Chapter 5 — Grandma Reincarnated

Tham Nam leaned against the head of the bed, hugging his niece. She was still humming, her voice hoarse and intermittent. The niece fell asleep on her stomach on her shoulder, her mouth slightly open, her small hand holding her collar. Sunlight streamed in from the window and fell on her face. I stood at the door watching for a while. The bridge of the nose is stinging. At this time in my previous life, I knelt in front of an empty stroller and slapped myself in the face. And now... I walked over and put down the glass of water. From behind, embracing mother and child. Tham Nam tilted his head and looked at me. "Mom, do you know how to sing?" "I don't know." "That's it." "Mom learns." She laughed, tears falling. "Mom sings off-key." "Lac-ton is also what mom sings." Dinh Tham stood next to her and teased: "When I was little, my mom sang to me, I was about to fall asleep, and my mom kept me awake." The niece groaned, burying herself into her neck. Outside the window, it's morning. I hugged the two of them, feeling like this life had come back to life. Old Truong explained the entire process. Trieu Man sought his cooperation, saying he had a "mission" and would give him one hundred fifty thousand after it was done. Old Truong was in charge of adjusting the air conditioner and lowering the cooling capacity of the fifth floor. He said the head nurse told him: "If the temperature is a little higher, children sleep more deeply and don't cry easily." At that time, he found it strange, but didn't think much of it. One hundred and fifty thousand, for a repairman like him who works half his life, is two years' salary. The ventilation duct was also opened by him. Trieu Man told him to loosen the screws on the storage room's shutter beforehand, then the soundproofing cotton in the pipe at the corner turned a little, leaving a clamp compartment that could fit people. "She said it was only for a moment, someone would come pick it up." "I didn't know it was stealing children! I thought... thought it was some kind of medical material..." When the police showed me the statement report, this excuse of Mr. Truong was written several times. "I thought." In my previous life, I also thought that It's okay to give the baby to the nurse. The three words "I thought" destroyed my entire family. Tham Nam didn't see the minutes, she didn't want to see them. From the day the baby was found, she did not allow the nurse on this floor to come within three meters of the stroller. If a stranger knocks on the door, she will hug the baby and hide in the bathroom first, waiting for me to open the door to confirm before leaving. I know she was scared enough to leave a ghost. But I didn't push her. I myself have ghosts, I just don't say it out loud. Now every night, I wake up at least three or four times. Hearing my niece groan, I immediately crawled up to see if she was still there. Sometimes Tham Nam also wakes up, sees me sitting next to the stroller in a daze, gently pulls me back to sleep. "Mom, you haven't slept in three days." She reached out and touched the dark circles under my eyes. “If this continues, mom will collapse first.” I lay down again, staring at the ceiling. “Tieu Nam, do you think mom is too tense?” Tham Nam was silent for a moment. “No.” Her voice was very quiet. "If mom hadn't been so stressed that day, the baby would have passed away." She buried her face in my shoulder. "It's true that mom was stressed. Mom kept being stressed like that, and I accepted it." I leaned over and hugged her, not saying anything else. I don't need anything in this life. As long as she and her child are safe. The day the court opened the trial, I didn't go. Tham Nam also said no. "I don't want to see that person anymore." Dinh Tham went alone. I stayed at home with Tieu Nam and the baby, turned off the TV, and left the phone on silent. The lawyer sent a text message, saying that Trieu Man pleaded guilty in court, and that people from foreign organizations had also been arrested. Sentenced for more than ten years. Old Truong was an accomplice, three years. I looked at the message but didn't reply. Tham Nam is playing the piano in the living room, his niece is lying in the rocking chair next to him, kicking his feet. She's gotten a lot fat lately.

A double chin also appears, and there are two small dimples when smiling. Tham Nam stopped playing for a while and then stopped to tease her. The girl was made to laugh loudly, saliva flowing down her neck. I leaned against the kitchen door frame and looked at the mother and child, holding a glass of milk that had just been warmed up in my hand. "Mom, the milk is about to spill." Tham Nam said without turning his head. Only then did I realize that the milk was about to spill out of the rim of the glass. I quickly took a sip and burned my teeth. My niece saw me baring my teeth, smiling even more happily, her little arms and legs kicking wildly. Tham Nam turned his head to look at me, his expression difficult to finish. "Mom is sixty-two years old, and still gets burned by milk." "Granddaughter laughs at mom, mom is happy." "That mom..." She shook her head, turned back to continue playing the piano. I still don't know the name of that song, but the melody is very gentle. Sunlight shines in from the ground-level glass door, falling on the piano keys and her niece's chubby hands. I stood at the kitchen door holding milk, feeling that the scene before me was enough to last me for the rest of my life. Then, one evening, my niece woke up crying. I got up to make baby formula, held her around the living room to comfort her. The baby lay on my shoulder, whimpering and falling asleep, her small hand still holding the collar of my nightgown. Tham Nam put on his coat and walked out, leaning against the bedroom door frame and looking at me. "Mom, you're holding her around again." "She's crying."