Chapter 3 — You Waited For Me Two Lives

I carried a bucket of water and walked past, my steps slightly halting. Ly Tan Bach returned from the fields and just heard those words. He pounded the hoe on the ground, causing all the chatter around the well to immediately stop.
"A Chau is the best girl. When she was fourteen years old, she sold herself to get money for her father's medical treatment. Who has such filial piety among the people here?"
Everyone was silent. On the day they got married, Ly Tan Bach hired a palanquin for eight people to carry. The red silk is tied securely, and the group of people banging gongs and drums goes around the village three times. I sat in the palanquin, clutching the corners of my clothes, feeling sorry for the money I had spent. Before getting on the palanquin, I was worried because it was too expensive. He squatted in front of me, raised his head to look at me, warm light reflected in his eyes.
"We only get married once in our lives. I want everyone to know that you, Do A Chau, are the daughter whose wedding I, Ly Tan Bach, used in an eight-person palanquin."
My tears fell, wetting a piece of my wedding dress. Red candle, warm curtain. I have never been so appreciated by anyone. The next day, I opened my eyes. Ly Tan Bach tilted his head and smiled with his eyes:
“My dear, good morning.”
I blushed.
“Husband, good morning.”
After breakfast, he took me to the temple to register the marriage certificate. The district then dipped a pen in red lipstick and wrote my name and his name next to each other on a piece of paper. My words were taught by Ly Tan Bach. I loved it and couldn't bear to let go, gently caressing the names of the two people on the marriage certificate. Sunlight shines on the paper, causing it to warm up slightly. I suddenly burst into laughter, laughed for a while and then shed tears. In this life, I am the righteous wife of Ly Tan Bach. Ly Tan Bach was overjoyed:
“A Chau, you are my wife!”
Three months later, I was pregnant. The doctor said this was a strange thing. Even though the body has been damaged to that extent, it is still possible to get pregnant. I suddenly crave sticky rice cakes. Ly Tan Bach stayed up all night grinding a bag of glutinous rice flour. The next morning, as soon as I woke up, I smelled the fragrance. Ly Tan Bach used his sleeve to wipe my face.
"The cake is still hot, eat slowly."
I bowed my head and took a bite. The sweetness of hot sticky rice flour spreads on the tip of the tongue, like the first warm sunlight of spring melting into the throat. A few days later, I like to drink fish soup again. Ly Tan Bach clumsily cooked the soup, burning one side of the fish and making the soup black. He tasted a piece first, so bitter that he winced. I took it, drank it all in one gulp, and said it was delicious. Ly Tan Bach's eyes turned red. He emptied the pot of fish soup and re-cooked a clear pot. I smiled and looked at him busy. When I gave birth to the previous three children, I never lacked food. Every day the Ta family's kitchen brings a bowl of nourishing soup. But inside we are always afraid. When giving birth to me, my mother had difficulty giving birth. She endured two days and one night and could not survive. Since childhood, I have heard others repeat this story countless times. Every time it was like a needle stuck in my heart. It hurts so much that I don't want to live. When I became a father to Ta Giac and Ta Tuy Ngoc for the first time, I also had expectations.
8
One night he came, didn't undress me as usual, just put his hand on my stomach, his palm pressed against the slightly raised area. Then he tilted his head and pressed his ear to my stomach, his breath falling on my skin, making me itch. He didn't say anything, but the corners of his lips curled up slightly. Even though he expected it, he was always on high looking down. He hasn't asked me if I was afraid, if I was uncomfortable, if my body could handle it. In the eyes of the Ta family, giving birth to his child is a favor. Ly Tan Bach returned from work, the first thing he did was squat in front of me, pressing his ear to his stomach. Just hearing a little movement made him grin.
“Is he good today?”
I nodded. As soon as the child kicked, Ly Tan Bach was overjoyed:
“Miss, it's moving!”
I smiled and patted his head.
“It's greeting you!”
"Son, I'm your father! Don't bother mother! Be obedient! Otherwise, when you get out I'll spank your ass!"
He looked forward to this child, but joy was mixed with anxiety. He is afraid that I will hurt, afraid that I will suffer, afraid that I will be like my mother in the past. That day, I went to town to buy fabric, prepare to make overalls and shoes and socks for my child, and accidentally met Ta Tuy Ngoc. He sat on horseback, wearing precious blue civilian clothes. Compared to when he was in the palace, he had become a bit thinner, and his jaw line was even colder and harder. Seeing me, his eyes moved slightly. When glancing at my slightly protruding belly, my eyes suddenly stopped. I looked straight ahead, passing him. Ta Tuy Ngoc blocked the front, his voice filled with displeasure:
“Do A Chau, don't you recognize me?”
I raised my chin slightly.
“Thank you, old man.”
He sat on the horse looking down, but I no longer felt small. The two were silent for a long time. He lowered his eyes and looked at me for a long time. I frowned, rubbing my sore waist.
“If there's nothing else, I'll go home first.”
The black horse stamped its hooves uneasily. Ta Tuy Ngoc pulled the reins, pursed his lips tightly, turned the horse's head and left. The sound of horse hooves on the green stone road gradually faded away.
9
After that, I met Ta Tuy Ngoc several times. Sometimes in front of the grocery store, sometimes on a small road in the middle of the field.