Chapter 17 — That Night of Fire

Hua Nhuy was also present. The case was handled separately and now considered together. She had no makeup on her face and her whole body was shaking violently. The trial begins. When the prosecutor read the indictment, every sentence and every word seemed to dissect that terrible night. *Lock the door.* *Disseminate false information about risks.* *Leads to delay in judging the request for emergency relief.* *M.* *Pregnant woman jumped from building to escape.* *Miscarriage, broken bones, internal bleeding, multiple lacerations on my hands.* I sat in the plaintiff's chair, my hands on my knees, my fingertips cold. Chu Nghien always bowed his head. Until the recording in flames was played. My voice rang out from the loudspeaker. *"Save me, I'm locked inside the house!"* *"Baby, don't be afraid, mommy will take you out."* Chu Nghien suddenly put her hands on her chest, gasping for breath. The court police glanced at him. The judge reminded: “Defendant, control your emotions.” Chu Nghien nodded, but tears fell drop by drop onto the table. The prosecutor asked: "Chu Nghien, will the defendant plead guilty?" Chu Nghien raised her head and looked towards me. At that moment, the arrogance, luck, and resentment in his eyes all disappeared, leaving only grayness and ruin. "Accept." "Do you regret the crime?" His lips trembled: "Regret." The prosecutor asked: "What does the defendant regret?" Chu Nghien's throat was choked, it took her a long time to speak: "I regret that I wore a firefighter uniform, but locked the door to lock her in. I regret listening to others, saying she was making trouble, saying she was pretending. I regret that when she said she was pregnant, I didn't open the door." Speaking of this, his voice broke. "I regret that when she cried out in a sea of fire, I was cutting a cake for someone else." There were deep, suppressed breaths from under the auditorium chair. Luong Sach bowed his head and used the back of his hand to wipe his eyes. Thieu Minh closed his eyes tightly. Chu Nghien continued: "I don't ask her for forgiveness, I also don't have the face to beg. I am willing to bear all legal consequences." It's my turn to narrate. I grabbed the edge of the table and stood up. My left leg felt a sharp pain, I stopped for two seconds. The judge said: “The plaintiff can sit and talk.” I shook my head. I want to stand and speak. I looked at Chu Nghien: "You always said before that firefighters are most afraid of the public not trusting the rescue system. But have you ever thought that it is people like you that make people dare not believe?" Chu Nghien's shoulders trembled. I took out the medical report. I kept the paper flat, but the corners were soft because it had been turned over too many times. "This is my saved tummy tuck surgery record." I took out the injury assessment report again. "This is my assessment of broken bones and internal bleeding." Finally, I took out that photo. A pair of small yellow socks lay in a dark gray drawer, the edges of the socks were stained by smoke. "This is the only keepsake of my child." I held up the photo. "Chu Nghien, take a good look." He raised his head, just looked at it, as if someone had slapped him hard, his whole body leaned back. Tears fell down his face. I said: "When I cut the cake for Hua Nhuy, she was already dead." As soon as the sentence ended, Chu Nghien suddenly bent down, put both hands on the table, and a deep growl emitted from his throat like a wounded animal. Court police immediately approached. He didn't protest, just kept repeating: "Sorry, sorry..." I looked at him: "I don't need your apology." He raised his head, his eyes bloodshot and scary. I said word by word: "I want you to go to jail." The whole court was as quiet as paper. Hua Nhuy suddenly burst into tears.