Chapter 7 — I Give My Mother a Fever Reducing Drink During Pregnancy

I know, her mind is not on the candy. I don't know what she said to my father after that, but from that day on, he was determined to get a divorce. During the day after day of beatings, my mother finally couldn't bear it anymore.

13

It all happened so suddenly. Before the final exam, I was stopped by the homeroom teacher to copy the exam, when my neighbor, a year older than me, Hoa rushed to the school to find me, to the point that she couldn't speak clearly.

"Thu De... Thu De, go home quickly! Something happened to your house! Your father, mother and grandmother have all been taken to the hospital!"

I dropped the chalk and ran back, running until I lost one of my sandals. Inside, there was only a strange excitement. Ms. Hoa has dropped out of school and often cuts vegetables and pork with me, so she is quite close.

“Listening to what the village chief said, your mother couldn't stand the sight of being beaten by your father, so she put poison in the rice.

Your grandmother, father and younger brother all ate it. It's the herbicide Paraquat, my mother said if you drink it, you won't be able to save it anymore..." She looked at my face and carefully comforted me.

"If... if that's true, Thu De, what are your plans for the future?"

I hitchhiked in the villager's car to the hospital. When we arrived, my grandmother and younger brother had not survived. It was my mother who cooked rib soup. My grandmother, regretting the meat, drank two bowls in a row — and all the Paraquat toxins were in it. My brother was still young and before he could get to the hospital, he passed away on the way. My father and mother were given emergency treatment and had their intestines washed continuously, but by midnight, my father still could not survive. My mother - who quit smoking herself - ate less, so she kept her life, but her mind was no longer alert. The first time she saw me again, she smiled at me, a weak smile that looked like a devil.

"There's still rib soup in the pot... I purposely left some for you..."

No one saw, I smiled slightly at her - a smile even more devilish than hers. She got up excitedly, but was held tightly by the nurse on the bed, her eyes glaring at me, her hands clawing wildly in the air.

"It's you... you comet... it's all you who killed them..."

My mother is crazy. Being pushed crazy by his father and grandmother. The dream of holding her grandchild soon became her grandmother's obsession. She forced my father to divorce, forced my mother to take Kim Bao out of the house, and then planned to find another woman - whether ugly or beautiful - as long as she was willing to give birth and the bride price was not much. My mother didn't have a family to rely on and didn't want a divorce. She knelt down to beg and slapped herself in the face. My father still didn't bother to glance at her. After so many years of abuse, my father's selfish coldness finally pushed my mother to the limit. She exploded, dragging us all down to hell. That night, she proactively cooked rice, stewed a pot of rib soup, added shiitake mushrooms, and then poured in half a bottle of Paraquat. Kim Bao is stupid, and his father and grandmother don't think she will quit smoking. When abnormalities are detected, it is too late. As for me, because the teacher kept me from copying the exam, I escaped and became the only survivor. In the afternoon, my mother's condition worsened and she passed away during an emergency. I cried until my eyes were swollen and fainted a few times in the middle, but I still couldn't change the fact that the Vuong family was now the only one left. Relatives and neighbors came to help with the funeral. Three days later, in the field behind the house there were four more graves — three large and one small. I wore mourning clothes, knelt bewilderedly in front of the grave, listening to everyone's words of comfort People.

“Sigh… Thu De, you have to look forward.”

“Try to study, then pass the exam and leave this village.”

The village head also told me not to worry about daily life.

"I will ask for support from the district, as long as you can study with peace of mind. Now the family is the only one left, you have to live well."

I nodded, my tears had long since dried up. On the way back with everyone, I heard a few people whispering in low voices.

"Hey, don't you think it's strange? Paraquat has a strong smell, why can't you smell anything from Thuc Phuong's rib soup?"

“Yes, their family has only used medicine like any other family, so why did they use Paraquat this year?”

I lowered my head, hiding the darkness in my eyes.

14

The November sunlight no longer had any warmth, just like the lights in the operating room in my previous life - cold and white. Thanks to the help of the village chief, I felt secure in completing middle school. The graduation exam didn't have enough points to get into a top high school. People in the village just assumed that family events had affected me, and consoled me that I had done very well. But in reality, I'm not a genius, and I don't have the conditions to study properly. The knowledge I knew in my previous life was soon exhausted. If you don't try to struggle, you will quickly be exposed. However, I always study seriously. It's just a pity that the possibilities are limited, the university entrance exam results are not enough to get into 985, nor can they reach Thanh Hoa or Bac Dai. I just got into a normal university. Even so, I was still the only university student in the whole village. On the day I received my admission notice, I went door to door to thank those who had helped me, kneeling down and bowing to each person one by one. This place is a place I never want to return to. And after that, I never really went back — not even once. Maybe some people will say I'm cold-blooded and insensitive. But I was originally just a bug living in the dark. I don't care about those words.

— End —