Chapter 19 — Debt Book at the End of the Alley

Dieu and Uncle Tu went to the hospital to visit their mother together the next morning, a combination they had often done before, but this time it had a completely different meaning — the first time they came as a real family, no longer having to hide or avoid anything between the three of them.

Her mother was sitting propped up on a pillow, being assisted by a nurse with gentle physical therapy exercises for her left hand. When she saw them both walk in, her eyes showed surprise, then quickly turned to a complicated emotion when she realized something had changed in the atmosphere between them.

“Mom,” Dieu said, sitting down next to the bed, holding her mother's hand. "Uncle Tu and I talked. He told me everything."

Her mother looked from Dieu to Uncle Tu, her eyes filled with tears, her lips trembled as if she wanted to say something but held back, perhaps because she was afraid that unclear sounds would interrupt this important moment.

Uncle Tu stepped closer, sat down in the chair next to the bed, and held her mother's other hand. “Hanh,” he said, his voice shaking with emotion. "I'm sorry for letting you carry this burden alone for so many years. But now, Dieu knows everything, and she's not angry at you, at me, or at Phong."

Her mother's tears flowed endlessly. She clasped both of their hands tightly, trying to convey all the pent-up emotions over the past thirty years with just that grip. Dieu felt the trembling in her mother's hand, not because of illness, but because of a strong emotion filling her heart.

"Mom," Dieu continued, her voice choked up, "I want you to know, I really understand and appreciate what you, dad Phong, and uncle Tu sacrificed for me. All three of them chose to love me in their own way, and I'm grateful for all of that."

Her mother nodded, the tears still continued to fall, but this time, in her eyes, Dieu saw a clear relief, as if a giant rock that had weighed heavily on her soul for many years had finally been lifted.

She tried to speak, and this time, although it was still difficult, a few syllables clearer than before began to escape her mouth. "I... am... sorry..." she said, each word struggling but clearly, leaving both Dieu and Uncle Tu stunned.

This was the first time, since the day she fell ill, that her mother was able to speak a complete phrase, even though it was still short and difficult. Dieu hugged her mother, her tears mixed with immense joy at this amazing sign of progress.

“Mom, you don't need to apologize,” Dieu said, her voice choked with happiness. "Mom, you did the best you could in our difficult situation. I'm just glad that now we don't have to hide anything from each other anymore."

The treating doctor, when called in for a check-up after hearing about this unexpected development, appeared very excited. “This is a very positive sign,” he said, after checking the patient's reflexes. "Sometimes, psychological and emotional stability has a huge impact on the neurological recovery process. It seems like something that helps the patient feel a lot more relieved."

Dieu and Uncle Tu looked at each other, both clearly understanding what had caused this positive change — the secret was finally released, the psychological burden The burden that had weighed on her mother for so many years was finally lifted, allowing her body and spirit to have more strength to fight the disease.

That afternoon, after leaving the hospital, Dieu and Uncle Tu sat together at a nearby cafe, both feeling they needed more time to digest the intense emotions of the morning together.

"Do you think," Dieu asked, her voice thoughtful, "should I tell the other people in the alley? Like Mrs. Sau, for example, he probably already guessed some of it."

Uncle Tu thought for a moment before answering. "I think, this matter should be left naturally, without having to be widely announced. Whoever needs to know will automatically know over time. The most important thing now is that our family is clear with each other, for the rest, there is no need to rush."

Dieu nodded, agreeing with that wise caution. She looked out at the street in front of the cafe, where daily life continued as usual — street vendors, car horns, children playing — as if unaware of the emotional earthquake that had just occurred in her life.

“Thank you,” she said, taking his hand. "Because you were always there, even though you weren't allowed to be my father, you were always the most important part of my life."

“Thank you,” Uncle Tu replied, his voice filled with emotion, “for giving me the opportunity to finally be myself, no longer having to hide.”

They sat for a while longer, watching the flow of people passing by, no one was in a hurry to end this rare moment of peace. Dieu suddenly remembered the small, unlabeled key her mother had tried to point to during a hospital visit a few weeks ago — which she still hadn't figured out which lock it matched, only vaguely remembering a shaky "N" written next to it in faint pencil on the attached piece of paper.

“Uncle Tu,” she said, rummaging in her bag and taking out the small key she had carried with her since the day she found it in her mother's drawer. "Do you know what this is? Mom keeps trying to point to it but I don't understand what she means."

Uncle Tu took the key, turned it around and observed, his face was slightly confused and then gradually changed to an indescribable expression - both surprised and as if he was trying to remember something from a long time ago. “This... let me think,” he said, frowning. "I think I saw your mother keep a small wooden box, kept it very carefully, a long time ago, since before you were little. But I don't remember exactly where she kept it."

"What is the letter N? Is it someone's name?" Dieu asked, hoping Uncle Tu would have an answer, but he just shook his head, his expression truly uncertain.

“I don't know,” he replied honestly. "It could be the name of an old acquaintance, or just a symbol your mother made to remember. Let me ask Mrs. Sau, maybe she remembers something."

Dieu nodded, put the key back in his pocket, silently noting in his mind that this was a thread that needed to be followed, even though it was not currently the most urgent priority. She looked at the clock and suddenly remembered another thing that had been hanging in the air, weighing heavily on her mind for the past few days amid the emotions of family matters.

“Uncle,” she said, her voice becoming more serious. "I can't keep dwelling on this forever. Kim Phat's deadline is less than two weeks away. I haven't heard any new news from Nam yet. Evidence related to his parent company, and lawyer Khoa is waiting for you to provide additional original documents to compare signatures."

Uncle Tu nodded, his expression immediately changing from nostalgic warmth to the serious, realistic look of a man used to facing difficulties. “You're right. My family's story is now clear, it's like a burden has been laid down. Now I need to put all my effort into the loan, because it affects not only my family but the whole neighborhood.”

“I plan to go to the secured transaction registration office again tomorrow morning,” Dieu said, “to ask for a notarized copy to make a signature comparison document to be sure. Please help me ask if anyone in the neighborhood knows more about the person who introduced my mother to borrow from Kim Phat, I haven't found any clues yet."

“I'll ask,” Uncle Tu promised, his voice firm. "After many years of living in this neighborhood, I believe that there are people who know something, but they just haven't dared to say it."

On the way home, Dieu's phone vibrated with a text message from Nam: "I found some internal documents, I need to meet you to talk in person, it's not convenient to send it via text message. Are you free tomorrow?” Reading the message, Dieu clearly felt a thrill mixed with hope running down her spine - perhaps, this was the important piece of the puzzle they needed to turn the situation around before the deadline came.

She texted back agreeing, making an appointment to meet Nam at noon the next day, then put the phone in her pocket, walking into the night with a complicated mood - both warm because the family had finally found completeness, and tense because she knew that the real battle with Kim Phat and the Ben Cat Riverside project was still ahead, not yet over.

Returning to the restaurant, Dieu saw Huong still lingering behind to clean up the last things before closing, the yellow light falling on the wooden table that had faded over the years. Seeing her friend's expression of both relief and contemplation, Huong stopped and pulled out a chair opposite her.

“What's wrong, is everything okay?” Huong asked, pouring Dieu a cup of warm artichoke tea.

Dieu recounted the entire visit to her mother this morning, her voice rising and falling according to each level of emotion she had just experienced - from the moment her mother tried to say the two difficult words "sorry", to the warm conversation with Uncle Tu at the cafe, and finally the unexpected text message from Nam.

“You see,” Dieu said, swirling the teacup in her hand, “in less than a week, a secret hidden for nearly thirty years was exposed, my mother showed clear signs of recovery, and now there are new clues about the Kim Phat case. Sometimes I feel like my life is like a movie, everything is rushing so fast that I can't catch my breath."

Huong laughed lightly, but your eyes were still full of understanding. “At least things are going in the right direction. Do you remember a few weeks ago, when you first returned, I saw you almost completely collapsed? Looking back now, you are much stronger than I thought.”

“I am what I am thanks to you,” Dieu replied, gently squeezing her friend's hand. “With Uncle Tu, Mrs. Sau, and everyone in this neighborhood. Without any of them, I would have collapsed a long time ago.”

They sat for a while longer, together planning a detailed plan for the meeting with Nam at noon the next day — questions to ask, documents to bring for comparison, and a backup plan in case the information Nam brought wasn't strong enough to turn things around. circumstance. Outside, the alley has fallen asleep, with only the chirping sounds of insects and flickering lights from a few houses still awake, as if waiting for a tomorrow that will bring many important changes to this small but close-knit community.