She was a successful teacher. Besides hersalary, she also owned a garden of indigenous fruit trees inherited from her parents. An extravagant life! But still something was missing. She wished for a home where she would be a housewife and mother. It seemed to be beyond her dream. She was past forty.
One day, she slowly rode her bicycle to her school. A motorbike ran into her. She was then taken to the provincial hospital by the man who caused the accident. Her thigh bone broke. Due to her being without relatives, he volunteered to be her carer at the hospital. He was about fifty.
He did a good job: meals, drinks and other activities as well were carefully done for her good care. Patients of the same room thought they were husband and wife. Usually, they commented, "Such a loving husband, and so good care he is taking!" He stayed silent, but she felt happy.
When she was first taken to the hospital, she really hated him.
Due to his good and minute care, and through favorable comments, she did not hate him any more. She felt warm in her heart.
Over a month of treatment - operation for rearrangement of bones - she recovered. The doctor advised her to do walking exercises for quick rehabilitation.
He was the only one to help her with each of her steps. After a whole month inside the room she was now to behold the blue sky outside with a conscientious carer nearly, she felt the atmosphere exquisitely beautiful and she found herself agitated. He helped her to a bench in front of the hospital corridor. They were, side by side, talking merrily… a moment later, she softly landed her head on his shoulder.
Then she got out of the hospital. At home, whenever she found herself without company, friends and students, she felt so lonely. She thought if she hadn't recovered so soon! He brought her a pair of clutches for her exercise. It was real hard for her. He would be beside her to help. Every late afternoon, he came with food portions for the next day. Beside him, she felt quite warm and cheerful. He advised her to exercise, so that her leg would be alright just for a short time. They then would wed.
That early afternoon, she called the ice cream boy. It turned out her former student three years earlier. He was now in the eighth grade.
"Don't you go to extra classes during the summer?"
"No, madam."
"Why not?"
"My family is in a bad financial condition.
My father hasn't gone to work for the past month."
"Where did he go then?"
"We don't know. He came home every three, four days, took some money and left in a hurry.
He said it was his own business. My mother is in massive debts and these days he has been home arguing with her. He also said he had decided to sell the house and get a divorce." Thanh then sobbed uncontrollably and only stopped when she comforted him. She gave him some money and urged him to go sell his ice cream. With the ice cream boy away, she slowly proceeded to her desk, opened the drawer to look for the third-grade file three years earlier.
She leafed the file to go through her old students' CVs. She almost fainted to find out that Huỳnh Thanh - the ice cream boy's name - was Huỳnh Phú c's son - and Huỳnh Phúc was him! The one who was going to bring happiness to her, a woman past forty. She dropped down on her knees crying. The first time in life, she wept so much.
Biting her lip, she tried to get up, extremely upset. Phúc came to her with true love, absolutely out of selflessness.
What could she do with this adversity?
Keep him or give him back to his family? Over forty already! Any other opportunities?
It was what got her to thinking.
It was dusk. Phúc would be here any moment. She came to her desk to write him a letter. She opened the drawer to take out two small nuggets of gold, put them in the envelope. She picked up a clutch in a corner. She bound the envelope with the gold inside to the clutch and placed it outside the door. Then she came in, clocked the door carefully, and took off the fuse. It was as dark as ink and she lay down on her bed.
- Trần Hữu Kim Hoàng