Chapter 27 — The Language of Hands

The report about the No Distance Festival aired the following Monday night, nearly five minutes long on the local news - much longer than the short news from the difficult first interview. Thao Nguyen's whole family gathered in front of the TV to watch, and when Mr. Phuc's interview appeared, confidently answering each question using symbols with translation subtitles running below, Binh An clapped his hands and shouted with excitement, pointing at the screen to signal: "Mr. Phuc is on TV!"

The reportage ends with a shot of the entire schoolyard during the announcement ceremony, applause mixed with raised hands, and the announcer's comment: "A beautiful proof that when young people really listen and learn from the community they want to connect with, even the most seemingly distant bridges can be firmly built." Hearing that, Thao Nguyen's mother couldn't help but hug both sisters, tears rolling down from happiness.

The next morning at school, Thao Nguyen became the center of discussion all day. Many classmates in the same grade, even those who had never been interested in the club before, also came to ask questions, asked to take pictures with them, and asked for their contact number to register for the next semester. Hai Yen, walking beside her throughout the hallway, could not hide his proud expression. "You're really famous," Yen teased, gently nudging her friend's shoulder. "Remember how you timidly signed up for the club at the beginning of the year on an impulse? Now you're the representative face."

"Don't exaggerate like that," Thao Nguyen laughed, a little embarrassed by the sudden attention. "I'm just a small part of a whole group."

"Yeah, I know, but I'm proud of you, can't I show you off a bit?" Hai Yen replied, holding her best friend's arm and continuing, and Thao Nguyen couldn't help but feel grateful to have a friend who has always accompanied and supported her from the most awkward first days until now.

Next week, the paperwork recognizing the Sign Language Club as a permanently operating club was officially signed, along with a fixed annual budget and a separate activity room, no longer having to temporarily borrow an empty classroom like before. Gia Bach, as the president, was invited to attend a short meeting with the Board of Directors to discuss long-term operating plans, ensuring the club can continue to operate sustainably even after founding members like him and Thao Nguyen graduate.

"I proposed a transfer mechanism," Gia Bach told Thao Nguyen after the meeting, when the two sat resting in the club's new living room, a small but cozy space with paintings of Binh An and other Deaf youth hanging solemnly on the wall. "Each year, the homeroom board will train at least two junior members to succeed, ensuring the club does not break when we leave school."

"Good idea," Thao Nguyen nodded in agreement, looking around the room with an indescribable pride. "I think Minh Thu will be a great future homeroom teacher. He progresses very quickly and has a talent for organization."

"I think so too," Gia Bach smiled, then his eyes became a little more thoughtful. "Speaking of graduation, have you thought about what major and school you will study?"

That question made Thao Nguyen pause a bit. During the past half a year, amid the hustle and bustle of the club, her family, and her budding love, she almost forgot about the pressure of choosing a major and choosing a school that was hanging over the heads of every other 12th grade student.

"I'm still wondering," she admitted. "Previously, I intended to study Economics as my parents suggested, but after everything I went through with the club, I started thinking about studying a field related to special education or social work. I want to continue doing things like this, but more methodically and professionally."

"That suits you very well," Gia Bach said, his eyes shining with support. "I still plan to study Linguistics, specializing in sign language, maybe in the future I can become a professional interpreter, or teach. I want to do something so that CODA children in the future don't have to shoulder the burden alone like I did."

"So we're both going in a direction related to what the club taught us," Thao Nguyen commented, smiling. "It seems this half year has changed both of us more than I thought."

"I think that's a good thing," Gia Bach replied, gently holding her hand. "But I'm also a little worried, I don't know if we'll be studying in the same city next year, or if we'll have to be apart again."

That worry, although not expressed much before, was now clearly visible on both of their faces. Thao Nguyen gently squeezed his hand, trying to reassure him, although in her heart she could not help but feel a little bit of similar insecurity. "I believe, if we both try to research carefully before applying, there will be a way for us not to be apart too much."

That afternoon, when Thao Nguyen stopped by Lang Coffee to thank Mr. Phuc again for his companionship in the recent event, he invited her to sit down and chat longer than usual.

"I want to ask you something," Mr. Phuc said, his voice serious but friendly. "After you graduate, do you plan to continue to be involved with the Deaf community, or is this just a chapter in your student life that will close?"

That straightforward question made Thao Nguyen think seriously before answering. "I think, no matter what I study or where I study, I will never stop learning symbols, I will never stop connecting with this community," she replied, her voice firm. "Not only because of Binh An, but because I truly realize that this is an important part of who I am now."

Mr. Phuc nodded, his eyes satisfied. “Then I have a suggestion,” he said. "My community group is in need of more people to help teach basic signs to parents of newly diagnosed Deaf children, because many families, like mine, don't know where to start. If you have free time in the future, even though you've gone to college, I hope you'll still stop by and lend a hand."

"I will definitely do it," Thao Nguyen replied immediately, without hesitation, feeling an indescribable honor at that request - a clear sign that the trust between her and Mr. Phuc had been completely healed, even stronger than before the incident.

That night when she got home, Thao Nguyen told Binh An about Mr. Phuc's proposal, and he seemed extremely excited. "So you will help other families like ours in the past?" he gestured, his eyes lighting up. "That's good, remember to teach them not to wait until their children are older to learn like you, learn early to save time."

That gentle but somewhat poignant joke made Thao Nguyen laugh and lightly punch her on the shoulder. "I know, no need to remind me," she replied, but in her heart she was grateful that now, such teasing between the two sisters no longer carried the bitter taste of the past, but simply the intimacy and closeness of a relationship that had been completely healed.

She sat down next to her sister, opened her notebook, not to write down new vocabulary like the first days of clumsily learning notation, but to write down her plans for the future - the universities she wanted to learn about, the special education-related majors she wanted to study more closely, and even a small line dedicated to the promise she made with Mr. Phuc, as a reminder to herself that this journey will not end when she leaves Viet Duc school, but will only begin to enter a new chapter. more extensive.

Binh An, sitting next to her, curiously glanced at the words she was writing, then suddenly took a pencil and drew a small picture in the corner of her notebook page - a picture of two hands clasped together, exactly like the picture he had given her many months ago, but this time adding a row of other pairs of hands behind them, gradually getting smaller towards the horizon, like a group of people walking together. "For you, to remember that it's not just us two sisters, there are many others walking on this path," he gestured, explaining the meaning of that small drawing.

Thao Nguyen looked at the drawing, her heart filled with an emotion that was difficult to name, both warm and proud, realizing that her younger brother, who was once the source of her stumbling journey of learning symbols, has now also become an understanding companion, sharing profound thoughts no less than a real adult. She carefully pasted that small drawing onto the first page of the notebook, right below the words on the day she registered for the club nearly a year ago, as a way to completely frame the entire journey that had gone by, before opening a new page for the unfinished plans ahead.