Chapter 21 — Wind and Snow Falling, Ancient People Return

Say Things Clearly

That evening, Bach Du invited Diep Khanh to the lakeside, where the two used to sit together in the afternoons during their student days, wrapped in a wool scarf, watching the calm water surface reflect the sunset. The space here is somewhat different now, with a few new stone benches installed according to the planning of the renovation project, but the large rock along the lake, where they used to sit in the past, is still intact as a silent witness of time.

Diep Khanh arrived earlier than the scheduled time, sitting alone on a familiar rock, looking out at the lake surface that was gradually changing color with the pale sunset. The cold afternoon wind blew, carrying the faint scent of pine, recalling in her many memories that had been dormant for many years.

She looked at the ripples on the lake surface, thinking about the long journey that she and Bach Du had gone through since the day they met again in the dusty construction site. Just a few weeks ago, she couldn't have imagined that one day she would be sitting here, waiting for him with an open heart instead of a closed defense. Life, she thought, sometimes worked in incredibly strange ways, taking people through so much suffering only to eventually lead the way back to the right place where their heart had always belonged.

A few children ran by, laughing happily, holding colorful paper kites, trying to catch the afternoon breeze to fly high. Diep Khanh smiled as she watched, her heart suddenly felt incredibly relieved, as if she herself was being freed from the burdens that had been clinging to her for many years, free to fly like those kites, no longer held back by the invisible strings of the past.

Bach Du arrived a few minutes later, holding a light blue wool scarf, exactly the same color as the old scarf they both used to share in the past. He sat down next to her, just enough distance to not be too close but not too distant, placing the scarf on her shoulder naturally as if there had never been five years of separation between them.

"I still remember this place." Bach Du said, his voice was gentle, carrying a bit of nostalgia. "I still remember the way you used to sit with your legs up and your chin on your knees every time you thought about something." He sat down, the distance between the two of them was close enough to feel each other's warmth but also far enough to not make anyone feel rushed or stuffy.

Diep Khanh smiled slightly, her fingers gently tightening the hem of her jacket, her emotions were still messy and had not yet been tidied up. "I haven't changed much, I still like to choose seats with a panoramic view of the lake."

The two were silent for a moment, only the sound of the wind blowing through the pine forest and the sound of water gently lapping against the shore. In the end, Bach Du was the first to speak, his tone became more serious.

"Diep Khanh, I think it's time for us to tell each other everything, no hiding it, no avoiding it." He looked at her, his eyes filled with deep sincerity. "For the past five years, I have lived with a misunderstanding that has robbed me of not only love, but also faith in the very things I once cherished most. I want you to know, no matter what happens, I have never stopped thinking about you for a day."

Diep Khanh heard those words, tears began to well up in the corners of her eyes, but she tried to hold back, wanting to fully listen to what he wanted to say. "Me too. For the past five years, I've always wondered what I did wrong, why you could leave without saying goodbye. I blamed you a lot, convinced myself that you no longer valued what we had."

He looked down at the lake, his voice lowered before continuing. "I'm sorry, for not having the courage to find out clearly before believing a message that I should have been suspicious of from the beginning." Bach Du said, his voice low and full of regret. "If at that time you were alert enough to recognize the abnormality, courageous enough to cancel the flight, and come back to find me in person instead of just believing in a cold letter, maybe we wouldn't have had to go through these five years of suffering."

"I'm also at fault." Diep Khanh said, his eyes stinging as he looked down at the lake surface. "If I hadn't been so immersed in taking care of my mother that I completely forgot my phone, maybe I would have received the messages you sent and known the truth in time before things became irreversible."

"No, I'm not at fault at all." Bach Du held her hand, his voice resolute. "At that time, I was facing one of the most difficult periods of my life. It was completely right and necessary to devote all my energy to taking care of my mother. The real mistake belongs to the person who took advantage of that space to carry out his own evil intentions."

Diep Khanh nodded, tears finally rolling down her cheeks, but this time not because of pain, but because of a deep feeling of relief at finally being able to say all the things that had been bottled up in her heart for so many years. "I remember, there were nights when I sat alone, wondering if I was too weak to still remember you after so many years. I tried to learn how to live a life without you, but I never really succeeded."

"Me too." Bach Du squeezed her hand tighter, his eyes filled with sincerity. "During my five years in France, no matter how busy my work was, every time I saw a flower garden, every time I heard the scent of gladiolus, I always thought of you, of the small flower shop in a foggy alley in Da Lat. I think, perhaps it was for that reason that when I had the opportunity to return to my country, I did not hesitate to accept this project, even though in my heart, I did not dare to hope to see you again."

Diep Khanh looked up at him, in her eyes there was no longer the cold defense like the first days of meeting, but instead there was an openness, a trust that was gradually being rebuilt from the broken pieces of the past. She gently stroked her hair that was blowing in front of her face, her eyes looking straight at him without avoiding it, something she had never been able to do for many weeks. "I think, perhaps fate has arranged for us to meet again, not to continue living in misunderstandings, but to have the opportunity to correct what was wrong."

"I believe so too." Bach Du smiled, a warm smile that Diep Khanh had not seen for the past five years. His eyes sparkled under the pale sunset, reflecting the sparkling lake surface behind her. "And I want, this time, we won't let anything, not even distance, not even misunderstanding, not even anyone's intervention, be able to separate us again."

They sat together like that for a long time, watching the sunset finally fade away, giving way to night gradually falling with the familiar fog of Da Lat. There were no flowery promises, no exaggerated romantic gestures, just the simple sincerity of two people who had gone through so many ups and downs together, now finding each other again amidst the brokenness of the past.

"Thank you, for not giving up, no matter how many times I tried to push you away." Diep Khanh said, her voice was soft but full of sincerity.

"Thank you, for giving me the chance to atone for my mistakes." Bach Du replied, his arm wrapped around her shoulder, pulling her closer in the cold air of the Da Lat evening. "From now on, we will continue writing the story that has been unfinished for the past five years together, in a more complete way."

The night mist began to spread lightly on the surface of the lake, but in both of their hearts, there was no longer any coldness, only a warmth that was gradually spreading, dispelling the gloom that had covered five long years.

Before saying goodbye and leaving, Bach Du took out a small, carefully wrapped object from his coat pocket. He borrowed the letter from Diep Khanh right after the meeting at Viet Bang's office the day before, only briefly saying that he wanted to keep it for a few days, without further explanation, making her just curious without asking carefully. Now, when she opened the wrapping paper, she realized that it was the letter she had found in her mother's drawer in the past, but this time he had carefully pressed it in a small glass cover for long-term preservation. "I think, instead of letting it lie dormant in a drawer like it has for the past five years, we should keep it in a more visible place, as a reminder that, no matter how harsh the circumstances, true feelings can always find a way to exist, it's just that sometimes it takes time to be seen properly."

Diep Khanh received the small photo frame and held it in her arms like a treasure. Tears once again welled up in the corners of her eyes, but this time they were tears of deep respect and gratitude for the journey they had gone through together.