Chapter 35 — Summer After the Rain

The group decided to turn the wall on the side of the theater into a permanent outdoor movie screening place, instead of just using it temporarily like previous times. They repainted the entire wall, deliberately retaining the old layers of color in a small corner as a historical mark, and leaving a separate square for children to freely draw to their liking.

Hau draws a cat wearing a manager's hat, his drawing is clumsy but full of vitality. Mrs. Nam said she looked undeniably like Minh. Minh said he was much more handsome than that drawing, and the group immediately threw paintbrushes at him to protest his overconfident statement.

Linh chose the frame of her parents standing by the river as the first image to hang solemnly on the new wall. She doesn't want to turn them into distant, hard-to-touch monuments. She just wanted them to see each other, again, without the roaring water obscuring the words they once wanted to say to each other.

People in the town took turns adding their own old photos: photos of old weddings, photos of an exciting football match, photos of a student's musical performance, and haunting photos of a flood shelter night. The wall gradually becomes a living history, without a single narrator imposing a perspective, but with countless small pieces from the people who lived through each period.

Minh made a new projector mount using reused old iron bars. He asked Linh to test the sturdiness before installing the real projector, but the stand suddenly tilted to one side. They both hurriedly caught the camera that was about to fall, while Hau shouted from afar: "Don't lose the movie!"

The first screening on the new wall, children sat on the ground with mats, adults stood in rows behind watching. A young girl asked why the person in the photo was still smiling even though it was pouring rain. Linh bent down and said because they don't know how difficult tomorrow will be, and sometimes not knowing in advance is also a way to live each present moment more fully.

Minh looked at her and said that sentence sounded appropriate to be printed on the back of a movie ticket. Linh told him not to turn other people's sadness into a cheap sales trick like that.

That night ended with a sudden light rain. The wall was wet, the projected image was partially blurred, but no one ran for shelter. They used raincoats to temporarily cover the precious projector, laughing and patiently waiting for the rain to stop. Ha Vang Theater, from then on, began to have an outdoor movie wall and a community that no longer had the habit of standing outside the door watching from afar.

The rainy season that year returned earlier than everyone expected. The outdoor wall quickly became a testing ground for short screenings, much more flexible than the main inside screening room. They stretched a tarp, installed a drainage trough along the edge of the wall, and placed the projector carefully in a specialized moisture-proof box. Minh personally designed a temporary roof using reused materials from old corrugated iron sheets, overall looking like a strange giant hat. Hau gave it the nickname "helmet for movies", a name that makes everyone who hears it laugh.

Linh organized a special screening for children in the old evacuation zone, where many families had to leave their homes because of the flood in the past. She did not want the children to only hear about the flood as a heavy, dry moral lesson. They watched a funny cartoon first, then together drew a map of safe places around the area where they lived. Tan enthusiastically guided the children on how to read the different water level warning colors. Linh's mother cooked a large pot of green bean soup, and Mrs. Nam gave out paper towels for each child to wipe their hands.

That night ended with another light rain. The wall was soaked, images were blurred, but no one ran for shelter. They used raincoats to cover the machinery, laughed and waited patiently. A little girl standing nearby complained that half of the film had been dissolved by the rain. Linh said so, I will continue showing the rest on a sunnier day, there is no need to rush.

Minh unfortunately slipped on the wet grass, dragging the speaker stand down with it. He managed to keep the speaker intact but lost one of his slippers into a nearby gutter. Hau quickly used a homemade hook to pull up the sandal, proudly declaring that this was a "high-level rescue mission" worthy of being recorded in the minutes of work. Linh said she would note down this funny detail in the month-end summary report.

When the rain finally stopped, everyone watched the remaining film on the wet wall together. The image is no longer as perfect as before, but is still clear enough to realize that the main character in the movie is still running diligently forward. Ha Vang Theater, from evenings like that, gradually had an outdoor movie wall and a community that no longer kept the habit of standing outside the door forever.

The next morning, the group together inventoried the damage after the sudden rain. The fabric screen needs to be completely replaced, two projector lamps are broken due to moisture, and part of the wall needs to be repainted to even out the color. Linh determined not to allow anyone to call it a failure. She divided the work into specific shifts, made a list of supplies to buy, and asked the children themselves to record what they learned about safety that night.

Some people living nearby suggested that outdoor movie screenings should be completely stopped because they feared it would be too dangerous when the weather was erratic. Linh agreed to review the entire safety process, but firmly disagreed with completely closing this meaningful activity. Mai reminded the group to skillfully balance the joy of community with the responsibility of ensuring the safety of everyone involved. Minh proactively added a new line of regulations to the rule board: "If it rains, don't try to be a hero. Put the phone away first." Hau said this sentence should be printed on t-shirts sold to raise funds.

The next evening, the girl who drew the safety map gave Linh a new drawing, this time with clear arrows pointing towards the cinema. She explained that the theater should always be the last place where people still see bright lights in the middle of a dark night. Linh carefully kept that drawing next to the official escape plan, suddenly realizing that the children themselves were also silently participating in shaping the future of Ha Vang in their own way.

Linh then asked each volunteer class to compose their own set of safety rules. The children wrote in adorable scribbles but clearly understood the core principles: do not run during a sudden power outage, do not crowd the entrance area, and always call an adult as soon as you feel unsafe. Hau hung all those rule sheets next to the official rules of the projection room, making the entire theater lobby look like a colorful miniature elementary school.

Minh stood looking at those papers for a long time, saying that the theater was growing in a way that none of them had ever planned for. Linh replied, that is exactly what is most worth preserving in all that they are trying to build.

That evening, they carefully stored all of the children's safety maps in a small library, placing them right next to the recently recovered film reel. Linh hopes that anyone who visits in the future will see a community that both cherishes memories and constantly prepares for the unknown in the future. Minh said that is the way to turn a haunting rainy season into a valuable lesson, without having to turn it into constant fear.

A week later, the local elementary school sent a cardboard box full of students' writing assignments to the theater. The children were asked to write a short letter to Ha Vang, most of them were just a few naive lines, but there was one letter that made Linh stop and read it over and over again: "If adults are always fighting over who is right and who is wrong, then who will be the one to open the theater door when it rains heavily?" She read the letter aloud for the whole group to hear. Hau said this question was more difficult than a semester exam. Mai said that is why they are forced to answer that question with concrete actions every day, not just with empty slogans hanging on the wall.

They decided to build a small cabinet right next to the main door, inside they always had a flashlight, a hand-held siren, a bottle of clean water and a complete list of emergency phone numbers. Each month, a volunteer class will rotate to check all the items in the cupboard. Minh patiently taught the children how to distinguish the emergency fire siren from the bell announcing the regular show start time. A boy timidly asked what to do if he was too scared. Minh replied, just look at the adult closest to him and hold their hand tightly. Hearing that answer, Linh suddenly remembered the long years she had always thought she had to manage everything herself without daring to rely on anyone.

That afternoon, she quietly added a new line to the theater's general procedures: “No one is considered weak when they need to be led out of a dangerous place.” She wasn't sure if those words would actually save anyone's life in the future, but she knew for sure that it had saved her from the habit of trying to hide all her trepidations behind a fake tough exterior over the years.