Chapter 6 — When I Don't Need Them Anymore

Email from immigration broker.

"Dear Ms. Co, congratulations, your permanent residence application has been officially approved. Wishing you all the best."

I stood in front of the police station gate. The sunlight shines on my face, bringing some warmth. I breathed out softly. One long breath. It seems like everything from the past five years... followed that breath and left the body. I called a taxi and went straight to the Co family's villa. Inside is empty, no one is there. I walked into the living room that once belonged to me. Take out two documents from the drawer. One part is "Declaration of voluntary severance of parent-child relationship". One part is the “Annulment Agreement”. At the end of each page is my signature. Tham Niem An. I neatly placed the two documents on the living room coffee table. Then take all the blueprints from the drawer and put them in the suitcase. Stand in the middle of the living room for a second. Then pulled the suitcase and left. On the way to the airport, the city lights outside the car window gradually receded frame by frame. The waiting lobby was very crowded, loudspeakers continuously announced flights. I sat next to the window and took out my phone. Three people are pinned at the top of the phonebook: Luc Canh Tham. I looked at those three names for the last time. Then remove the sim card, break it, and throw it in the trash. Go towards the boarding gate. Don't turn back. At eleven o'clock that night, Luc Canh Tham left the company. Meeting all day made his neck stiff and painful. As soon as he sat in the car, he habitually turned on his phone. There are no messages from Tham Niem An. Not even one piece of news. He told the driver:

“Go back to the Co family.”

The car drove into the villa area. Street lights passed by one after another outside the window. The whole villa was dark. He rang the doorbell. No one answered. Wait a minute. Click again. Still no one responded. He entered the password, pushed the door open and entered. The mysterious light hadn't turned on yet, so he groped along the wall to find the switch. The light turns on. The living room is empty. On the tea table are two documents. He stepped forward. First part.

“Declaration of voluntary severance of parent-child relationship.”

Announcer: Tham Niem An. Part two.

“Agreement to annul the marriage.”

Party A: Tham Niem An. At the bottom of the page, the handwriting is neat and the date is clear. He held two pieces of paper and stood in the middle of the living room. Cold white light shines on the empty space throughout the house. He quickly ran upstairs and pushed open the door to her room. The wardrobe is empty. The drawer is empty. The desk is clean without a speck of dust. Not even a strand of hair was left. He took out his phone and called her number.

“The subscriber you have called is currently unreachable.”

He called back.

“The subscriber you have called is currently unreachable.”

Third time. Fourth time. Fifth time. It was the same mechanical female voice repeating endlessly. He held the phone, standing in the middle of that empty room. Outside the window, there was a plane flying across the night sky. The tail lights flash one by one. Fly farther and farther. Higher and higher. Until there was only a dot of light left. Then disappeared completely. When the plane landed in Milan, it was six in the morning local time. The compartment door opened. The cold air flowed in, bringing with it a strange smell. I pulled my suitcase and walked out of the airport. It was just dawn, the horizon was covered with a layer of light gray clouds. The phone has also been replaced with a new SIM. The first message is the received email received three days ago, sent from the organizers of a jewelry design contest for young people.

"Dear Ms. An Lac, your entry 'The Way Back' has successfully entered the final round. Please come to Milan before the fifteenth of next month to submit the actual sample. Attached are the final round instructions and the jury list."

I opened the attached file and scrolled down to the last line of the judges list. Final judge: Lam Vuc. In this world, there is no one who does not know that name. First Asian designer to win the Milan International Jewelry Award. After retiring, he opened his own studio in Milan, choosing his students more strictly than choosing his son-in-law. Every year, thousands of works by newcomers are sent to his studio. But the number of people who really caught his eye... No more than two people a year. I took the blueprints out of my suitcase and spread each sheet out on a small table in the hotel. These things... Are the only things that truly belonged to me during the five years I spent at the Co family's house. During the day, smile and deal with those people. At night, turn off the lights and sit drawing each stroke until dawn. There are no courses. There is no teacher. Just rely on reading books, looking at exhibition catalogs, then relying on that will to not admit defeat and learn little by little. They will help me gain a way to live. The fifteenth day of next month, the final round. Thirty-two days left. Three weeks later, I submitted a sample of my work to the contest.