Chapter 2 — There Are Wounds That Only Truth Can Heal

I briefly tell the beginning and end of the story. The other end of the line was silent for exactly five seconds.

"Oh my god... Someone suddenly entered a boy's household registration into your name?"

"How old is the boy?"

"Eighteen. Born April 2007."

Another five seconds of silence.

"Van Ninh, April 2007... where were you at that time?"

"Twelfth grade, last semester. I'm in the dormitory studying for university exams."

I replied very calmly.

"From the beginning of the year until the end of the exam, I never went home. My mother took notes, and the school also had an attendance sheet."

"Then there's nothing to fear."

Lam Tinh's voice immediately became firm.

"Just investigate in the correct order. If you need help, say so immediately, don't be polite."

After hanging up the phone, I opened my notebook and wrote down one line: January to June 2007. Collect all my schedules and travel evidence. This matter... It's actually not difficult to investigate. The difficulty is... After all, the person who spent all that effort to put a child's household registration in my name... What goal do they want to achieve? On the day of the medical examination, Tran Dich arrived half an hour early. He sat on the bench in front of the medical examination center. On his knees lay an old backpack. Back straight. His eyes just quietly looked down at the tile floor. Seeing me coming, he immediately stood up. He moved his lips a few times but didn't know what to say.

"Do you have ID?"

He quickly took out the documents from his backpack. The movements were faster than normal people, as if afraid I would change my mind. During the medical examination, he followed the nurse from room to room. And I sat and waited in the family area. When the examination was finished, he walked to the front desk, returned the license plate, and then turned to look at me. The expression on his face was less stiff than when he first arrived.

"Miss... Miss Co."

His voice was smaller than last time.

"I'm not good with words... but thank you... for not sending me away right away."

"No need to thank me for now."

"Wait until the DNA test is done before talking."

"I know."

He bowed his head.

"But before grandma passed away, I carried this worry for her for many years."

"I'm just afraid..."

"After she left..."

"No one will remember that anymore."

I didn't reply.

"The report will be available in five business days."

"When the time comes, come get it yourself."

On the way home, I stopped by the county archives. What I want to see... Is the original record of the civil registration eighteen years ago. The staff at the counter told me that if you want to look up paper records from the years 1990 to 2010, you must apply for an excerpt. The fastest is three working days. I filled out the application. Leave your contact phone number. Everything here just needs to be calm and wait for the results. But after returning to the pharmacy, sitting in the office behind the counter... I arranged the whole thing from start to finish again. I am eighteen years old. A twelfth grade boarding student. Have never left the district where the school is located. But that same year... A child was born. Registered under my household registration. Listed as my mother's name is me. To do that... What conditions are needed? There must be someone who is qualified to intervene in the civil status system, or knows the officials directly handling the registration. That person must know all my personal information. Includes identification number and household address. On the birth registration form... Someone must hand write my name go to the parent section. Three conditions. Without one, it cannot be done. I opened the drawer and took out the printed civil status information. Quietly look at each line. In the father section... In the mother section... Write my name clearly again. If there really was a child born in 2007... So who is his biological mother? And why... Do you have to borrow my name? A knock on the door rang out. Little Tang poked his head in.

"Miss Co, there's a problem with the delivery order this afternoon. Can you help me take a look?"

I put the file back in the drawer. After completing the order, it was almost four o'clock in the afternoon. At that moment, the phone rang. It's my mother-in-law. I always call her mother. She lives in the old neighborhood. Normally we only meet once a month. She used to speak little. Rarely even proactively call. As soon as she picked up the phone, her voice rang out:

"Van Ninh, I heard something big happened to your family, right?"

I held the phone tightly. But didn't answer right away.

"Who told you this?"

"Yesterday, Kien Minh brought some things for mom. By the way, I'll tell you a few things."

The mother-in-law's voice was monotone, neither happy nor sad.

"Van Ninh, if that child is truly your child... then you have to think carefully."

"I'm investigating."

"Mom doesn't talk about investigation."

She paused for a moment then continued.

"Mom told me to think carefully."

"I was only eighteen years old at that time. As young people, everyone is impulsive at times. There are things that I don't even remember."

"The boy came to the door, proving that the two of them are destined."

"Don't try to deny it anymore. I've experienced it all, so why would anyone laugh at me?"

I interrupted her.

"When I was eighteen years old, I lived in the dormitory studying for the university entrance exam."

"I've never given birth."

"Oh, it's been so long, it's normal that you don't remember everything..."

"I remember very clearly."

The other end of the line was silent for three seconds.

"Well then..."

She changed her tone to a softer tone.

"Anyway, we have to wait for the results of the assessment before speaking. I'm just asking a few questions."

"Ah yes, how is Niem Niem these days?"

I replied briefly with a few sentences and then hung up. Sitting quietly on the chair, I looked at the stream of people outside the window. In my head, I put together every word of my mother-in-law and Ha Kien Minh. Ha Kien Minh says:

"Maybe it's true. At that time I was still young, there were things I don't even remember."

Mother-in-law said:

"Every young person has times when they are confused, and there are things that they don't even remember."

Same guidance. They all want me to believe that... It's possible that I've forgotten what happened in the past. That is absolutely not a coincidence. That afternoon, after work, Lam Tinh came to find me. She stood waiting in front of the pharmacy, holding a bag of roasted sweet potatoes she had just bought.

"Come on, tell me."

"What else has happened lately?"

The two of us walked to a small park nearby, found an empty bench and sat down. I recounted the entire phone call from my mother-in-law. Lam Tinh bit the melon seed and tilted his head to look at me.

"She and your husband..."

"Are they saying the same thing?"

"Same direction."

"The way to say it is a little different."

"It's clear then."