Vietnamese adopted daughter recounts her days with Stephen Hawking.

Tear off a page from the wall calendar.On March 14, 2018, Nguyen Thi Thu Nhan placed alongside the commemorative photos of herself with Stephen Hawking that she had carefully preserved for the past 20 years. "To always remember the day my father passed away," she said. Although she was officially his goddaughter, he always referred to her as his adopted daughter.

That morning, standing in the kitchen, she was stunned when a reporter informed her of an event that had happened more than 9,000 kilometers away. Her second father had passed away at the age of 76 in the early morning of March 14th in Cambridge, England. Hawking's birth date coincided with the death of the Italian astronomer and physicist Galileo (January 8th) and the birth date of the German physics genius Albert Einstein, which was also the anniversary of the number Pi (March 14th).

For Ms. Nhan, he was not only a world-renowned physicist and astronomer, but also a strict yet very loving father. For many years, she has kept photos of the two of them together on her personal social media account, so that every time she opens her phone, she sees her father."Now, I want to see him one last time, but that's impossible because of our financial situation," Ms. Nhan said.two days after his death.

1989,Nhàn's biological parents died on the same day in a boat accident, leaving her an orphan from a young age. A year later, she and her four siblings were placed in an SOS Children's Village in Hanoi.Every child in the village hasfather,godmother, and when Stephen Hawking expressed his desire to have a Vietnamese godchild, cMs. Nhan was chosen by chance. For her, being his daughter was "the most wonderful coincidence."

After exchanging letters with Ms. Nhan through the SOS village manager, during a business trip to Japan, Mr. Hawking secretly came to Vietnam with his wife Elaine Mason at the end of 1997, and met Ms. Nhan for the first time at the children's village.At that time,Hawking performed for the village's preschoolers by pressing a button on his wheelchair, making it spin around, much to the delight of the children who clapped their hands.

Having only seen pictures of him before, Nhàn, then about 16 years old, was astonished to see how capable her father was despite being almost completely immobile. Deeply moved by his extraordinary willpower, she hugged him, supporting his head to show her affection. He communicated with her using a voice generator from a computer and through an interpreter. At times, he would raise his eyebrows and use his eyes to communicate.

During the visit, the couple took her to Hoan Kiem Lake and bought her an English dictionary. He chose the fabric and style for her first ao dai (traditional Vietnamese dress) at a famous shop in Hanoi. She, in turn, gave her godparents a handmade decoration made from ribbons.

Three short days passed, and the farewell at the SOS village was tearful, with both father and son crying, holding hands, and clinging to each other, unwilling to let go. The scene also moved the foster mother, the assistant, and many others around them.

Two years later, because Mr. Hawking was a special case, Ms. Nhan was brought to England for nearly two months to stay with her godparents. In her luggage were rice paper, shiitake mushrooms, and wood ear mushrooms so she could try making Vietnamese spring rolls to treat the family. However, Mr. Hawking was fed through a feeding tube and therefore couldn't try the spring rolls she made.

Because his time with his daughter was limited, he made the most of it, taking her shopping for clothes, boat trips in Cambridge, visiting the zoo, and riding the giant London Ferris wheel. During her time in England, she also had the opportunity to study English at Oxford University, where Hawking taught. Hawking was very attentive to his daughter's sleep, making sure she went to bed by 9 PM.

Every morning, before going to work, he would wheel his wheelchair to the stairs and call out to his daughter, Nhàn, who was on the second floor."Thu Nhan, Thu Nhan. Dad's going to work," the voice came from the smart machine. At that moment, she immediately ran downstairs to say goodbye to her father.

Although she didn't understand much about the theories of cosmic black holes her father studied, Ms. Nhan vividly remembers the advice her scientist father gave her:"With your own determination, you must strive to study. To become mature, there is only one path: to study. You must not rely on anything without striving to learn. Even though I am like this, I still constantly try and strive."

For Ms. Nhan, her time in England was like a beautiful, unforgettable dream. After returning to Vietnam, she continued to communicate with her parents through letters. During holidays and Christmas, her parents would send her letters, greeting cards, and sometimes even money.

"Your father is a little weaker now, Thu Nhan, but he's still working and traveling (your parents went to China in August). He's still full of determination to work his hardest," Elaine wrote to Thu Nhan on September 19, 2002.

The couple devoted most of the letter to inquiring about the well-being of their adopted daughter."Where are you living now? Are you planning to rent a house and share it with someone else? What friends do you have? How much are you paid for working long hours? How much will you have to pay for rent? Your father and mother want to know all this to better understand the difficulties you might be going through. We send our love to you, Thu Nhan," she wrote.

Since 2006, cShe lost contact with her godparents.After Elaine divorced him, geographical and economic circumstances made it difficult for her to visit her father in England, and she hasn't been able to since. In 2015, the whole family went to see a film about his life in Hanoi.

The 39-year-old woman currently lives with her husband and two young children in a two-story house on Xuan Dinh Street, Bac Tu Liem District. The couple earns a living by running a restaurant.

Once, while looking at a picture of Hawking, my child asked, "Is that Grandpa, Mom?" I nodded and said, "As you can see, he is...""Despite his disability, he is very capable and earns the admiration of many."Ms. Nhan urged her children to study hard, hoping they would achieve even a fraction of what their maternal grandfather achieved. Her eldest daughter, currently in 7th grade, has been an excellent student for many years.

Laying out her godfather's mementos on the table, she prevented her son from playing with the film camera she bought in England, fearing it might break. To her, it was a treasure, carefully preserved like a "museum."The dictionary her parents gave her was passed down to her younger sister before being sent back to the SOS Children's Village for them to learn English. As for the 20-year-old ao dai (traditional Vietnamese dress), it still looks new thanks to careful preservation, and she still wears it occasionally. She hopes that when her daughter grows up, she will wear the ao dai that Mr. Hawking gave her.