Short story: Confrontation

Illustration: Vu Thuy

The street lights are on.

Hoang hurried home. Ever since the accident, he had not had a single day of peace and comfort on the road. It was like a ghost haunting him.

That day, also at dusk, Hoang drove his newly bought Mazda away from the office. His house was in a suburban district, so it took him quite a while to get home. Especially at rush hour like this. After much struggling, Hoang finally got out of the inner city. When they reached a rather deserted stretch of road, a motorbike suddenly swerved into his lane, forcing Hoang to turn right quickly. A loud scream rang out. Looking through the rearview mirror, Hoang vaguely guessed that he had just scraped a man riding a bicycle in the same direction. In a moment of panic, as if possessed by a demon, Hoang stepped on the gas and sped away.

When he got home, Hoang kept thinking about the man on the bike. Was he okay? Because it was dark, and looking through the mirror, Hoang only saw the bike fall to the side of the road after the man screamed and then everything went dark again. But that image kept coming back to Hoang's mind like a black and white film. That night at dinner, Hoang's father said:

- Is there something wrong at work?

Hoang shook his head:

- No dad.

- Or argue with your girlfriend again?

- Oh no, it's not like that, Dad. Vy and I are fine.

Mr. Huy urged his wife to serve Hoang some more rice, but Hoang had already put down his chopsticks. He went back into his room and lay quietly in the dark. Then, as if he could no longer bear the thoughts and worries that surrounded him, he called Vy to confide in her everything that had just happened. Vy's voice rang out through the phone on speaker:

- Why don't you go back to that road tomorrow and ask the people around? If he has any problems, we can turn ourselves in.

- Um…, I'll see how things go tomorrow.

The next morning, on his way to work, Hoang walked slowly through that stretch of road to look at the scene, but everything was as if nothing had ever happened. There were no houses on either side of the road, so he didn’t know who to ask. Every day, Hoang had to pass that stretch of road. Everything was the same as before, as if the accident had never happened, but his mind was no longer as happy as before.

One day, Hoang suddenly discovered a piece of paper in his car, on the back seat, that said: “Take responsibility for your actions!” He was extremely surprised. It took him a while to calm down, he looked around but saw no one. He had taken his friends out drinking yesterday afternoon and then gone straight home, but when he took the car to go to work this morning, he saw the piece of paper.

The whole day passed slowly. Hoang racked his brain but could not figure out who had done this. Only Vy knew about the accident. Vy could not do that to him. He had not seen Vy since yesterday.

Strange things continued to happen. About a week later, a note appeared in the car saying “You need to face the truth, don’t be afraid”. Then came Hoang’s sleepless nights. He tossed and turned all night thinking about everything. He even thought he might have paranoia, like his father. According to the doctor, this disease is also hereditary. The notes were torn up immediately after receiving them. Hoang wished he hadn’t torn them up, at least so that when he doubted himself, he could pull them out as evidence. One day, unable to bear it any longer, he told Vy everything.

- I think you should discuss it with your parents. Then go to the scene of the accident, go to the police and tell them everything. At least that will solve your psychological problem.

- I can't tell my parents.

- Why?

- My father is mentally ill in his old age. He is paranoid, suspicious of everyone, and worried about everything. He has been taking medication for a while and is getting a little better, but I don't want him to have to think anymore.

Days passed. Hoang wished he could go back to that night, he wished he had gotten out of the car and gone back to help the man up. Or at least, if anything had happened to him, he could have taken responsibility. He believed that the punishment he was facing was much worse than those.

What he feared most was the mental illness that haunted him every day. One day he would be like his father, sitting quietly at home, listening and doubting the world. These tormenting doubts would push him down that path. No, he needed to clear this up. Before he went to the police, he needed to know who had thrown those pieces of paper into his car.

All day long, Hoang kept a sufficient distance from the car to observe it. Starting from the office, he went to the security guard's office and asked to play chess with him there. But while playing chess, Hoang's eyes hardly left the car for more than ten seconds. The whole day passed without any sign of a stranger. At night, Hoang returned home on the familiar road. When he reached the accident site, he stopped, got out of the car, and walked on the side of the road for a while. He needed to face this. Up to this point, Hoang no longer felt afraid or worried. He waited for everything to happen. No matter who the hidden person was, he no longer felt the need to be afraid or ashamed.

That night, Hoang fell asleep earlier than usual. But then he woke up from a haunting dream. He dreamed that a pink sedative pill suddenly appeared in his car, and then the pill gradually expanded to the point of causing the car to explode. Confused, Hoang jumped up and ran down to the garage. Suddenly, he saw someone opening his car door.

- Dad! So it's you? So this is how you've been threatening me all this time? - Hoang shouted when he realized Mr. Huy was standing right at the back door of the car.

Mr. Huy stared at Hoang, his hand still holding the piece of paper that he had not yet put in the car. Hoang grabbed the piece of paper and saw the words: “It’s Dad, Dad knows everything. Don’t be afraid, face everything, Dad is always with you.”

The piece of paper in Hoang's hand was shaking. He hugged his father who was in tears.