We Belong Together

Chapter 16

Phan drove towards the Dong Minh bridge, he tried to chase Vu. Phan himself did not understand why he did that? What do you chase Vu for? To apologize? Will the apology sentences add to Vu's pain and awkwardness and also his? Or to explain? To explain? Or to do something different? In vain, he knew that all he could do now, was leave Vu alone and think. So what do you chase Vu for? To say what? I don't know!!!

Turning the throttle, Phan shivered because of the cold wind and the flying dusty raindrops hit his cold face. His hands were numb, no longer feeling because the wind blew through his icy wool gloves. Headlights traced the night thick with sharp cuts. Undeterred, when the blade of light passed, the night returned, darker and denser. On both sides of the road, the wind blew very strongly, making the leaves of the ancient Xoan branches look like ghostly long arms reaching out and flying in the dark night. The long arms kept swinging and flinging so hard that the Bats panicked and dropped to fly, flapping their thin wings, making rattling sounds. The symphony of the night also included the occasional sound of Pig birds chirping, causing Phan to shiver, overpowering the sound of the wind whistling in his ears. There is a legend in this area that every time the Pig bird makes a cry, someone is about to die. Shaking his head vigorously to dispel his monstrous thoughts, Phan turned the throttle harder.

The rain started to fall heavily, and the Pig bird's voice was getting louder and louder.

Vu's car disappeared after the bend the hillside on the other side of the bridge, he disappeared around if he had been swallowed up by the night. Phan impatiently continued to turn the throttle harder, suddenly he swerved to the side of the road because the headlights of a truck had just flashed and suddenly appeared from the bend behind the hillside. The car sped up with a rumble as if it were running on the highway rather than on the bridge, leaving behind a strange resounding noise. Phan suddenly let out a cursing sound, perhaps his mood was too confused. The motorbike turned around the hillside, Phan panicked, right in front of him, a motorbike was lying on the side of the road. A young man lay dying not far away, his brother covered in blood.

The powerful punch broke Phan's flashback, and sent him crashing to the floor. The faceless young man was standing in front of him, his raised arm still unable to fall. Encouraged by the young man's impulsive action, the crowd also surged. Phuong panicked, her face pale as if there was not a single drop of blood left. But perhaps because she had the instinct of a mother since she was just over ten years old, when both parents died. So she hurriedly rushed to stand in front of Phan, waved her hand to push him away, her eyes scowled with anger.

The rushing crowd suddenly backed away when it met her menacing, somewhat fierce gaze. Phan staggered to his feet, salty blood flowing in his mouth. Phan put his hand on Phuong's shoulder, smiled and shook his head to let her know he was fine. Phan recognized the young man, because he was his cousin who lived near the house and played very well with Vu that he had met several times when he was still at home. He quietly watched the crowd, not asking them why they had come to his house, nor explaining a word. It was his somewhat insolent, unconcerned attitude that made the crowd flare up again. The hands holding knives and sticks waved again, it seems that after the probing punch of the young man, Phan's silence made them think that he was trembling with guilt. Phuong panicked and wanted to rush forward to stop the crowd and protect Phan, but he hugged her to stop her.

Suddenly, someone's sharp shout from behind made everyone stop.

Hung appeared at the gate, his clothes ragged, his hair disheveled and panting as if he had just returned from a marathon. His yellow jacket and police uniform were unbuttoned, making him look somewhat disheveled, losing his usual majesty and majesty. But it seems that Hung does not have time to care about the things that have now become too small. He quickly stepped in the middle of the fight, causing the sallow-faced young man to take another step back as if he was afraid he would attack him. The crowd also stepped back a bit, anyway the appearance of the legal representative also made the hot heads cool down a bit. The faceless young man only backed away a little and then continued forward, chest outstretched, not averse.

- You are the police, but do business so slow? This dog just caused an accident, killed my cousin. Do you have to take it away? What if it escaped?

- I suggest you speak carefully, do not rush to blame anyone when you do not have enough evidence. And also, don't always take care of scolding others. We don't need you to remind or teach us what to do? Do you understand?

- Do you think the police are delicious? The police want to catch it? Why are you still standing there? Or are you covering for criminals?

- Unfortunately, the state does not pay me to obey your orders. - Hung sarcastically with a confident and cold voice - But do you believe that I will arrest you first? With charges of slander, insult and against law enforcement officers. That is enough for you to take a long time, I promise I will try not to disappoint you.

Hung looked deeply into the man's eyes, his cold and stern eyes made him look down at the ground in confusion. He looked around, the hot heads seemed to have lost all their fire, everyone bowed their heads in silence. Phan is still leaning against the door, it seems that his mind is still somewhere far away, perhaps he does not know what is happening in front of him? Hung is still looking straight into the eyes of the faceless man:

- If you want to fight so badly, I'm always ready for you a VIP room in our detention camp. And as soon as we prove this guy - Hung pointed at Phan - is really guilty, I will send him to your room. Then he will have the opportunity to fight freely. But I tell you the truth, if he gets angry, then one or two people like him are as small as Tep. Understand?

There was no answer, the natural space became strangely quiet, only the cold wind blew, causing the hoarfrost drops on the rose petals in the garden to fall to the ground.

Dawn was rising, the winter morning sun quietly rising from the sea. Although not very bright and shimmering, it is warm enough to dispel the cold that reigns on the beach. The waves gently spilled onto the sandy shore, causing the round basket boats to float on the water. The quietness of the early morning makes the whispering love song of the sea waves more melodious and smooth. Hanh sat on the sand, the early morning sunlight was caressing her hair and face, giving her a rare warmth of a winter morning. The sun fighting rose from the sea, but its shimmering bridge still danced on the waves, shining directly into Hanh's eyes. The golden rays of the sun on the Phi Lao forest were rustling behind her. Just like Phan once said, the winter sea is beautiful. But what about Hanh, how cold, sad and lonely is that beauty?

The laughter and laughter broke the fragile stillness of the morning. The children of the fishing village go to the sea early to catch the small fishing boats that cannot go far, so they have to fish near the shore. Children in this area have to work very early, even though they are only about 12 or 13 years old. Everyone was dressed in stylish clothes, thin, purple lips from the cold, dark skin, and blond hair. The imprint of the scorching hot summer is not easy to fade even though the winter has come to the end of its reign. Hanh lazily stood up, her rare peace had just passed, she needed to return to help her adoptive mother set up her little cafe, prepare for a hard day of medical examination and visit the baby. . She hadn't visited in two days, but it must have been fine. Thinking of the child, she smiled, the smile that had been running away from her for a long time had followed the morning sun to return. Because now she is the "personal doctor" of a poor fishing village, even if it's just a free medical examination, for her it is more than a happiness. Her dream of taking care of children returned to her, like a dream and in a way she least expected. Awakened in the night by the sound of crying from the neighbor's house, while the men in the neighborhood had all gone to the sea. Hanh's mother and daughter jumped up in panic and quickly ran over. In the house, the neighbor was sitting next to the baby lying prostrate on the bed, crying bitterly. The young mother also cried and cried, not daring to touch her child because the baby kept crying and screaming in pain if she changed her position. Very quickly, Hanh rushed to the baby, the initial diagnosis was that the baby might have worms in the bile ducts or acute pancreatitis. Because it was lying on its butt up high, its hands kept on its stomach, and next to it, a few puddles of vomited food were mixed with yellow fluid. Hanh pushed the mother away, hugged the baby, and shouted for directions to the nearby town's medical center. Gotta hurry up.

The town's medical center is a row of four-story houses built in the eighties of the last century. The walls painted yellow had peeled off most of their paint and were covered with moss. A long row of incandescent light bulbs cast a dim, flickering light down the hallway. Nurse Thu Trang is lying in the room on duty, it's too cold, but fortunately, the thick blanket that she wraps around her like a cocoon is helping her have a sound sleep. Suddenly, a cry for help outside knocked her out of the warm spring in her cocoon. Quickly put on more clothes because it is very cold outside, and there is even rain. She rushed to the door, without a word of complaint, or expression of displeasure when the young woman holding the baby kept shouting at her in the face, demanding that she quickly open the door of the emergency room. Ten years as a nurse taught her patience and deep empathy. However, she couldn't help but resent it when the girl with a voice that was clearly not from this area kept teaching her what to do. "Does she act like she's her boss? Or does she think she's a doctor and I'm just an intern?". But then she quickly cooled down when the girl proved her bravery even though she still said like an order:

- My initial diagnosis, could be acute pancreatitis or bile duct worms, but I am more inclined towards acute pancreatitis. Do Amylase and lipase tests for a more accurate determination.

Hanh finished speaking, she looked at the nurse who was still standing in the middle of the room, about to shout and ask why she was still standing there, but then suddenly remembered where she was, she stopped immediately, embarrassed and sorry for being so worried. but it was too much. But the nurse has no mind to care about that, she is also confused because the medical center is so crowded and it's midnight, where is the person to do the Amylase or Lipase test? And that damn test, I swear to god she didn't know how to do even any single step. Quickly read the nurse's mind:

- Take me to the lab, I can do it. Now, if you wait for her to call a doctor or take her to a higher level, it will be too late.

- But...

- Please don't wait any longer. I'm a doctor, please trust me. While I'm doing the test, help me monitor and record the patient's symptoms, okay?

There was no other way, the nurse had to show Hanh the dormant room at the end of the dark corridor. Hanh shook his head in dismay, the shabby laboratory only had an old Italian Screen Master semi-automatic blood biochemistry machine, a binocular microscope for counting blood counts instead of hematology. A Clinitek 50 urine analyzer was so old she thought it had come from a museum. She sobbed, just prayed to God that the biochemistry machine didn't fail midway.

Finally, she got the test results after an hour of struggling with the old-fashioned Screen Master, but she was too clumsy. Rushing down the dimly lit corridor back to the emergency room, she said in a gasp:

- Help me put a nasogastric tube, we need to do it right away. Give me a dose of Somatostatin. For the prevention of superinfection, the possibility that ampicillin may not be excluded may be recommended in combination with Amikacine and Metronidazole. I'll read it and you'll help me prescribe it, okay? We need to follow up more, then we can refer the patient to a higher level for ultrasound or tomography to classify Balthazar. Behold, you put the tube in right away, what are you waiting for?

"Is what I'm asking for an exaggeration?" she thought indignantly as she saw the nurse still standing like a statue. But it turns out that Hanh is asking for things that are really too much. Because the nurse has a lot of dedication and enthusiasm, but the expertise is not enough to be able to do the nasogastric tube procedure. And in the middle of the night, how can we wait for the doctor to arrive in time? Too impatient for the cry of the child and his mother, Hanh asked for another pair of gloves and quickly got to work.

The clock on the wall just above the deck lamented that it was two o'clock in the morning.