Chapter 23 — The Rain Stops, I Also Awake From Dreaming

At noon, lawyer Han placed the preliminarily arranged documents next to my bed. Camera on the highway. Camera at the rest stop. Recording in hospital. Indoor cloud video. Registration information at the pawn shop. Fake guarantee certificate. House sale authorization agreement. Tieu Ngo's testimony. Chat history on Tran Nha's phone. Each page stacked on top of each other, as heavy as a brick. Lawyer Han said: "The next process will be very long." “Divorce, property division, compensation for losses, debt liability exclusion, and even the criminal part.” “But the initiative is no longer in Tham Hao's hands.” I looked at those documents. “I just want to get back what belongs to me.” Father sat next to me, his voice was low and hoarse. “There is also yourself.” I was stunned. He looked at me. “Duong Duong, you have lost a lot of things in the past three years.” “How much money can be recovered is a secondary matter.” “First you have to find yourself.” My eyes get hot. “Dad, I will do it.” In the afternoon, the traffic police made a preliminary conclusion about the accident. Tham Hao illegally stopped his car on the emergency stop lane on a rainy night, and then acted incorrectly when merging from the emergency stop lane into the main lane, and must be held responsible. The driver's family behind knew he had left his wife on the highway earlier so he was extremely angry. They do not accept private mediation. The project that Tham Hao Company was expecting to sign the next day was also completely stopped. The partner side issued a public statement not to continue negotiations. Creditors report. Company account is blocked. The things he used to save his face collapsed overnight. In the evening, my father sent someone to take my mother's watch for maintenance. Before taking it away, I looked at it through the sealed bag for a long time. The clock stopped at an incorrect time. Just like after my mother passed away, a certain part of my life also stopped. Father said: "After the repair is finished, I will wear it for you myself." I nodded. "Yes." Half a month later, I was discharged from the hospital. The day I walked out of the hospital, the sun was very beautiful. Father personally came to pick me up. I sat in the car, looked at myself in the rearview mirror, I had lost weight, my face was still white. But the last look was no longer empty. The first time Tham Hao called me was after his request to meet at the detention center was rejected. The call is transferred to a lawyer. He wants to see me. I'm not going. The second time, he asked someone to convey the word, saying he agreed to divorce but asked me to withdraw part of the prosecution. I told lawyer Han to answer: "Things that need to be paid must be paid, crimes that need to be tried must be tried." The third time, Phuong Mai asked her relatives to come to her father's company. She cried and said she was old and her son could not be destroyed. Dad just told the security guard to print out the camera photo from the day before when she was in the car, forcing me to kneel down and give it to her. She immediately collapsed to the ground. After that, the divorce case was brought to trial. Tham Hao sat opposite, his whole body was thin and deformed. When he saw me, there was still resentment in his eyes. But as each piece of evidence was presented, even his rebuttals paled. Finally the court approved the divorce. The house I bought before marriage belongs to me alone. The guarantee and donation deed created by his forged signature were transferred to s
other cases are being handled. He was also ordered to pay compensation for the bodily harm and property damage caused to me. As for the matters between him and Phuong Mai, Phuong Que Huong and Tieu Ngo, they are left to the law to slowly settle. I don't continue to listen to every development anymore. Lawyer Han periodically sends me the results. The amount of money that needs to be refunded is processed in each item according to the correct procedures. The items I needed to find returned to me one by one. My mother's ring, earrings, and old watch were repaired, then my father placed them in a new velvet box and gave them to me. That day, I wore a watch on my wrist. The clock hands started moving again. The ticking sound was very quiet. But it's like telling me that time that once stopped can still continue moving forward. A year later, I moved back to Tan Giang Uyen. The door of the house that had been broken into had new locks replaced. The walls are painted a light cream color. On the windowsill place two pots of green plants. When sunlight shines into the living room, the air smells of clean wood. Dad stood at the door, watching me push the last box into the house. “Are you really not going home?” I smiled. “This place is also home.” Father looked at me for a long time then nodded. “That's good.” In the evening, I sat alone at the dining table. On the table there is a plate of braised chicken thighs. It's something I bought when passing by the market. I picked one up and took a bite. Brackish. I froze and then suddenly burst out laughing. It turns out that salty chicken thighs can be poured with a glass of water. Can be exchanged to another store. You can also not eat. Just don't lock yourself on a dining table for three years because of other people's malice. The line of cars outside the window slowly passed by. The city lights light up one after another. I lowered my head to look at the old watch on my wrist.