Chapter 19 — Her Road Is Still Long

“Then... he's waiting for you.”

She rolled a grape and stuffed it into her mouth.

“But he won't pressure you.”

“Wait until you really think clearly.”

“Then let's go find him then.”

“What if I don't think this through for the rest of my life?”

She tilted her head to think for a moment.

“Then maybe…”

“He will send you dried flowers for the rest of your life.”

I burst out laughing. Laugh and laugh. He bowed his head again and looked at the letter in his hand. Every sentence and every word is neat and clean. Suddenly I felt something choked in my chest. It's not pain. It's full of bloating. It was the force of his hand that patted my back that night, when he pulled me up from the temple. It was the sound of horse hooves, neither fast nor slow, next to the carriage, when he took me to Trang Thanh Tuyen. Is the saying:

“Just keep moving forward.”

“Her road is still very long.”

That's when he gave me the map. It's an osmanthus flower that comes with a letter. The kind that can cure pain in the heart. I wrote a reply letter.

“Mail received.”

“Spicy pepper is suitable for cooking noodles.”

“Not suitable for making tea.”

“Next time you send dried pepper, choose red fruit with thin stems.”

“The taste will be better.”

I also include a remedy to treat spleen and stomach cold. It is a remedy that we ourselves have compiled during the years of opening Thanh Chi Duong. Use the Ban Ha Ta Tam Thang as the base and then reduce it. Do not sign. He knows who sent it. The medical shop's business gradually stabilized. There are more and more acquaintances. Winter in Doan Chau is no longer as cold as before. After opening the Directions Bar. Mr. Ha's leg is still lame. But he planted a rose tree in the corner of the yard. Every year is fruitful. A Cam was able to feel his own pulse and examine himself. One day she suddenly said to me:

“I want to travel somewhere else for half a year.”

I was stunned for a moment. Then pull the drawer out. Take that worn-out piece of furniture. It's Tham Quy Bach's map. Although at first he only painted Hoai Am. But over the past five years, we have successively added service stations, waterways and mountain routes from Doan Chau to the south and west. There are lots of notes on it. A Cam received the map. He intended to kneel down and kowtow to me. I immediately stopped it.

“Kneel what?”

“I am not dead.”

Her eyes were red. Definitely refuse. I just say:

“Remember to bring a lot of anti-gas medicine.”

The next day when she left. Tham Quy Bach's letter arrived again. In the envelope is a remedy... A remedy for coughs caused by autumn heat. Inside also add ginseng and pear peel. At the end of the letter are still four words:

“Peace, don't forget.”

There is not a single mention of personal matters. Tiet To Man's comment is deeply engraved in my mind:

“This man is either a saint.”

“Or a fool.”

Saints will not write letters. Even an idiot wouldn't draw a diagram. He is Tham Quy Bach. Yesterday. After comparing the books at the Pharmacy Department of the government. I had just walked out the door when I bumped into someone. Tall figure. The sideburns have dew on both sides. Tham Thanh Tu. He is much thinner than five years ago. High cheekbones. The eye sockets are also deeper. When you see me. He froze in place. The umbrella in his hand tilted. Rainwater flowed along the umbrella and down the shoulders of his shirt. Only then did we realize it. It's raining outside. Water rushed from the porch fall down. Smash up the stone steps. Forming countless dense speckled water streaks. His lips moved slightly a few times. In the end, there were only two words: The voice was still that voice. Simple and frugal. Like well water in the middle of winter. In my hand I hold the books of the Pharmaceutical Department. The pages were softened by the steam. I stand on the steps. He stood under the steps. In the middle was the rain that lasted for five years.

“Delegate brother.”

I nodded slightly. He walked up the steps. Now I can see clearly... His sideburns actually have gray hair. Only thirty-two years old. Yet the sun was covered with a layer of pale white mist. He looked at me. The pharynx moved slightly once. There was an emotion in his eyes that I had never seen on his face in my entire previous life. In my previous life, when I looked at me.