Page 25
Minh ended the call and sat there motionless.
Hạnh quietly placed a glass of water in front of him.
He didn’t drink it.
Instead, he stared at the clear water, remembering the days when his mother would always give him the last glass of milk.
Back then, he drank it without hesitation, while she smiled and said, “I don’t like milk.”
Only now did he understand that some of a mother’s lies stay with her child for a lifetime.
Minh stood up and opened his old backpack.
One by one, he took everything out: a few sets of clothes, a towel, a photo of his mother, and an old phone.
There was nothing of real value.
He searched all the way to the bottom of the bag before letting out a dry laugh.
“So…
this is my entire fortune.”
Hạnh stood beside him, her eyes glistening with tears.
Suddenly, Minh remembered his bicycle.
It was broken, but it could probably still be sold for a few hundred thousand đồng.
He walked outside and wheeled it forward.
Hạnh grabbed his hand.
“Are you really going to sell this too?”
Minh smiled.
“If I don’t, is it going to feed me?”
She didn’t smile back.
Minh lowered his head and straightened the bent handlebars.
“Linh is waiting for me.”
He then removed an old wristwatch from his wrist—the watch his father had given him on the day he left his hometown.
The moment Hạnh saw it, she understood how much it meant to him.
“Don’t sell this one.”
Minh remained silent.
He looked down at the watch resting in his palm.
Its hands had stopped moving many years ago.
“My father gave it to me when he saw me off,” Minh said quietly.
“He told me that when this watch started ticking again, everything in my life would get better.”
He forced a sad smile.
“It stopped working a long time ago.”
Hạnh gently held his wrist.
“No…
it’s just broken.”
Minh looked at her.
She met his eyes and said,
“Don’t sell it.
Some things should never be lost, no matter how poor you are.”
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