Chapter 14 — Where Old Elephants Rest

The meeting between Mr. Thach and old Ama Not took place on a cold morning, in the same stilt house where Ha Lam once came to talk. Mr. Thach insisted on going by himself, even though his health was still weak, he only agreed to let Ha Lam take him by motorbike on the condition that he go slowly and without bumps.

When the car stopped in front of the stilt house's yard, Ama Not was already sitting on the steps, as if he knew that Mr. Thach would come today. The two old men looked at each other for a long time, their eyes containing a long period of friendship, trust, and questions that had never been resolved.

"Brother Not," Mr. Thach spoke first, his voice trembling with both age and emotion, "today I came to apologize to you, to your whole family, for what I did to Sao Mai thirty years ago. I was wrong to keep it longer than you allowed, to use love as an excuse to delay a promise I once made."

Ama Not was silent, not in a hurry to respond. His eyes looked at Mr. Thach with a complexity that was hard to name - both old pain and the sympathy of a friend who had understood each other for decades.

"Mr. Thach," the old man finally spoke, his voice low and slow, "In the past thirty years, I have thought about this countless times. At first I was very angry, thinking you were taking advantage of my father's kindness. But later on, seeing Sao Mai living healthy, being loved, not having to suffer being beaten and dragged for wood like other elephants of the time, I gradually realized that perhaps you were right to fear the worst that could happen to her."

"But that doesn't mean the way I did it was right," Mr. Thach said, his voice resolute despite his shaking. "I should have been honest with your family from the beginning, we should have discussed and found another way, not decided on my own and hidden the truth behind the facade of kindness."

Ama Not nodded, a sad smile crossing his wrinkled face. "You are still the same Mr. Thach from thirty years ago, still stubbornly admitting all your mistakes. Okay, I accept your apology. But I also want you to understand, what I need is not just an apology, but for Chu Rinh to have a real voice in the story of the elephants that once belonged to my family, not just standing on the outside looking in like guests."

"I understand," Mr. Thach replied, "and I have discussed with my daughter, we want to officially invite your family, along with other families who sent elephants in the past, to participate in the management of the camp, not just in name, but in reality - to have the right to decide, to have a stake, to have a clear role in the future of the camp."

The conversation lasted until nearly noon, the two old men reviewed old memories, trips to the forest, and nights together guarding the elephants from wild animals, gradually melting the layer of ice that had been frozen for thirty years. Ama Not told the story of his father, old Ama Rin, who in the last years of his life often stood at the edge of the forest, looking towards the camp, not daring to come closer for fear of rekindling the pain, but also not willing to leave completely, like an invisible string still tied his heart to the elephant that was once a part of the family's flesh and blood.

"My father passed away but I still can't get over my nostalgia for Morning Star," Ama Not said, his voice low. "If only he and my father had sat down and talked frankly that day like today, maybe we wouldn't have had to carry that torment until the day we died."

Mr. Thach bowed his head, his eyes were red. "That's also what I regret the most, Mr. Not. I thought I had a lot of time to fix it, to apologize properly, but time waits for no one. I don't want to repeat that mistake again, I don't want to wait until it's too late to realize what should have been done sooner."

The two sat for a while longer, sipping a cup of bitter tea typical of the highlands. The story gradually turned to plans for the future - about how the descendants of both sides, Ha Lam and Y Khun's generation, could continue writing the story together without having to carry the burden of the past. When parting, Ama Not held Mr. Thach's hand tightly, a handshake that no longer carried the burden of resentment, but was filled with the sincere reconciliation of two old friends.

On the way home, Mr. Thach was silent for a long time, his face seemed much more relieved than the previous days, even though his body was exhausted after the trip. "Thank you," he said softly as the car neared camp, "for giving me the chance to do what I should have done a long time ago."

That afternoon, when Ha Lam was sitting with Tuan Khoi and lawyer Thai Minh Nhat discussing how to formalize the role of Chu Rinh village in camp management, unexpected information came through the phone of Mr. Luong Tan Phat, chairman of the district People's Committee.

"Miss Lam, I'm calling to inform you that Hoang Kim Group has just submitted a petition to the district, requesting to review the legality of land use in your camp area," Mr. Phat said, his voice seemed reserved, weighing each word. "They cite that the land where the Sao Mai elephant was once recorded has unclear origins, possibly related to an unresolved civil dispute with some local ethnic minority households."

Ha Lam was stunned, her heart turned cold. Unexpectedly, Hoang Kim quickly grasped the exact weakness that she had just begun to find a way to overcome - perhaps they had secretly investigated in advance, just waiting for the right moment to launch this decisive blow.

"Where did they get that information from?" she asked, her voice shaking with worry.

"I don't know everything about this yet," Mr. Phat replied, "but the district will have to organize an official meeting in the near future to verify, with the participation of representatives of relevant parties. Prepare yourself first, this is not a simple matter."

Hanging up the phone, Ha Lam looked at Tuan Khoi and lawyer Nhat, her face pale. "They know," she said, her voice choked. "Somehow, Hoang Kim knew about Morning Star, about the unknown origin of the land, and they will use that to destroy us."

Lawyer Nhat pondered for a moment, then spoke, his voice trying to remain calm and professional even though the situation had clearly become much more serious than initially expected. "This is a dangerous blow, but it is not without ways to deal with it. If you have proactively admitted and are working to repair the relationship with Chu Rinh village, that is the strongest evidence of goodwill that can be presented before the meeting with the district. The problem is, we need to complete the formalization of their role as soon as possible, before Hoang Kim can turn this story into a simple land dispute, completely separated from its true historical context."

The group sat silently for a moment, a tense atmosphere engulfing the small room. Tuan Khoi was the first to break the silence, his voice was low but decisive. "We don't have time to panic. What we need to do right away is to invite old Ama Not and representatives of the families who sent the elephants to sign a document recording the new agreement, fully notarized, before the day the district holds the meeting. If the community proactively speaks up to support the camp, standing with us instead of being manipulated by Hoang Kim, their argument of 'unresolved dispute' will no longer stand."

Lawyer Nhat nodded in agreement, immediately took out his notebook and sketched out the tasks that needed to be completed in the coming days - drafting an agreement document, arranging an official meeting with the representative of Chu Rinh village, preparing complete records and historical documents to present to the district in the most convincing way.

Xuan Mai, who just ran in to hear part of the story, looked worried but still tried to maintain her familiar optimistic spirit. "I will prepare a media article, so that if necessary, we can announce this entire reconciliation story to the public at the right time, turning it into a strength, not a weakness."

Ha Lam looked around at the faces standing by her side - her father, although tired, was still determined, Tuan Khoi was calm and sharp, the Japanese lawyer was dedicated, Xuan Mai was enthusiastic - and felt a new strength rising in the midst of the most dangerous moment. She looked out the window, where Morning Star was standing quietly under the shade of a tree, completely unaware that her own fate, and the whole place it had called home for more than half a century, were facing a decisive turning point, where all the secrets, all the old hurts, and all the new hopes were about to face each other directly, with no room left to dodge.