Chapter 6 — Directions to Cloud Valley

Ta Chai village appeared before the group's eyes in the middle of the afternoon on the third day, nestled in the middle of a lush green valley surrounded by rolling mountains. Wooden roofs and stilts are scattered on the hillside, kitchen smoke rises gently from a few houses, blending with the afternoon mist that is starting to fall.

“Welcome to Ta Chai,” Thao Vy said, her voice shining with pride as she saw the village that had been her home for the past five years. "This will be where we stop for the next three days."

Village chief Giang A Chua, a middle-aged man with a tanned face and a gentle smile, was waiting at the beginning of the village with several indigenous people, all wearing traditional costumes to welcome the group of guests.

"Thao Vy, you're home," he said, his voice warm like a father welcoming his daughter back after a long trip. "Today's group of guests is larger than usual."

"That's right, Uncle Chua," Thao Vy replied, bowing to the village chief with familiar respect. "This is a medical volunteer group. They will provide free medical examination and treatment to our people in the coming days."

Chua village chief turned to look at the group, his face beaming with gratitude. "I have been waiting for a medical team like this for a long time. Thank you everyone for coming here so far."

Dang Khoi stepped forward and bowed to the village chief with respect. "We are very honored to come here to serve people, sir. Please tell us, which location can we use to set up a temporary medical examination station?"

"The village's community cultural house has enough space," Chua village chief replied, gesturing toward a larger house located in the center of the village. "I'll have someone take you there right away."

***

While the volunteer group began setting up a temporary medical examination station, Thao Vy took Sinh to check the group's accommodation - the stilt houses of indigenous people who had agreed to let guests stay overnight in Ta Chai, an important part of their income to help improve the people's lives.

"Ms. Vy, I think today you and Dr. Khoi seem... different than before," Sinh commented while the two were rearranging the blankets in a stilt house.

"How different?" Thao Vy asked, although in her heart she had already partly guessed what her spirited sister meant.

"Less stressful," Sinh replied, smiling mischievously. "Are you going to listen to his explanation?"

Thao Vy sighed and sat down next to the pile of unfinished blankets. "I think, maybe it's time for me to know the truth, Sinh. After what happened yesterday with Minh Trang, I realized I can't continue to live forever in avoidance."

"So when are you going to talk to him?"

"Maybe tonight, after the medical examination ends," Thao Vy replied, her voice both a little worried and a little determined. "I need to know the truth, no matter how painful it is."

***

In the afternoon, the temporary medical examination station at the community cultural house quickly became crowded with people from all over the village, bringing with them all kinds of diseases accumulated from many years of not having access to adequate medical services. Dang Khoi and his colleagues work tirelessly, examining patients, prescribing, and giving health advice to each person.

"Doctor, thank you very much," an elderly woman said after being examined by Dang Khoi and prescribed medication to treat the chronic joint disease that had tormented her for many years. "I have never been examined so carefully by a city doctor in my entire life."

"That is our responsibility, ma'am," Dang Khoi replied, a warm smile on his lips when he saw the sincere gratitude in the old patient's eyes. "Remember to take the correct dose of medicine, and if there are any unusual signs, please report to the nearest commune health station."

The work lasted until late afternoon, when the sunlight finally gradually faded behind the western peaks. Dang Khoi, despite being tired after a stressful day at work, still feels a deep satisfaction from the work he is doing — the feeling of truly making a difference in the lives of people in need.

When everything was calm, he stepped out onto the porch of the cultural house and breathed in the fresh air of the highland evening. Not far away, he saw the familiar figure of Thao Vy standing alone, watching the last sunset gradually fade behind the mountains.

He hesitated for a moment before deciding to move closer, his heart beating faster than usual at what he was about to do.

"Thao Vy," he called softly, his voice holding a rare tremor.

She turned back to look at him, her eyes were calm but contained something different from the previous days - perhaps a readiness that she had been silently preparing all day. "What's up?" she asked.

"I think... it's time for us to talk," Dang Khoi said, his voice serious but full of sincerity. "About what happened five years ago. If you're willing to listen."

Thao Vy was silent for a long time, her eyes fixed on the last streaks of sunset dyeing the sky purple in the distance. Then, she took a deep breath and nodded.

"Okay," she said, her voice more steady than she expected. "I'm ready to listen."

***

Dang Khoi led her to a small cliff protruding from the hillside, a short distance from the community cultural house, where they could chat privately without being disturbed by the bustle of tourists and villagers. The two sat down, the distance between them was not too close but also not as far apart as the first days of their reunion.

"I don't know where to start," Dang Khoi said, his voice trembling rarely. "Maybe, you should start a week before our wedding."

Thao Vy clasped her hands in her lap, trying to stay calm before entering the conversation that she had been waiting for, and dreading, for the past five years. "I'm listening," she said softly.

"That day, my father suddenly had strange symptoms — uncontrollable movements in his hands, mood swings, rapid memory loss," Dang Khoi said, his voice lowering as he recalled the painful memories. "His mother took him to many doctors, and finally, doctors diagnosed him with Huntington's disease — a hereditary neurodegenerative disease that has no cure, and gradually robs the patient of the ability to move, think, and even personality."

Thao Vy listened silently, feeling the weight of what he was sharing, although she still did not fully understand the connection between this story and his decision to disappear.

"Huntington's disease is a dominant genetic disease," Dang Khoi continued to explain, his voice carrying the expertise of a doctor but still unable to hide his personal pain. "Meaning that if the father has the disease, the children have a fifty percent chance of inheriting the disease gene. When I heard this news, just a week before our wedding, I was completely devastated."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Thao Vy asked, her voice choked even though she tried to stay calm. "Why don't you give me the chance to face that with you?"

"Because I'm afraid," Dang Khoi replied, his eyes filled with the torment of five long years. "I'm afraid that if I tell you, you will still choose to be with me because of love, because of responsibility, not because you really want such an uncertain future. I don't want you to have to sacrifice your whole life to take care of a husband who may, one day, gradually lose the ability to recognize his own wife, like what is happening to my father."

"So you took it upon yourself to decide for me," Thao Vy said, her voice a mixture of old pain and a new anger. "You took away my right to choose, because you thought you knew what was best for me better than I did."

"I know, and I was wrong," Dang Khoi admitted, his voice filled with sincere regret. "That was the biggest mistake of my life. I thought I was protecting you, but in reality, I was just hiding, letting my fear control a decision that should have been both of ours."

Tears began to roll down Thao Vy's cheeks, tears that she had suppressed for five long years, now flowing uncontrollably. "Do you know how much I suffered? I spent months wondering what I did wrong, blaming myself for not being good enough to keep you here."

"No," Dang Khoi said immediately, his voice urgent, his hand raised as if he wanted touch her but then pulled back, not daring to cross the boundary. "It's never your fault, Thao Vy. It has never been, and it will never be your fault. I am the one at fault, for cowardly choosing to leave in silence instead of trusting you enough to face the truth together."