Lies need no correction

(Baonghean) - While Colonel Thuy was waiting for the departure time of the S1 train, like a lonely and isolated traveler, in the two-frontage villa worth billions, where Dr. Van Binh's clinic was located, a woman's harsh, sour voice was heard: "Tomorrow, you have to go to his hometown! Just say it straight! The cost of pulling a tooth is two hundred thousand. Six teeth, just multiply that. Making dentures costs one million each. Giving him a discount for tooth extraction! Exactly six million! In this market economy, but the subsidy is still in his mind! Why not try bringing your health insurance card to the hospital to get dentures? It's still tangerine season!" Although he agreed with his wife, Dr. Van Binh also felt that she had spoken harshly. He said calmly: “I have already told him specifically about the cost of cement fillings, plastic dentures, platinum cores... Don't you see him being stunned? And it's not certain that he will have enough money right away. The pension of a colonel is only a few million at best. Besides food and drink, there is also medicine when he is sick...”. The wife still shrilly said: “Never mind! This life must be fair! No one will suffer for anyone!”

Illustration: Nam Phong

So the next morning, the husband had to leave. He went to Colonel Thuy's hometown. And also his hometown.

Binh went straight to Colonel Thuy's house. The gate was not closed but the door to the house was locked. The youngest brother's niece was busy working in the fields. As for Mr. Thuy, he went to the South and did not tell her when he would return. That's what the neighbor said. Binh did not bother to stop by his parents' hometowns. He hurried back to the city in disappointment, doubt and...fear!

The wife greeted her husband with a scolding sentence: “I told you! Have you been cheated? You didn’t have enough money so you tried to escape, right? No wonder you were carrying such a big backpack when you came here that day...”.

***

The S1 train was quite fast. Much faster than the days of marching to the South in the sixties. However, it took almost a day and a night to reach Tuy Hoa Town. Mr. Thuy did not sleep a wink. Because every place was associated with his memories. If it was not a place where he had fought, it was a historical site in his childhood books. The person who picked him up at Tuy Hoa station was the son of a comrade from the war against the French, about the same age as Dr. Binh. His name was Dinh Nui, from Krong Pa, where the fierce battle to attack the fort took place years ago. His father was a squad leader at that time and died on the spot when the explosives exploded against the first bunker. As for Mr. Thai, Dr. Binh's father, he was seriously injured and breathed his last in Amar village on the way to the forward medical station. Fortunately, the village elder Amar, who participated in burying Mr. Thai that day, was still alive. Over ninety years old, he still remembered every tree and rock. He recounted that when there was a policy of concentrating graves in the district martyrs' cemetery, he did not inform anyone. He believed that Mr. Thuy would come and take his comrades back to their hometown. Every year, on the anniversary of Mr. Thai's death, according to Kinh custom, he still secretly found incense and flowers to place on his grave...

Just as the woman in the private clinic was spouting out words that only come from the mouths of those who are addicted to dancing with money, Mr. Thuy was examining each bone of Dr. Binh's father. He gently placed the remains of the company's political commissar on a red cloth, facing the dark green primeval forest. He lit three incense sticks and whispered to his comrade who was living in another world: "Brother Thai! Tomorrow, just tomorrow, your friends will take you back to your father's homeland, your ancestral land. In just a few days, you will be able to gather with your comrades and rest next to your wife. Binh and his wife must be very happy! The children have grown up, always maintaining the family tradition of their ancestors. And doing the very humane job of treating and saving people, true to your wishes..." Knowing that he had lied to his friend again, his face turned red.

Mr. Thuy took his friend straight back to his hometown without stopping at the dentist's office. He was afraid that the living would be wary. He did not call Dr. Binh. He chose to write a letter. If the recipient liked it, he could read it. If he did not, he could not. The letter was not long, but it contained more than enough of what he wanted to write. To make the reader feel sympathetic right away, he first made it clear that he had prepared enough money for the dental treatment. The day he visited the doctor, he had already packed more than twenty million, the money he had saved for many years. He thought it was enough to cover the cost of the dentures, but he was afraid of not having enough money for the train fare on the way to find his comrades. He wanted to invite Dr. Binh to go with him, but... the result was not as expected. He added that no matter how busy Dr. Binh was, he should come back to attend his father's memorial service. He also wanted to take the opportunity to receive the grave, so that later he would know where to burn incense.

***

Doctor Binh received Mr. Thuy's letter when the dental clinic was quiet. Binh's wife had left... It wasn't just because Binh hadn't gotten the six million from Mr. Thuy. That was just one of the reasons for the breakup.

After the memorial service for Mr. Thai, Dr. Binh had a chance to talk for a long time with Dinh Nui. It turned out that Dinh Nui was also his colleague. He was surprised to learn that in addition to the martyr's family allowance, Dinh Nui also received an additional amount of money every month from Mr. Thuy and his father's old comrades. Binh also received a similar amount of money. Thanks to that, he was able to get through six years of medical school. Mr. Thuy lied that it was a separate allowance from another source. So that was it! He asked Dinh Nui and also asked himself: "Is that true? Why did he hide it from me? In this life, how many people do a favor without taking credit for it?" Dinh Nui did not answer... Now, it was Dr. Binh's turn to be like a sleepwalker...

Mr. Thuy felt his heart warm again. Because from now on he had a child. Doctor Binh acknowledged him as his father. He acknowledged sincerely, without calculation or measurement. It was too late. But better late than never!

A year later, Mr. Thuy entered the eternal world. He passed away peacefully and quietly. The black and white photo of the two officers together in the Central Highlands forest, which has turned yellow after nearly half a century, is now placed on the altar on the third floor of the villa with the dental clinic. Mr. Thuy had had his dentures fitted here, like a strange patient.

Sooner or later, there will be women's voices there, but there will no longer be phrases like "Each tooth costs one million", "Tooth extraction promotion costs two hundred thousand"...?!

Dan Hoa

Hanoi