Chapter 4 — Debt Book at the End of the Alley

Dieu went to the wholesale market to buy more vegetables at five o'clock in the morning, a job she began to get used to after three days of standing at the shop, even though her legs still ached every time she had to walk long distances. On the way home, she passed by the end of the alley, where a group of strangers wearing business shirts were standing together, holding drawing boards and tablets, pointing at the houses on both sides.

She walked slowly, watching curiously, then stopped completely when she recognized one of them.

"Male?" she blurted out without thinking.

The man turned around, and for a moment, the two stood there staring at each other in the middle of a familiar alley, as if time had folded back six years in just the blink of an eye. Nam looks much different from the image of the skinny, messy-haired teenager that Dieu remembers - now he wears a neat suit, his hair is neatly combed, and he has the mature appearance of a successful man.

“Dieu,” he said, his voice equally surprised. "Long time no see."

“Yes, it's been a long time,” Dieu replied, her voice forced, her hand still carrying the heavy bag of vegetables. “What...what are you doing here?”

Nam glanced at his colleague standing next to him, then back at Dieu, a bit hesitant. “I work for a real estate company, surveying this area for a project,” he replied, trying to keep his business tone. "I heard you came back, because... because of Ms. Hanh's matter. I'm sorry, I haven't had time to visit yet."

"It's okay," Dieu replied, although a complicated feeling arose in her heart that was hard to name - both happy to see her old friend and worried about the word "project" he had just mentioned.

“What's the project?” she asked, trying to keep her voice neutral.

"I'm not comfortable talking in detail right now," Nam replied, his eyes avoiding looking directly at her. "In the initial survey stage, there is nothing official yet. When there is more specific information, there will definitely be an announcement to each household."

That vague answer made Dieu even more wary, but she didn't want to tense up the first reunion after six years right in the middle of the street, especially when Nam's colleague was still waiting nearby, occasionally glancing at the two of them impatiently.

“Then you just keep working,” she said, moving to walk past. “This alley probably has many things you need to explore.”

“Dieu,” Nam called back, his voice a bit hurried. "Can I... stop by the shop to visit Ms. Hanh? Even though she's in the hospital, I still want to come visit the hospital, if you don't mind."

Dieu hesitated for a moment, weighing the wariness and the old feelings that had not completely faded. “Okay,” she replied finally. “Your mother will definitely be happy to know that I'm coming to visit.”

Nam smiled, a smile that reminded him a bit of the old teenager hidden under his neat office shell. "Thank you. I will arrange a time soon."

They broke up there, Dieu continued walking back to the shop, but her mind could not get rid of the image of a group of strangers with drawing boards, and the phrase "project" kept echoing in her head the rest of the way.

Returning to the shop, Uncle Tu had already cleaned up and got ready for the morning. Seeing Dieu's thoughtful expression, he asked questions. “What's wrong, is there something happening at the market?”

“Nothing,” Dieu replied, not wanting to share what she had just witnessed right away. “I met an old acquaintance again, it was a bit of a surprise.”

She started her morning work, but her mind was still wandering about Nam. She remembers her teenage years In the spring, they were close - the two children grew up in the same alley, rode bicycles to the park together, and shared a loaf of bread every time after school. Then, when she was eighteen years old, Nam moved with his family to another place because of his father's job. The two gradually lost contact, leaving only a few sporadic text messages to inquire before completely falling silent.

She never expected to see him again in this situation — not as an old friend returning to visit the old alley, but as a representative of something that could threaten the very existence of that alley.

At noon, when the restaurant was empty, Dieu took the opportunity to ask Uncle Tu about the group of surveyors she met this morning. “Have you heard anything about a real estate company coming to survey this area?”

Uncle Tu frowned, put his chopsticks down on the table. “I heard about it a few times, but I haven't seen anyone officially announce anything,” he replied. “Why do you ask, is something wrong?”

“I met an old acquaintance, he said he worked for a real estate company, surveying this area for a project,” Dieu recounted, her voice somewhat worried. “Do you think they plan to clear this area?”

Uncle Tu was silent for a moment, his eyes became distant. "If that's true," he said slowly, "then this isn't the first time I've heard this story. A few years ago, someone came to ask questions, measure, and then remained silent without seeing anything. Maybe this time they'll take it more seriously."

“If they really release it, what should we do?” Dieu asked, her voice confused. “We've been here for so many years, and now your mother is sick like this…”

“Don't worry before something is certain,” Uncle Tu reassured, although his voice could not hide the insecurity. "From survey to implementation, there is still a long way to go, sometimes several years, sometimes it will never come true. Just worry about your mother and the shop first."

Dieu nodded, but her worry still did not subside. She thought about the debt board filled with names, about the new notebook she was gradually creating, about her mother's fragile health, and now the vague risk of losing the very house, the very shop that had supported her family for the past twenty years. Everything seemed to be rushing in at once, making her feel suffocated.

That afternoon, when Dieu went to the hospital to visit her mother, she told the story of meeting Nam, deliberately skipping the part about the real estate project so as not to make her mother worry more. But when Nam's name was mentioned, her mother's eyes suddenly lit up, an expression much clearer and stronger than her usual vague reactions.

“Mom, do you miss Nam?” Dieu asked, surprised by that reaction.

Her mother nodded vigorously, her hand trying to reach for the notebook Dieu was holding, her mouth moving as if trying to say something important. Dieu gave the notebook and pen to her mother, waiting anxiously, but her weak hand could only draw a few scribbles with no clear meaning before she tiredly put down the pen, panting.

"Mom, rest, take it slow and then talk," Dieu said, gently rubbing the back of her mother's hand, trying to hide the disappointment and curiosity rising in her heart. But her mother's urgent eyes, along with her unusually strong reaction when she heard Nam's name, made Dieu even more certain that there was a connection between her past, her family, and that childhood friend - a thread that she would have to untangle herself, little by little, in the coming days.

She sat back for a moment, picked up her notebook and reviewed the scribbles her mother had just drawn try to write. Looking more closely under the light of the hospital room, she realized that it wasn't exactly random writing by her weak hand, but was shaped almost like a letter — maybe an N, or a half-written H. She wasn't sure, but she couldn't stop speculating.

“What name are you trying to write, Mom?” she asked softly, even though she knew it was difficult for her mother to answer clearly.

Her mother looked at her, eyes filled with tears, nodded slightly, then shook her head again, as if she wasn't sure what she was trying to convey completely, just had an overwhelming urge to say something important.

“It's okay, Mom,” Dieu said, holding her hand tightly. "I will learn slowly. Mom, don't try too hard, the doctor told you to stay relaxed."

She sighed, a heavy breath, then closed her eyes, seemingly exhausted from her recent attempt at communication. Dieu sat quietly next to the bed for a while, observing her mother's steady breathing, her heart confused with a series of unanswered questions.

On the way home, she stopped by a small shop, ordered a glass of iced tea, and sat alone thinking. She took out her phone and looked for Nam's number in her old contacts - miraculously, that phone number was still saved from six years ago, even though she had never proactively contacted him again. She hesitated for a long time before sending a short message: "Thank you for asking this morning. When my mother heard your name, she seemed very touched. Did you and my mother know each other well in the past?"

The message was sent, Dieu sat and waited, her heart beating faster than usual. A few minutes later, the phone rang.

"Miss Hanh and my parents were very close in the past," Nam replied, "I also often went to the restaurant to eat when I was young, I'm sure that's all you remember. Is there something wrong?"

Dieu read the message and felt a bit disappointed at the simple answer, nothing special like she expected. Perhaps, she told herself, her mother's reaction was simply joy at hearing the name of an old acquaintance, nothing mysterious like she had imagined too much.

But then she remembered that urgent look, that unfinished handwriting, and the feeling that something wasn't as simple as Nam's explanation still refused to go away. She typed another message: "So do you remember Uncle Tu fixing cars in the alley back then? He and my mother were very close."

This time Nam answered more slowly, as if he was considering. "Do you remember? Uncle Tu is gentle and helps everyone. Why do you ask so many questions? Is there something you're worried about?"

Dieu looked at the phone screen, wondering what to share with an old friend who had just met again after six years, especially when he was working for a company that could threaten the very alley she was trying to protect. “It's nothing,” she replied finally, choosing to be cautious. "Just coming back here, I remember a lot of old things, I'm curious to ask."

"That's it," Nam texted back, "if you need anything, just text me. Even though I'm busy with work, I still want to keep in touch, as old friends."

Dieu turned off the phone, drank the last glass of iced tea that had almost completely melted, her heart was still in turmoil. She doesn't know how much to trust Nam, doesn't know whether the old friendship can exist in parallel with his current job position, but she knows one thing for sure: in the coming days, she will have to learn how to both probe and keep a safe distance from this childhood friend, until everything becomes clearer.