Chapter 13 — The Medicine Bearer Through the Chaos

Three Questions from the Monk

The next morning, the boy was fully awake, although still weak. When asked his name, he timidly replied "I don't remember clearly, people often call me Stork" - perhaps because of his skinny figure and lanky neck, like that bird. The boy whispered that his parents had died in a raid by the Northern enemy army in a village far away, and he was lost in a group of people running around, walking for many days without remembering how long before collapsing beside the banyan tree where Tinh Yen found him.

The monk — whom the refugee families in the pagoda respectfully called "Monk Lieu Nguyen" — personally arranged for Co to stay at Co Lam pagoda, where the old abbot had become accustomed to taking care of orphans from many years of war. When everything was okay, he went to Tinh Yen who was sitting on the temple porch, holding two cups of hot tea.

"Drink some tea to warm your stomach." He gave it a cup, then sat down opposite, his eyes calm but sharp as if he were measuring every small gesture. "I have three questions to ask you, like I said last night."

Tinh Yen sat up straight, holding a cup of tea in her hand, feeling nervous for no apparent reason. "Yes, I asked."

"First sentence." The monk looked straight into its eyes. "If in front of you there are two critically ill people at the same time, one is a rich person who has treated you badly, the other is a poor person you have never known, but you only have enough medicine to save one person - who would you choose?"

Tinh Yen paused and thought carefully before responding. "Teacher, I will see who has a higher chance of survival if saved, not whether that person is good or bad for me. My grandmother taught me that when I hold a knife and cutlery in my hand, I am no longer an ordinary person who can distinguish between love and hate. I am the one who keeps the lives of others. If both are equal, I... I think I will save the poor first, because the rich have many other ways to find help, while the poor often only have one chance."

The monk nodded slightly, did not comment further, continued with the second question. "Second question. If you learned a cure that could save hundreds of lives, but to learn it you had to test it on a dying patient, at the risk of causing that person to die a few moments sooner than if you did nothing — would you do it?"

This question was much more difficult, making Tinh Yen ponder for a long time. "I... I don't know for sure, teacher. But I think, if that patient has agreed, understood the risks and is willing, then maybe I will do it, because it is their choice, not my arbitrarily deciding for someone else's life. But if they cannot agree, are not alert to decide, then I think I will not do it - because that is different from me considering their life as just a means, not a person."

The monk's eyes flashed with more obvious surprise this time, as if the answer from the fifteen-year-old girl in front of him was far beyond what he expected. He was silent for a moment, took a sip of tea, then asked the last question.

"Third question. Why do you want to learn medicine? To avenge your grandmother and your village by becoming stronger? To no longer feel helpless? Or for some other reason?"

This question touched a deep place in Tinh Yen's heart, causing it to take a long time to find the most honest answer. "I thought... at first, it was true that I studied because I didn't want to be helpless anymore. I didn't want to see another person I loved die before my eyes without me being able to do anything. But the more I went, the more I realized... this job is not to make me stronger than others, but to make me less useless in the face of the pain of others, no matter who they are, whether they know me or not." He stopped, his voice trembling slightly. "My grandmother said that medicine is a profession to repay the debt for one's own life. I think I study because I want to repay that debt, on behalf of the people I couldn't save."

Silence covered the temple yard for a long time, only the sound of birds chirping in the ancient trees and the sound of the wind blowing through the mossy tiled roof. Monk Lieu Nguyen put down his teacup and looked into the distance, his eyes as if drifting to a very distant place in his memory.

"I have been practicing medicine for more than thirty years." He spoke, slowly. "I have met many people who want to learn medicine for all kinds of reasons - some because they want to make a living, some because they are forced to continue the profession because of family tradition, some because they want to be respected by people. Very few people have met people who study this profession for the exact reason you just said - to be less useless in the face of other people's pain, regardless of their background."

He turned to look Tinh Yen straight in the eyes, and in that moment, she felt a weight different from any looks she had ever received from adults - not pity for an orphan, but true respect for a fellow believer, even though their age and experience were very far apart.

"I accept you as my disciple." He spoke, his voice as decisive as an oath. "But I have to say first - the road I'm on is not easy. I don't stay in one place, I travel all over the world, I stop wherever a sick person needs me, I have no house, no permanent shelter. There are nights when there's nothing to eat, there are days when I have to face cases that can't be cured even if I try my best. Are you sure you want to go this way?"

Tinh Yen did not hesitate for even a moment. "I'm sure, teacher. I have nowhere else to go, and I believe this is the path my grandmother wanted me to follow."

"Good." Monk Lieu Nguyen nodded slightly, a rare smile appearing on his weathered face. "From today, you are my disciple. But remember this, Tinh Yen - I teach you medical skills, but I will not hide this from you: I myself carry many unspeakable things in my heart, wounds from a past I am not ready to face. Maybe one day, when you are strong enough, I will tell you. But that day is not today."

That statement made Tinh Yen extremely curious, but she was also sensitive enough to realize that this was not the time to ask more questions. He just bowed his head deeply, a way of bowing to the teacher according to the proper etiquette that she had taught him when telling stories about previous generations of doctors.

"Disciple Do Tinh Yen would like to pay his respects to the master."

Monk Lieu Nguyen nodded in acceptance, looking down at his new disciple with a complex mixture of joy at finding a worthy successor and a vague worry about whether he was dragging this girl into the very dangers he himself had tried to escape for so many years. But he didn't say that, he just stood up and brushed the dust off his cassock.

"Pack your things. We'll leave this afternoon."

Before leaving Co Lam Pagoda, Tinh Yen stopped by to visit Co for the last time. The boy was sitting up. Although still weak, his eyes were much brighter than the first night he found him by the banyan tree.

"Are you really going?" Stork asked, his voice still hoarse from a few days of serious illness, his hand clutching the hem of Tinh Yen's shirt as if afraid it would disappear.

"You must follow your master to learn medicine so that you can save more people in the future." Tinh Yen patted the boy's head, trying to give him a reassuring smile even though his heart also felt a little indescribable. "You stay here with the monks, they will take good care of you and give you a good education. I promise, if I have a chance to pass by, I will visit you."

"Do you really promise?"

"Real." Tinh Yen nodded firmly, even though they both understood that in the midst of this chaos, a promise to meet again is like a grain of sand thrown into the vast ocean, not knowing whether it will ever be found again or not. But sometimes, in the midst of endless separation, a fragile promise is still better than having nothing to hold on to.

The stork nodded, trying to hold back tears, then suddenly rummaged through his pocket, took out a small, smooth pebble, perhaps picked up somewhere along the way, and stuffed it into Tinh Yen's hand. "Please take this, to remember me."

Tinh Yen held the small pebble tightly in her palm, feeling an extraordinary warmth spreading even though it was just an inanimate object. He put the pebble in his medicine bag, next to her notebook, like adding another small piece of memory to his luggage that was already filled with so many losses.

That afternoon, when the yellow sunlight slanted through the ancient trees surrounding Co Lam Pagoda, Tinh Yen put her medicine bag on her shoulder, stood next to Master Lieu Nguyen at the temple gate, and looked back one last time. The Stork stood in the middle of the yard, supported by the old abbot's shoulder, waving until the shadows of the teacher and student disappeared behind the bend in the forest road.