Chapter 18 — The Language of Hands

The young reporter started with a simple opening question, pointing the microphone towards the group: "Can you share the meaning of today's No Distance Festival event?"

Gia Bach intended to answer first to take the lead, but Mr. Phuc took the initiative to step forward half a step, began to gesture, his eyes directed straight towards the camera lens with the confidence of an acquaintance standing in front of a crowd. Gia Bach quickly took on the role of the translator, his voice catching up almost parallel to Phuc's hand.

"This event is an opportunity for the Deaf community and students to meet each other on a level playing field..." Gia Bach translated, his voice clear and his speed moderate.

The reporter nodded, took quick notes, then turned to ask the second question, this time focusing his eyes more on Thao Nguyen because she stood closest there as a representative of the student organizing committee. "As for the school, how long have the students been preparing for this event?"

This question fell on the part Thao Nguyen knew best, and she began to answer with excitement, telling about her fundraising journey and the initial difficulties with the school. But when the reporter asked the third question — "Can you share your feelings when participating in an event organized by students like this?" — directed towards Mr. Phuc, Thao Nguyen, because she was too impatient with the clock running and afraid of wasting time waiting for the full translation, unconsciously jumped in as soon as she saw Mr. Phuc had just signed the first few words.

"What Mr. Phuc means is, this event is very meaningful, and the Deaf community is very happy to be invited by the school to participate," she said quickly, looking straight at the reporter, completely turning away from the direction Mr. Phuc was standing, her tone confident as if she completely understood what he wanted to say.

Mr. Phuc stopped mid-sentence, a slightly confused expression on his face, then patiently continued to gesture, trying to complete his answer. But Thao Nguyen, her eyes still glued to the reporter, her arms and legs gesticulating to emphasize the point she had just "interpreted", did not realize that he was still continuing to gesture behind her.

"In addition, this event is also an opportunity to introduce Deaf culture to a larger number of students," she continued, her voice becoming more and more fluent and confident, completely overwhelming the answer space that originally belonged to someone else.

Gia Bach, standing nearby, frowned and was about to speak up to remind him, but the reporter asked the next question, bringing the conversation along faster. Coming to the fourth question — a rather personal question, about how Mr. Phuc personally felt about growing up as a Deaf person in a largely hearing society — Thao Nguyen, still in her "support" groove, once again rushed in as soon as Mr. Phuc had just begun to sign, fearing the interview would last longer than the scheduled five minutes.

"Ah, I think Mr. Phuc would roughly say this: each person has their own journey, but the important thing is that society needs..." she began to "guess" and answered instead, her voice still natural as if nothing was unusual.

This time, Mr. Phuc stopped his hand completely and did not signal again. His face, which had always remained calm and friendly, had now changed - a heavy silence, his eyes looking straight at Thao Nguyen with an expression that she, even though she was busy answering the reporter, could still feel a cold current running down her spine.

The reporter, perhaps also sensing the change in the atmosphere even though he did not understand the cause, hastily thanked the group, said that they had all the necessary documents, and then quickly left with the cameraman because of the urgent schedule.

As soon as the silhouettes of the two guests disappeared behind the crowd, the atmosphere between the remaining small group became suffocatingly tense. Mr. Phuc turned to Thao Nguyen, his hands began to gesture, slowly but decisively, without the familiar gentle expression on his face.

"What did you just do?" he gestured, his eyes stern. "I'll answer three questions for you in a row. You haven't finished a sentence yet, I've already decided what you 'want to say'."

Thao Nguyen stood stunned, feeling as if she had been doused with cold water. Only now did she truly realize what she had just done. "I... I'm sorry, I'm just afraid of running out of time, the reporter pushed too hard so..." she stammered, her voice shaking.

"I understand that you're afraid of running out of time," Mr. Phuc interrupted, gesturing more decisively. "But that's no reason for you to speak for me, turn your back on me while I'm answering, and then make up the answer you think of. Do you know how that feels? As if my voice is not as important as the interview having to go smoothly and on time."

That sentence was like a knife cutting deeply into Thao Nguyen's heart, not because it was harsh, but because it was true to every word. She remembered what Mr. Phuc once told her at Lang Coffee, about not letting the Deaf community feel like a decoration for the event, and now, she herself had done something worse than that - turning him into a silent shadow right in the story of her own life.

"I'm really sorry," she said, tears starting to flow, her voice choking. "I didn't mean to, I just... I was so stressed, I thought I was helping..."

"I believe you didn't mean it," Mr. Phuc replied, his voice softened somewhat but still heavy. "But just because it's not intentional doesn't mean it's not hurtful. This is exactly what many Deaf people still have to endure every day - listeners around us thinking they know what we want to say, then speaking for us, making decisions for us, without ever really waiting to hear our entire answer."

Gia Bach, standing nearby witnessed the whole incident, his face was also full of heaviness and disappointment, but he did not immediately speak up to defend Thao Nguyen, he just stood still, letting Phuc say everything he needed to say, understanding that this was something he deserved to fully express.

Mr. Phuc looked at Thao Nguyen for a moment, then sighed, his eyes less harsh but still clearly hurt. "I won't stay angry, but I need time to calm down," he said, then turned and walked away, blending into the event crowd without saying another word.

Thao Nguyen stood there, her limbs shaking, tears falling without bothering to wipe them away, feeling like the entire foundation of confidence she had built over the past few months seemed to collapse in just a few short minutes. She remembered every little detail — how Ms. Xuan told her to always look straight at the person who was signing, how Gia Bach once said that Deaf people's biggest problem was being treated like a 'show', how she herself proudly told Hai Yen about how she had learned to respect other people's communication space. All of those lessons, in a tense moment due to the running clock and fear of ruining a media opportunity, she threw away completely without even realizing it, until the consequences were clearly visible before her eyes.

"I'm sorry," Thao Nguyen turned to Gia Bach, her voice trembling. "I know you must be very disappointed in me."

Gia Bach was silent for a moment, not immediately denying it, making Thao Nguyen's heart feel even heavier. "I'm not disappointed in you as a person," he said finally, his voice choosing each word carefully. "But I have to be honest, I'm also surprised by what just happened. You've learned a lot of things correctly over the past few months, so when I saw you doing that just now, I don't understand why you forgot everything in an instant."

"I don't understand why I did that," Thao Nguyen replied, her voice breaking into a small sob. "I just thought I was trying to help, trying to make things work, but it turns out I did the worst thing possible."

"Don't, leave me alone for a moment," she said, her voice choked up, then turned and ran quickly to the back of the gymnasium, where there were fewer people, letting her tears flow uncontrollably, mixed with the music and bustling laughter of the event that was still going on in the distance, completely unaware of the storm rolling in the heart of the person who had largely contributed to creating it.

She sat down on the steps behind the gym building, hugging her knees, letting her tears fall. A few minutes later, Ms. Xuan happened to pass by to check the logistics area, recognized a familiar figure huddled alone, immediately walked over and sat down next to her, without asking immediately, just quietly gave her a tissue.

"Have you heard about Mr. Phuc?" Thao Nguyen asked, her voice still shaking.

"I heard Gia Bach briefly tell you," Ms. Xuan replied, her voice gentle but not evasive. "What you did was wrong, and you need to know that, not torment yourself forever, but to really fix it. But now is not the time, the event is still happening, there are still many people waiting for you to come back. Can you cry for five more minutes, then wipe your face, go back and continue working?"

Those straightforward but not cold words made Thao Nguyen nod, trying to breathe deeply to calm down, even though her heart was still filled with hundreds of worries, knowing that this was just the beginning of a series of difficult days ahead.