Chapter 6 — Three Years Waiting for a Call

“How can you look at her like an idiot taking care of Tri Nghien?” Someone also said: “You two text and sing lullabies every day, it's disgusting.” Lam Van Dao initially explained. Say just friends. She said she also advised Tri Nghien to be frank. But no one believes it anymore. In the past, she was best at making people sad. Her eyes are red, there will always be someone to talk for her. But this time, everyone saw her crying, only feeling sarcastic. Tri Nghien's side is no better. The divorce procedure was resolved very quickly. He no longer pretends to be mute. But no one was willing to listen to him talk. He started having trouble sleeping all night. The house was too quiet, so he opened the previous camera over and over again. Watch me cook in the kitchen. Look at me holding a bag of strawberries walking through the door. Looking at me sitting on the sofa, talking to him who was silently returning home this afternoon. He once criticized those words for being noisy. Later, I listened to each sentence over and over again on the camera until dawn. One time, he was drunk and sent me many voice messages. "An Ninh, I passed by the flower shop today." "There are new roses inside." "I want to tell you." "But you don't listen anymore." I didn't answer. The next day, those voice messages turned into red exclamation marks. He was finally dragged into the blacklist by me. Later, I heard that Tri Nghien had quit her old job. He and Lam Van Dao also completely turned against each other. Lam Van Dao questioned him: "If you really love An Ninh so much, why did you say everything to me in the first place?" Tri Nghien only answered one sentence: "Because I was stupid." "It was also because it was too late that I realized, every word she said, she was in love with me." But it was too late. Some people miss one bus but can still wait for the next one. There are some people who miss love once, then it will be gone again. But my life is finally slowly growing new branches and leaves. The flower shop owner taught me how to coordinate flower bouquet colors. The girl at the cafe next door will leave me a piece of cake. On days when the weather is nice, I will go to the beach to take photos. Seeing beautiful clouds, I will softly say: "Today's sunset is beautiful." This sentence is no longer waiting for someone to respond. Just because I really feel beautiful. When spring comes, I keep a small pot of roses in front of the flower shop. The day it bloomed for the first time, I took a photo. Do not send to Tri Nghien. Also don't send it to anyone. I just saved the photo to my phone. Then he raised his head and looked toward the distant sea. The wind blows from the sea, gentle and free. I finally understand. Wanting to share is not wrong. Liking to talk is not wrong. The mistake is that I once gave all my enthusiasm to someone who didn't want to listen. Now, I return those small things to myself. From now on. Afternoon sunshine, roses, sea breeze. It all belongs only to me. [End of full text]