Chapter 59 — The Last Seed Keeper

News of the trip spread throughout the Green Dome faster than Khe Mien expected, even though the Council had tried to keep most of the details under wraps, and on the third day after her return, when she stopped by the central market to buy a few necessary items, she immediately noticed the eyes following her—curious, worried, and at times, admiring—from the people of the Green Dome she had known all her life but who now saw her as someone completely different.

"Is it true, that story about the Salt Dome?" a woman selling vegetables asked when Khe Mien stopped to pick some radishes, her voice unable to hide her curiosity. "I heard they treat their own people terribly, worse than we could ever imagine."

"That's right," Khe Mien replied, not wanting to avoid the truth but also careful not to spread unnecessary fear. "But there are also other Arches, like the Sand Arch, where people still maintain their kindness and openness, even though the world is becoming more difficult."

The woman nodded, but her eyes still carried an unrelieved worry. "I just hope the Council will make the right decision," she said. "I have a young child. I don't want him to live in fear, but I also don't want him to be in danger."

Khe Mien understood that worry better than anyone else, and as she continued through the market, she noticed similar conversations taking place everywhere — the people of Vom Xanh were, for the first time in many years, forced to face directly the reality that the world beyond Mai Loc was no longer a distant, abstract concept, but an inseparable part of their own future.

That evening, Bien Ba Uy convened an open community meeting, different from the previous closed Council meeting, to officially announce the main features of Khe Mien's report and answer questions from the people. The largest room in the Green Dome, usually used for Harvest Festivals, was packed, and as Khe Mien stood before the crowd, she felt a different kind of thrill than the fear she had felt before Han Dinh Sang — this was her community, the people she had grown up with, and now they were waiting for her to lead them through something unprecedented.

“I know many of you are scared,” she began, her voice ringing clearly in the silent room. "And I didn't come here to say that those fears are unfounded. The world beyond the Filth is changing, and not all changes are good news. But I also didn't come here to say that the answer is to close the gates and pretend those changes don't exist."

She recounted, again but more briefly, what she had witnessed—not only the cruelty at Salt Dome and the suspicion at Stone Dome, but also Dai Van Cuong's kindness, Cau Bach Thinh's hospitality, Duong Thi Yen's silent sacrifice, and Nam Khoi's lonely wisdom.

"Every Vòm, every person I meet on the road, is trying to find a way to survive in their own way," she said. "Some choose to hoard and control. Some choose to share and trust. I believe that the Green Dome, with all that we have built — the Seed Store, the Central Nursery, the traditions of the Seed Keepers before me — has the ability to choose the second path, without sacrificing its safety."

An older man in the front row raised his hand, and when Bien Ba Uy signaled him to speak, he stood up, his voice shaking with age but still clear. “You talk about sharing,” he said. "But if we share too much, will the Green Dome still have enough for our own children and grandchildren?"

"That's a fair question," Khe Mien replied. "And I don't have the perfect answer. But I believe that sharing doesn't mean giving it all without limits. It means building relationships that when Green Dome is in trouble — as we were with Root Rot — there will be someone willing to help us, just as we've helped others before."

Another young woman stood up from the middle row, her voice carrying a curiosity that was completely different from the older man's concern. “Are you talking about the conference at the Upper Arch,” she asked. "If the Green Dome sends someone to attend, who will be the representative? And will it be as dangerous as what happened at the Stone Dome?"

Bien Ba Uy, standing next to Khe Mien, answered before she could speak. “The Council has not yet made a final decision on whether to attend or not,” he said, his voice calm. "But if we decide to attend, we will ensure the delegation is much more prepared than on the last trip, with a full understanding of the risks that may be encountered."

Su Dinh Lam, sitting in the row reserved for the Council, did not speak during the meeting, but when people began to stand up to leave, he approached Khe Mien, his face carrying an expression more complex than the usual skepticism.

“You presented it very skillfully,” he said, his voice not entirely complimentary but also lacking the harshness it had had during the Council session. "I still maintain my concerns. But I admit, you gave the community a more balanced view than I expected, instead of just painting a rosy picture of the outside world."

"Thank you for saying that," Khe Mien replied, surprised by the sudden admission. "I don't want to deny your concerns, Su Dinh Lam. I just want to make sure we make a decision based on the whole truth, not just the part that scares us the most."

He nodded, a small gesture that meant a temporary truce between two still deeply different perspectives. “We will continue to argue,” he said, “but at least now I believe that you are arguing for the true benefit of the Green Dome, not for some naive adventure.”

As he left, Diem Quynh, standing nearby with Kien and Ngan The Binh, gently nudged Khe Mien on the shoulder. "I think that's the biggest compliment I've ever gotten from him," she said, a mischievous smile on her lips.

"I think so," Khe Mien replied, laughing lightly, feeling some of the tension in her heart ease at her young friend's humor.

After the meeting, when the crowd gradually dispersed, Bach Lam came to Khe Mien, an undisguised pride in his eyes. “You did very well,” he said. "I think you just changed the way a lot of them see the world, in just one evening."

“I hope so,” Khe Mien said, feeling exhausted but also filled with a quiet contentment. "But I know this is just the beginning. There's a lot more to do, a lot of people to convince."

"What about you?" she asked, turning to look at him with a curiosity she had harbored for a long time but had never had the chance to ask directly. "Are you planning to stay at the Green Dome, or will you continue your traveling life?"

Bach Lam was silent for a moment, looking out into the distance towards Roof Filter, where the moonlight was filtering through the transparent glass into a gentle silver light. "I think," he said finally, "I will stay, at least for the time being, helping Green Dome prepare for what is coming. But I also think, when Green Dome needs to send people to negotiate, to build new relationships, I will be the one to lead the way — with you, if you allow it."

Khe Mien smiled and held his hand. "I couldn't imagine anyone else more suitable," she said.

"What about you?" she asked further, when Kien and Diem Quynh approached, clearly having heard the last part of the conversation. "What are you two going to do next?"

"I want to join the official Border Patrol," Kien replied immediately, without hesitation, his eyes shining with a clear goal that he had probably been harboring throughout the final weeks of the journey. "I want to learn more from Mr. Ngan The Binh, so that one day I can lead the way for others myself."

"And I think I'll continue working on the Respiratory Station's filtration system," Diem Quynh said, "but also spend time researching the new technologies I saw at Vom Cat and Vom Da. Maybe we can learn a lot from them, if we're willing to open up."

Khe Mien looked at the two young people, a warm sense of pride rising in her heart as she realized that their recent journey had left such a deep mark on each of them, shaping their future paths in ways that neither of them could have predicted before leaving the Green Dome.

"I'm proud of you both," she said, her voice sincere. "And I think, although the road ahead is still uncertain, the Green Dome will have worthy people to face it."

The group stood there for a long time, under the moonlight filtering through the Filter Roof, enjoying a rare moment of peace before new challenges, they knew, would soon come.