Chapter 28 — Summer After the Rain

The fire broke out in the warehouse near dawn, when the whole town was still asleep. Mrs. Nam, who had a habit of getting up early to make tea, discovered smoke rising from the warehouse door and shouted for everyone to wake up in an unprecedented voice. Minh rushed in and pulled the film box out despite the heat hitting his face. Linh hugged the file box and ran after her, her hands shaking. Her mother panicked when she heard the sound of glass breaking somewhere in the fire, standing still in the middle of the yard, not knowing what to do.

The fire was quickly extinguished thanks to the coordination of the whole group and a few neighbors running to help, but a corner of the warehouse was burned black, with a strong burning smell clinging to every grain of wood. No one was injured, something the group repeatedly reiterated as a thank you. The electrical system was thoroughly checked immediately afterwards, no signs of natural short circuit were found. The back door, when examined closely under a flashlight, revealed traces of being pried open.

An original roll of film was lost in the fire, but luckily a copy had been sent to the lawyers in advance, following the document protection procedures they had established after previous incidents. Hau, when cleaning, found a streak of red paint on the back door handle, eerily similar to the color of the South Coast logo. The police created a dossier on suspicion of arson and conducted a detailed examination of the scene.

Minh blamed himself fiercely for not sleeping at the theater that night like usual. Linh said he couldn't guard the whole town alone, couldn't put on his shoulders the responsibility of protecting everything twenty-four hours. He said if she was willing to hire a professional security guard, he would apply immediately. She asked him what he could do besides repair. He said he knew how to shout loudly and throw the sandals accurately, a forced joke to ease the tense atmosphere.

People from all over came to clean up as soon as it was light, bringing shovels, buckets of water and the familiar spirit of solidarity. Mrs. Nam organized a porridge cooking event right in front of the theater on a makeshift charcoal stove, saying that once the fire had consumed the wood, people had to eat breakfast to have the strength to clean up. That awkward humor kept everyone from panicking any further. A teacher brought her students to paint a new sign to replace the old one that was stained with smoke. There are signs that say "Do not burn theaters", there are signs that say "Please ask before burning", the innocent words of children make adults both laugh and tear up.

Amid the cleaning crowd, Aunt Tam brought a pot of hot ginger water and distributed it to each person to dispel the cold and smell of smoke lingering in the early morning air. An elderly neighbor, still holding a broom, said this was not the first time he had seen the people of An Binh cleaning up together after an incident, and perhaps that is what makes this town different: whether natural disasters or humans cause disasters, they always find a way to stand up together instead of each person taking care of themselves. Linh heard those words, still holding a stack of blackened boards, and felt an indescribable gratitude in her heart for the simple people surrounding her.

Phuc sent an official denial via official document on the same day. He said the company had nothing to do with the fire, but still agreed to provide a list of all employees working in the area to cooperate in the investigation. The driver who had stood opposite the theater many times before was on that list, a detail that made Mai immediately flag it in red. Mai asked the police to preserve the camera of the store opposite before the data was overwritten. The camera only recorded a faint shadow of a person, but the time of appearance matched exactly the time a South Coast employee's phone suddenly turned off.

Linh checked every box of documents left after the fire. Her hands were so dirty with ash that she had to wash them many times to get them clean. Some copies are smoky but the content is still readable. She numbered them carefully, took photos of everything, and sent a backup copy to Mai that night. She was so used to the feeling that something important could disappear in just a few short minutes, and that familiarity made her both tired and more resilient.

Minh knelt beside her amid the ashes, gently brushing dust from a stack of papers. He asked her if she wanted to leave, after all the things that had happened so quickly. Linh said she had already left once, this time she just wanted to know what she was keeping before deciding anything else.

A boy standing nearby asked if the burned movie could still be shown. Minh replied that if there was only one frame left, they would show it for a long time, so everyone had enough time to look at it. The boy said that the audience will be sad because there is no plot. Linh told the audience to bring the rest with them in their imagination.

The next day, a remaining frame of film was taken for careful color restoration. It still had scorch marks on the corners, but her father's smiling face was clearly visible. Linh did not cover the burn. She hung the restored photo next to the new maintenance schedule, to show everyone that memories also need to be cared for and should not pretend they were never damaged.

Linh wrote down the number of broken supplies and hung the purchase list right in front of the door. Everyone chooses each item to contribute, no one arbitrarily brings items without asking first, in accordance with the well-established principle of transparency. After the fire, caution is no longer just words on paper; it essentially becomes how they protect each other every day.

That night, they set up a temporary screen in the main lobby because the warehouse had not yet been cleared. The new wire can only run a single light bulb. Everyone stood around, looking at the photo of Linh's mother and father frozen in the small halo of light. No one needs any more lines. They know a burned room can still contain memories, as long as no one rushes to clear it out too soon.

The results of the fire investigation, returned after nearly two weeks of agonizing wait, showed there was not enough evidence to charge anyone in particular. Fire can start from old electrical wires due to natural flicker, or it can also be intentionally caused by someone. Linh read that conclusion, a feeling of emptiness spread throughout her body. She wanted a specific name to identify, but the records only offered many vague possibilities that could not be attributed.

Mai said that not every danger can be resolved by finding the final culprit, sometimes it is more realistic to prepare well so that next time there will not be such heavy damage. They need to replace all of the electrical wiring, institute stricter storage regulations, and purchase insurance for the entire property. Linh agreed, even though the amount of money needed to save the theater was nearly exhausted after many months of construction.

People reacted differently to the incident. Someone told me to stop and close the theater for safety. Some people say that the more you get burned, the more you have to open the door, you can't let fear win. A group of young people in the street took on volunteer night shifts. They excitedly named the group "The No Sleep Team", but after the first week, almost everyone fell asleep right on duty, making the whole group laugh because of their somewhat overwhelming enthusiasm.

Linh's mother arranged the intact videos into new boxes with moisture-proof lining. She taught Linh how to use acid-free paper for long-term preservation and record the storage temperature every day in a separate notebook. The two of them worked together until late at night under the desk lamp, without much need to say, just the sound of rustling paper and the sound of both of their regular breathing mingling together in comfortable silence.

A few days after the fire, when the warehouse was cleaned and repainted, Minh proposed installing an automatic smoke alarm system connected to the group's phones, although the cost was not cheap. Linh hesitated at this extra expense, but when she thought of Mrs. Nam having to scream at night to wake everyone up, she nodded in agreement immediately. The whole group spent a weekend afternoon installing together, Minh climbed up to each corner of the ceiling to attach sensors, Hau ran back and forth to check the signal on the phone, and Mrs. Nam stood below and pointed like a strict project supervisor.

When the system was tested for the first time, the alarm bell rang loudly, making the whole group startled. The frightened cat rushed to the top of the filing cabinet. Hau quickly turned off the bell, his face turned pale, and Minh burst out laughing at everyone's reaction. Linh stood looking at that scene, feeling that even though the fire had left a scar on the building and in everyone's hearts, they still found a way to turn their fear into a busy but warm afternoon, another proof that they are learning to protect each other better every day.