We Belong Together

Chapter 3

Doctor Minh Hanh, the main doctor of the Addiction Department, Central Acupuncture Institute is looking at the clock, then back to the treatment regimen she holds in her hand. There is still more than 1 hour left before this patient comes to "stop", and she needs acupuncture to help him stop craving for drugs.

Very carefully, she took out the silver needles used for acupuncture to disinfect, and then checked the electroacupuncture machine. Her job is to help these misfits get off the road to the hell of addiction and back to being human. People like that boy lying on the bed, that white face, smart and gentle, are unexpectedly perverts, and addicts. In the end, the people who suffered the most are the parents who gave birth and raised them.

She looked at the elderly woman, elegant, luxurious but miserable and desperate, whispering advice to her son with sympathetic and pitying eyes. Every family member of the patient she has ever met has that look, patient and miserable and desperate. She adjusted the "additional" and "described" pulse buttons in the electroacupuncture machine so as not to cause pain to the patient, patted the poor woman a little and then walked out. The electro-acupuncture can last about 25-30 minutes, and she delicately dedicates the room to the mother in a futile attempt to admonish her son, with the expensive things she will buy him if he will. rehab in a kind and serious manner.

***

His name is Nhan, that patient boy, a name attached to many expectations of his parents, but since he came here, she has never seen his father present. It is heard that he is a high-ranking official, so it is understanding that he always avoids his face in a room that is rented exclusively for his son for a daily price equal to a month's salary of Hanh. The place didn't do much good for his fame and prestige.

All care for the son is delegated to the mother. It's as normal as he goes all day with this project, that conference. And who knows, as her mother once confided to her, isn't traveling with some pretty young secretary? The big, luxurious villa is always just the mother and daughter together. And of course, to relieve her grief, she spends all her time in divination, temple ceremonies, attending parties, gambling with matrons like her. It is rumored that she also spends money to "assist her studies" on a young, handsome, but poor student, just as old as her son. And finally, the remaining link between the family is the salary that the husband gives to his wife, the money that the mother can spend freely for her children.

***

But, as Hanh thought, it was both a huge disappointment and dissatisfaction for Nhan. What he needed, as she understood, was care, sharing, and a home, not a cold pile of money.

She was preparing the hydrotherapy while shaking her head and sighing, the sound of her mother's sobbing and sobbing could be heard in the room, and Nhan's voice echoed loudly. You scream that your parents are only worried about making a lot of money, they only care about themselves and don't need you? So why do you have to pretend to worry and take care of him day and night? Why don't you just let him die?

***

Hanh pushed open the door and entered the room, the mother was lying on the bed and sobbing, the son was still sitting with his back to the wall, his face scowling, angry. She tried to calm them both down and started injecting, two fast and one slow, she inserted the needle very quickly, slowly pushed the medicine and quickly pulled the needle out so as not to cause pain to her patient. Nhan was still angry, screaming in pain and jerking her hand when she pulled out the needle.

"Push" the Syringe fell and hit her leg...

...

Outside, Viet sobbed sympathetically, that he was eavesdropping. It's not, it's so quiet at night, the voices of the two people in the room, though small, make him hear not a single word.

Suddenly Hanh lowered her voice, she sobbed, mixed with sobs choking in her throat and Phan's comforting voice was the sudden heavy rain that made Viet no longer hear her. You seem to be talking about something that makes you feel miserable and difficult to say? Then the room fell silent, like the calm before a storm. Because immediately followed by Phan's loud shout, drowned both the girl's choked voice and the screams of the rain.

***

Phan left, or rather Phan left Viet with the strange trouble he was suffering. Viet heard Phan loudly yell at the girl in the room for a while and then left, he didn't understand why Phan did that? For Viet, yelling at a girl, especially when she is suffering and weak, is something cruel and cruel, an unacceptable action.

Viet was confused, he didn't know what to do in this situation, didn't know what to say, didn't know how to treat the girl? Finally, he dismissed the wandering thoughts, dismissed the confusion and dismissed the girl by reaching for the remote, pressing the Play button and playing any music disc in the drive. The room was filled with Chopin tunes, Nocturne in C minor at a slightly loud volume. Nocturne is his favorite song, but in this situation, why do you only find it sounding bland and ungainly?

Viet sobbed and went back into the room, there was no way to avoid it, it was better to face it. The girl stopped crying, only the sound of sobbing in her throat left Viet confused. - I'm sorry, my friend is probably a bit crazy, he shouldn't have yelled at you like that.

- Oh no - the girl raised her face, reached out to take the tissue that Viet had just handed her and wiped her tears - He was right, I am so bad, my job is to fight endlessly with the god of death to bring me back to life. bring joy, vitality and happiness to others. The work has a lot of meaning because thanks to it, I am the hope of so many people in the battle to regain their lives, but in my own battle, I surrender. He helped me balance myself, I should thank him. Too bad you're not in my blood are you?

Then she paused, breathing heavily as if to gather courage and face the truth

- You must have guessed, I have HIV. - Um...

Viet Tinh said a comforting word, but he didn't know how to say it? Viet cursed under his breath, why did the damn Phan yell at him and leave him with all this awkward trouble? Finally, he found something to say.

- Don't worry about infection, I'm a doctor too, I can take care of myself.

- Of course - Hanh looked confused - I was worried that you might get my blood on it.

- Actually, if it sticks to normal skin, is it okay? Just don't get it on mucous membranes or open wounds. She knows that.

- Yes, but it's never too late to worry.

- It's okay, don't worry, I wore gloves when I gave you a preliminary examination, fortunately, I always have them in my house, I am a doctor who is always obsessed with those germs and occupation. .

Viet smiled and adjusted his glasses with the end of his index finger and looked directly into the girl's eyes. Her eyes were now like a lake at a winter sunset, eerily calm. The somewhat forced calm of someone who is trying to accept the truth, even though that truth is not easy to accept. The artificial calmness of the lake surface, just a small pebble falling to form rings of water waves, then resonates into large, rushing, rushing waves like a storm. Viet tried to make a joke to ease the tension even though it was a bit ungainly:

"Besides, now I know why my friend can scold others for eating and still earn money."

"Yes, your friend is a good psychiatrist," she laughed, her face less pale as her spirits improved -- and I also remember the joke about us Blouse people, Doctors can see germs everywhere. Are you two very close?

- Close? We owe each other - Viet starts to joke, after all the troubles are over, people should reward themselves with a bit of humor - We owe each other many things, if he owes her anything. Anything, even life, come find me, I'll pay for him, anything. And...

Viet smiled again, as a habit, every time he talked about Phan, he smiled. Viet spoke loudly and boldly.

- And vice versa.

- You two are so lucky - The girl sobbed, not sure what she sobbed for? - It's nice to have a soulmate.

- I'm sorry - Viet changed the subject, admitted - I overheard your conversation with my friend, don't be too pessimistic, no matter what, your life is meaningful to many people. Many, many people still need her.

But it doesn't mean anything to him anymore, he doesn't need me.

Hanh mumbled in her mouth so that Viet could not hear, then she looked at Viet, a little embarrassed.

- Do you have anything to eat? I was so hungry, it felt like I could eat a big Cow.

It turned out that the strangest place to Viet was his home, because he only came here to sleep after hard working days and playing games until dawn. He didn't want to go home, he was afraid of feeling lonely in his own house. The job of taking care of the house has been taken care of by a maid, the only thing he has to take care of, is to pay wages to the person who takes care of it on time. And that doesn't help him in this situation either. Because after tearing apart the kitchen, the two couldn't find anything to lull their stomachs that were dancing Hip hop. "Yes, I hope there is still a restaurant open by this time," Viet decided, after suddenly realizing that he, too, had become ravenously hungry. All of his energy, perhaps, has been absorbed into anxiety.

When Phan returned home, he was already drenched, shivering from the cold. Gently opening the door so as not to wake Thach Thao up, he dried himself, then found a small mat, a thin blanket and slept in the middle of the living room. This is the time when people sleep the most, and Thao has a habit of wrapping blankets around her. Therefore, he did not want Thao to lose sleep because of him climbing into bed and under the blanket. Phan pulled the blanket over his head and tried to save his sleep.

***

The Lexus plunged into the cold, rainy night again, the headlights shining on the soggy pavement. It was 3 am and there was no sign that the rain would stop at all, the rain was still hitting the glass making the wipers work non-stop. On both sides of the road, the trees drooping in the night rain looked like miserable lonely ghosts. The sound of the car engine mixed with the sound of the rain sounded like a sad and sad rainy night music. Viet raised his hand to open the music, but then he pulled his hand back when he looked to the side, Hanh's face did not show any expression. "Like a stone statue," Viet thought to himself.

Viet parked his car at a 24-hour restaurant in the new urban area for foreigners. He woke up the employee who was dozing off on his desk, tolerating his nagging, complaining about being woken up and not complaining a single word about his service. Thai Viet took two servings of KFC, accompanied by two big cups of Coke, and returned to the car.

The car turned back to Viet's house, like a pre-programmed machine, completely smooth and quiet, quietly because the two didn't say a word to each other until they were seated facing each other on the chair. Sofa with KFC fried chicken wings and Coke water.

- Why did you take me with you, and just let me sit in the car? Are you afraid to leave me at your house? Are you afraid that I "take the wrong" something?

- Do you still have the habit of stinging others instead of saying thank you like that? I just don't want the coldness of the house to make you think of another front end. Either way, I've suffered for you already, if you want, you can just hit the front of my car. Then save another person suffering.

- I'm not that stupid and obstinate? Your friend is right, I have helped other people fight for their lives, so I must not give up in my own fight. I must value my life, because I am useful to many others who still need me - she growled, her eyes slightly wet, as if she were holding back a pain - people who really need me. I'm not like him.

Silence, even the question "who is he" was not uttered by Viet.

After a while, Viet broke the silence by giving the girl his sloppy but comfortable bed in the bedroom. As for him, as polite and hospitable hosts usually do, he slept on the sofa in the living room.

***

In the dream, as a habit, Thao wrapped her arms around the side to hug Phan, her hand went up, fell into space and fell on the blanket. She turned herself.

***

Hanh turned slightly, she couldn't sleep, maybe it was because the bed was strange, it could also be because she was thinking about what just happened. Hanh glared up at the ceiling, the light from the bedside lamp against the wall dimly shone through the spider webs that were squeezed into a thin net in the corner, forming strange and ghostly shapes. Hanh turned over, put her hand on her forehead, everything was like a horrible nightmare that came so quickly that she couldn't keep up. She did not dare to sleep, she was afraid that when she closed her eyes, the nightmare would come back to torment and torment her. Or maybe she's worried about her future life, a life she doesn't know how it will turn out? She didn't know, and really didn't dare, or didn't want to know. Hanh sobbed, turning over continuously.

Outside, the rain was still falling, very heavy.