to wait a little longer, or if that letter had reached you sooner, how my life would have turned in a different direction. But looking back now, I think everything happened exactly as it needed to happen, eventually leading to this moment, between you and me, with the story completely told after all these years."

"I will arrange a meeting as soon as possible," Thảo Nguyên said, then hesitantly added a question that had been lingering in her mind all along. "Grandma, knowing this, do you feel... do you feel awkward when looking at Việt Anh? After all, he is the grandson of the person you once loved deeply."

Ms. Xuân shook her head immediately, without any hesitation. "No, dear," she said, her voice firm. "On the contrary, she feels like a circle has been completely closed. She no longer has any regrets about the past, but instead has an indescribable joy knowing that, through her grandchildren, her and his story is still continued in a much more beautiful way than she ever dared to dream of."

"I'm glad you think so," Thảo Nguyên said, squeezing her hand.

Thảo Nguyên hugged her tightly again, filled with a great feeling of relief. The hardest part of the family secret had finally been revealed, and received in the most beautiful way possible — not with pain or resentment, but with understanding and a new happiness that was gradually emerging from what seemed buried over the years.

But even while that joy was still spreading in her heart, Thảo Nguyên also knew clearly that the most difficult part was still ahead - confessing to her about the true origin of the relationship between her and Việt Anh, about the lie that silently started all the wonderful things that were happening right now.

That night, after she went to bed with a rare peaceful face, Thảo Nguyên texted Việt Anh recounting the entire conversation. "She received it very well," she wrote. "Even said she felt like a complete circle had closed. I've never seen her so emotional and at peace at the same time."

"I'm so happy," Việt Anh replied immediately. "My dad also texted to say he was looking forward to the meeting between the two families. Maybe we should organize it before the birthday party, so that Uncle Xuân has time to mentally prepare and both families have a chance to understand each other better before everyone meets in full."

"Agree," Thảo Nguyên texted back. "But there's one more thing that I still don't know how to start telling her."

"Our contract," Việt Anh texted, no need for her to explain further. "I think, maybe we should tell him after the family meeting, when everything is more stable. Don't put too many big emotions into it at once, he just got out of the hospital not long ago."

Thảo Nguyên nodded even though he couldn't see her, feeling somewhat relieved at Việt Anh's thoughtfulness and caution in protecting her grandmother's health and emotions, as if she had become an important part of his own life, not only because of the strange family connection he had just discovered, but because of the sincere feelings he had for her all along.