Chapter 18 — The End-of-Day Train

After a hopeful call from Mr. Bang, the group devoted all their energy in the next two weeks to completing the detailed plan dossier, preparing for an official presentation to representatives of the Provincial Department of Transport and a large number of interested people, held right in the small traditional room of Van Phong station - which Thien An proposed, believing that the space has greater symbolic meaning than any luxurious hall.

Thien An spends almost all of her free time perfecting drawings, data, and presentation scripts. Khanh Chi often caught him sitting for hours at Y Van's coffee shop after each train shift, his laptop open until late, his eyes dark circles from lack of sleep but his eyes still full of determination.

"You don't have to work to the point of exhaustion like that," Khanh Chi said, one night when he saw him rubbing his temples, a sign of a headache from overwork.

"I want to do it well," Thien An replied, her voice somewhat tired but still determined. "This is not just an ordinary architectural project for me. It is the only way I know to..." He stopped mid-sentence, not finishing his sentence, but Khanh Chi understood what he was talking about - a way to redeem, to heal the wounds from the past that they both carried in their hearts.

The presentation took place on a Friday night, the small traditional room was tidied up, with extra chairs added to accommodate about fifty attendees - much more crowded than the already cramped space, forcing many people to stand along the hallway outside. Mr. Bang personally attended, along with several other Department officials, sitting in the front row, his face maintaining the usual serious and professional look.

Thien An stood in front of the small presentation board and took a deep breath before starting. "Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to present what we call the 'Qingzhou – Van Phong Heritage Train Line' — a model that combines maintaining essential transport services for local people and developing slow rail tourism, based on models that have been successful in many other countries with similar historic railway lines."

He presented clearly and confidently, projecting specific charts and figures on the board - estimating operating costs could be reduced by combining revenue from experience travel tickets on weekends, plans to preserve ancient station architecture to attract visitors, and plans to cooperate with schools to organize educational tours about the history of the railway industry.

"In terms of architecture," he continued, showing a series of reconstruction drawings, "we propose to keep the original dome structure and light window system of the stations on the line, only reinforcing the degraded load-bearing structure according to current safety standards. At the same time, the traditional room area at Van Phong station, where we are sitting here, will be expanded into a small museum about the history of the local railway industry, open for free for students to visit. observe, find out."

He pointed to a route map marked with seven stations, his voice slowing down and becoming more formal as he reached the end. "And at the section of Vong Pass, where a tragic accident occurred twelve years ago, we propose to build a small memorial stop, not only to commemorate those who died, but also as a reminder of the importance of listening and promptly responding to safety warnings — a lesson that the railway industry, and perhaps society in general, should never forget."

The atmosphere in the room suddenly calmed down, many people nodded in agreement, and a few older people who had witnessed or heard about the accident in the past slightly bowed their heads in remembrance. Khanh Chi clearly felt that Thien An's voice trembled slightly at this part, even though he tried to maintain a calm and professional look, and she understood that behind that technical proposal was a whole heart of respect he had for the past that he still did not have the courage to fully express.

"Most importantly," he emphasized, his voice becoming visibly emotional, "this option does not require the state budget to suffer as large a loss as it currently does. We have worked with a few travel agencies interested in the slow travel model. They are willing to invest part of the funding to renovate, as long as the route remains operational, retaining its original identity."

Khanh Chi sat in a nearby row, watching Thien An present with undisguised passion and pride. She realized that this is when his true personality shines most clearly - not a man carrying a heavy secret, but a talented, dedicated architect, always finding ways to turn seemingly outdated values into something lively and meaningful for the present and the future.

After the presentation, it was everyone's turn to ask questions. Some people wonder about long-term feasibility, about whether the number of tourists will be stable enough to maintain the model. A middle-aged man, introducing himself as the owner of a small travel business in Thanh Chau, stood up to express his serious concern, asking more about the possibility of cooperating in investing in equipment for more high-end experience train carriages for tourists, while still maintaining the carriages serving residents at the current affordable price.

Thien An patiently answered each question, sometimes inviting Khanh Chi to add a practical perspective from many years of experience working directly on the line. When asked about how to ensure that the route does not become too commercialized and lose its rustic identity, Khanh Chi stood up and answered, her voice filled with confidence: "We will never let the tourism business affect the rights of familiar passengers like Ms. Nhan, like Mrs. Dang, like Boi Linh sitting here. This ship must first and foremost be a means of serving people's lives, tourism is just an additional source of income to support a living." it, not its replacement purpose."

Her answer received warm applause, and Mr. Bang, sitting in the front row, also nodded sympathetically.

Mr. Bang, after listening to everything, stood up to speak, his voice was more thoughtful than the previous meeting. "I have to admit, this is a much more detailed and well-founded plan than I ever thought a spontaneous group could come up with. We will include this dossier in the official report submitted to the Provincial People's Committee, proposing to organize a public hearing for the final decision, with the participation of both relevant parties and independent experts."

The sound of applause echoed throughout the small room. Khanh Chi turned to look at Thien An and saw him smiling, but in his eyes, she still recognized a fleeting anxiety for which she did not yet understand the cause - perhaps, she thought, because the closer it got to the date of the official hearing, the closer it got to the time when the truth about the past was forced to be completely exposed.

After the presentation, as everyone gradually left, Mr. Canh lingered and patted Thien An's shoulder respectfully. "You did a great job, son. If Chi's three children were still alive, they would be very proud to see a young person as dedicated to this route as you are."

That unintentional sentence made Thien An's face turn pale for a moment, but he quickly regained composure and nodded to thank Mr. Canh. Khanh Chi stood nearby, noticing his unusual reaction, but she chose not to ask further right now, just quietly holding his hand, a silent gesture of encouragement amidst the bustling atmosphere of a successful evening.

"Thank you, for everything you've done," she said as they stood alone on the deserted platform, the late moonlight casting a silvery sheen on the tracks.

"Thank you is correct," Thien An replied, gently squeezing her hand. "For giving me a reason to believe that I can still do something good, after all that has happened."

They stood there for a long time, not saying another word, just quietly enjoying the rare moment of peace in the midst of a journey with many challenges ahead, while in the distance, the last lights of the small traditional room gradually turned off, giving way to the quiet darkness that covered the entire station platform. The night wind gently shook the trees along the tracks, bringing with it the first cold of the season, and in that quiet moment, Khanh Chi silently prayed that whatever was making Thien An worried, they would overcome it together, the same way they had overcome so many other challenges on the previous journey.