depth of grief

[patricia n]

hello, this story is totally inspired by qiong yao. if you enjoy romance (i don't personally, but i need to get it out of my system) then go ahead and read this!

The Promise
Depth of Grief
Chapter 1

Luong Trieu Vi…Tony Leung
Luong My Linh…Barbara Yung
Trinh Thieu Thu…Adam Cheng
Luong Tieu Bang…Vivian Leung
Trinh Thien Lac…Louis Koo
Trinh Thieu Phan…Ada Choi
Trinh Hao Dan…Benny Chan
*Sorry, I’m simply too lazy to look up the Vietnamese names for all of the characters in the story, so only the important characters will have their names in Vietnamese.*

The blizzard blew violently and hollered ferociously. A solitary figure crawled desperately through the vast field of snow, but there was no one else around to witness his struggle against the weather. His cloak flapped wildly along with the wind, and his hat flew away from his head as it listened to the beckoning of the haughty wind. His eyes followed the hat, and his vision began to blur. His futile effort to return home left him utterly exhausted, and despair consumed him. “Why?” he screamed out to his surrounding before he collapsed and blacked out.

In a cozy room, an amiable face (Barbara Yung) glanced out the window and sighed, causing her husband (Tony Leung) to look up in concern. “Phu Nhan (wife/mistress), what’s bothering you?” The woman turned around and began to tear up. “Lao Gia (husband/master), what will happen to Tieu Bang when we depart from this world? Who will want to marry a person with her condition?” The husband put his book aside as he got up from the chair to walk over to his wife. He reached out for her hands and pulled her into an embrace to comfort her. “I’ve tried my best to help her, but there’s no cure for her.” Hearing the finality of his statement brought more grief to the wife. “There will be no one to love and to look out for our precious daughter. Lao Gia, I cannot bear to imagine how miserable her life will be when we’re gone. She will be alone in this world.” The husband remained helplessly silent as his wife unleashed a flood of tears, but he felt her pain. Since they discovered Tieu Bang’s illness, he spent all of his spare time trying to cure her, yet nothing worked. He was brought back to reality when he felt his wife jerk in his arms. “Lao Gia, did you hear that?” He shook his head. “I think I heard a voice. Who would be crazy enough to be out there in this weather?” The wife looked out the window and reached her hand to open it until her husband stopped her. “You haven’t been feeling well lately. Opening the window will worsen your health. If what you say is true about the voice then I better go check it out. It’s dangerous for anyone to be out in an evening like this.” Knowing his kind and stubborn nature, the wife could only mutter, “Be careful.”

Two majestic horses, each carrying a man on its back, galloped across the blanket of snow. “Lao Gia, did Phu Nhan mention from which direction the voice came?” asked the steward (Kent Tong) who trailed his master. Luong Trieu Vi (Tony Leung) abruptly commanded his horse to halt and lifted the lit lantern to help him search the area better. “Kent, stay here and watch the horses.” Trieu Vi immediately jumped off his horse and ran to a lump his eyes laid on earlier. As he got closer to the lump, he recognized that it was actually a person. He tapped on the person several times but received no response. He noticed the discoloration on the person’s face and how cold the person’s body was. “Kent, bring the horses over here. We have someone who needs our help.” Kent obeyed his master and prepared another seat on his master’s horse for the stranger. “What’s wrong with him?” Trieu Vi signaled Kent to help him lift the man’s body onto the horse before answering him, “He’s suffering from hypothermia. I just checked his pulse, and it was slowly decreasing. If we rush him back home, then we’ll have a good chance of saving him. It also looks as though he was badly beaten before he passed out.” The two said little during the trip home because they concentrated on getting home as fast as possible to rescue the man.

A week later, the stranger (Adam Cheng) began to stir and opened his eyes to an unfamiliar room and an unfamiliar face. “Who are you?” he seemed to accuse the man sitting in the room for his current disposition. “I am Luong Trieu Vi.” “How did I get here?” he demanded to know. “My steward and I found you out in the field last week and brought you home.” The stranger seemed shock that he had been out for one week and remembered nothing of the incident. The last he remembered, he was making a trip home until he had gotten badly beaten by robbers and then the weather changed dramatically making it difficult for him to journey home. He looked at his arms and saw ointments evenly spread out on one arm and a cast covering the other arm. His facial expression relaxed a bit and he smiled at the man sitting in front of him, “You saved my life. How can I ever thank you?” “Don’t say mention it. It’s my duty as a doctor to attend to everyone’s wound, and you are not an exception.” The man hastily applied, “I will not have people call Trinh Thieu Thu ungrateful. You did me a generous favor, and I insist on returning a favor that is equally significant.” Trieu Vi chuckled, “Why don’t we talk about this later? You should rest first in order to get better more rapidly.”

Trinh Thieu Thu (Adam Cheng) spent another week with the Luong family and talked about his family non-stop. He took joy in bragging about his oldest son’s accomplishments and the close relationship he had with all three of his children. Luong Trieu Vi and Luong My Linh (Barbara Yung) listened and learned much about Thieu Thu’s background during the times they spent together, and in many ways, they envied him, especially where the health and happiness of his children are concerned. On the day of his departure, the Luong family prepared a traveling bag for him and gave him a bit of money to help him sustain the trip. Trinh Thieu Thu had never experienced and observed such generosity from anyone before and got down on his knees, but Trieu Vi stopped him in time before he had a chance to kow-tow, “Eh, Trinh Huynh (how one refers to a male friend), we’re friends. We don’t have to follow unnecessary protocols.” Thieu Thu was even more touched by Trieu Vi’s sincerity and wanted more earnestly to return him a favor, “Luong Huynh, you have treated this stranger with such overwhelming kindness. I will not feel right leaving this place without reciprocating all that you’ve done for me. Please do not make me leave with a heavy heart.” My Linh looked at her husband and beamed with pride, for he was truly a good person. Luong Trieu Vi unexpectedly asked, “How old are your children?” Although baffled by the question, Thieu Thu answered, “Thien Lac (Louis) is seven, Thieu Phan (Ada) is six, and Hao Dan (Benny) is three.” Luong My Linh began to understand why her husband asked that question, and she gave him a smile to encourage him to continue with this plan. “Trinh Huynh, my wife and I have a four years old daughter who we are extremely fond of.” Thieu Thu was quite thrown off by this sudden revelation, “Really? How come I haven’t seen her the entire time I was here?” He saw that his question brought much discomfort to his hosts and instantly regretted asking, but Luong Trieu Vi wearily replied, “The truth is, rarely anyone gets the chance to interact with her. My wife and I are extremely protective of our Tieu Bang because she is blind and mute.” Trieu Vi felt shocked by this and somewhat hurt that his friends couldn’t trust him with their daughter’s condition, but he kept this to himself. “Luong Huynh, Luong Ti (way to address a female friend), you do not need to say more. If you do not mind having me as an in law, I would like to have your daughter for my eldest to wed as his first wife.” That was more than Luong My Linh dared to dream of, “Your eldest? And first wife? Trinh Huynh, that isn’t necessary.” “Luong Ti, you’ve underestimated me. If Luong Huynh could risk the dangers of sheltering a perfect stranger and attending to his wounds and befriending him, why can’t I look out for your daughter’s good? It’s perfect because with her position as the first wife of the oldest son, no one in my household will dare to look down on her because of her handicap.” Luong Trieu Vi became consumed with gratitude, “Trinh Huynh, I want you to accept a bow from me.” “Eh, we’re friends, there are no needs for superfluous protocols.” “Trinh Huynh, Tieu Bang is only four years old right now. Can you give us fourteen more years before we hand her over to you? I would like to have as much time with her as possible. If you’d like to have the dowry right now then that’s fine with us.” Insulted by Luong My Linh’s last sentence, Adam emotionally rebuked the idea of the dowry, “Luong Ti, the dowry is only part of the wedding custom, but you should know that I already have more money than I need. Please don’t bring up the dowry again. As for the marriage, fourteen years from now is fine with me. I trust that my Thien Lac will mature completely by the time he is twenty one.”

With very little more to say on the subject matter, the two families promised to see each other in fourteen years, and Trinh Thieu Thu left for his home in a happier mood.

[patricia n]

GRIEF 2
The Trinh Family

Trinh Thieu Thu…Adam Cheng
Trinh Du Linh…Dodo Cheng
Trinh Cunh Nhu…Kristy Yang
Trinh Thien Lac…Louis Koo
Trinh Thieu Phan…Ada Choi
Trinh Hao Dan…Benny Chan
*Sorry, I’m simply too lazy to look up the Vietnamese names for all of the characters in the story, so only the important characters will have their names in Vietnamese.*

The weather foreshadowed a welcomed event as the sun cast its brilliant rays in this cloudless and not so humid day. A figure approached an enormous property and briefly observed the strange silence that befell its residents. No sound was heard nor was there any bustling activity occurring in the house which was quite frequent at around this time less than a month ago.

The head of the figure swung listlessly as if trying to uncover the secret that changed this property so much. Slowly but noticeably, the figure set foot past the threshold of the main door and calmly walked in. The figure finally caught a glimpse of a familiar person and shouted out, “Phu Nhan (wife/mistress)!” startling the poor woman. The woman (Dodo Cheng) turned to the source of the voice and gasped. She slowly made her way across the room, finding it difficult to believe that her husband was standing right in front of her. She used her hand that held on tightly to the handkerchief and covered her mouth as tears swelled up in her eyes. Could it be? Was that really him? She moaned, “Lao Gia! (husband/master)” and collapsed into his embrace.

For the past month, she had not heard a word from him and worried daily. She sent people out to search for him to no avail and could only conclude that something terrible happened to him. Although she prayed for his safety each day, her nightmares would haunt her and made her question his continual existence. Seeing him in flesh before her and touching him, she knew that he was back. Her husband had returned. Trinh Thieu Thu (Adam Cheng) hugged onto his wife dearly and then asked, “Where are the children?” With tears still streaming down her face, the woman happily nodded and stated, “I’ll call them out. They’ll be so happy to see you again.” Trinh Du Linh (Dodo) wiped the tears off her eyes and sought the children.

Trinh Thieu Thu barely unwrapped his traveling bag when three pairs of legs wildly ran into the room screaming, “Daddy!” He turned around and opened his arms widely, waiting for the three chubby, little children to gather into his arms. He looked at each of his children carefully, examining them to see if they had grown at all during the period he was away. How he had missed them, these treasures of his life. Thien Lac (Louis) and Hao Dan (Benny) wore their usual mandarin collar shirts and matching pants with their hair messily tossed from the hurried excitement of seeing their father again. And his only daughter (Ada) laughed hysterically as he reached out to tickle her, causing her braids to fling widely all around. Seeing this, the two boys jumped up and down, demanding their father’s attention. Life returned to the way it had been before he left home.

While Thieu Thu busied himself with his children, he failed to notice another person entering the room. This person observed the happy scene and then interrupted the moment, “Lao Gia, why didn’t anyone inform me of your return?” Thieu Thu looked up to see his second wife (Kristy Yang) staring at him with an obviously unpleased expression on her face. He turned to his first wife, and she quickly defended herself while her eyes narrowed at Cung Nhu (Kristy), “Lao Gia, you never asked me to call Junior Sister in.” She expressed no remorse for neglecting the second wife, and her attitude told him that she could not be blamed for anything.

During his recovery at the Luong’s residence, Thieu Thu remembered his children, his wives, and all the best moments he had with his family. What he had forgotten or prohibited himself from dwelling on was the struggle between his two wives for power and his love. He dreaded seeing them bicker as they had when he first married his second wife, and he avoided taking sides.

In truth, he loved both of his wives for different reasons, yet he loved them both equally. He had known Du Linh for the most part of his life, and his love for her developed from a blossoming friendship and lifetime loyalty. He always knew that no other woman could ever understand him better than her, and no one could be more filial to him than her. When he first married her, he honestly believed that his life was complete and his heart only had room for her. In the first year of the marriage, she gave birth to Thien Lac, which fulfilled her duty as his wife. The following year, she made him happier with the birth of a healthy baby daughter. Nevertheless, three years later, Thieu Thu met Duong Cung Nhu (Kristy), whose beauty mesmerized him. Blinded by lust, Thieu Thu married her against Du Linh’s wish, and he knew full well that the two women hated each other.

Du Linh resented Cung Nhu simply because Cunh Nhu was Thieu Thu’s second wife. Even though polygamy was common and accepted by society, she never imagined Thieu Thu to fall for another. He promised her that she would always be the only woman in his life on an autumn evening when they first professed their love for each other. Hence, she blamed Cunh Nhu for all the misery she experienced during those lonesome nights when Thieu Thu chose to sleep with his second wife.

Cung Nhu was Hao Dan’s biological mother, and she resented having an inferior status to Du Linh. Everyone knew that the first wife received the best of all gifts from the husband, and the first wife’s son would inherit everything from the father. She hated thinking about how neglected her son would be once he grew older. She tried to teach her three year old son about reality, but he was too young to understand his status in society and enjoyed playing with his siblings too much. How and when would he learn that his worst enemy was his brother, Thien Lac? That he would always be second to Thien Lac in Thieu Thu’s eyes. Although she saw the love Thieu Thu had for all of his children, she could not deny what she held as true, that Hao Dan’s existence was unnecessary. In her opinion, all men only needed one heir. Everyday, she woke up with bitterness and wondered why she married Thieu Thu when she could have been someone else’s first wife? She loved him, and she would have maintained peace in the household because of her love for him. This kind thought lasted briefly because she realized that none of her children would benefit from the marriage. The birth of Hao Dan, her only child, helped her to see the truth. From what she could gather from others, the celebration of Hao Dan’s birth could not be compared to the grand celebration of Thien Lac’s birth. And from that point on, she could not allow herself to forgive Du Linh for being the first wife and Thien Lac for being born.

Looking at the two women, Thieu Thu observed that they looked worn. Both women lost some weight and there were heavy bags under their eyes. He knew that they must not have been able to sleep well because they were both worried for him. Not wishing to encourage the two wives to continue their power struggle in front of him, Thieu Thu silenced the two, “Enough! I’ve returned safely. Isn’t that all that matters now? I need to rest.” The two wives remained quiet but waited anxiously to see which of them he would call out for help and whose room he wanted to rest in.

Little Hao Dan began wailing loudly and everyone looked in his direction. They saw urine leaking from his pants, and Thieu Thu asked Cung Nhu, “Phu Nhan, why hasn’t Hao Dan learn to control his urine yet? Thien Lac mastered this by the age of three whereas Hao Dan failed. You better teach your child properly, for I will not have any child of mine be mocked by everyone else.” As if trying to punish Cung Nhu for being a bad mother, Thieu Thu turned to Du Linh and reached out to offer his hand, which she immediately grabbed onto, “Phu Nhan, please take me to your room to rest.” Cung Nhu witnessed the two exit the room before rushing over to Hao Dan, trying to calm him down. When Thien Lac and Thieu Phan left the room to follow their parents, Cung Nhu allowed her tears to release themselves. She hugged Hao Dan tightly while stroking his little head, and she whispered, “My good son, don’t cry anymore. Mommy’s here for you. Please forgive mommy, Hao Dan. I should have thought about your happiness and be someone else’s first wife.”

[patricia n]

GRIEF 3
Thirteen Years in Between

Trinh Thieu Thu…Adam Cheng
Trinh Du Linh…Dodo Cheng
Trinh Cunh Nhu…Kristy Yang
Trinh Thien Lac…Louis Koo
Trinh Thieu Phan…Ada Choi
Trinh Hao Dan…Benny Chan
Le Tri Lam…Julian Cheung
Dang Le Minh…Joyce Tang
Luong Tieu Bang…Vivian Leung
*Sorry, I’m simply too lazy to look up the Vietnamese names for all of the characters in the story, so only the important characters will have their names in Vietnamese.*

Five years later, on a perfectly clear and hot day in Guangzhou, a blindfolded boy walked around in circles and stretched his arms out and flung it around, trying to grab onto any object. He yelled out, “Where are you guys? Thien Lac? Hao Dan?” Just then, he seized hold of someone and happily exclaimed, “Aha! I’ve got you. Now it’s your turn to be it.” He took the blindfold off of him and was obviously disappointed by his catch. Rather than seeing Thien Lac or Hao Dan, he saw a plump ten years old girl in pigtails, smiling at him and asking hopefully, “Big brother Tri Lam, can I play too?”

Looking disgusted, Tri Lam (Julian) answered rudely, “No!” The hopeful smile on the adorable girl’s face faded and was replaced with a pout as she wondered, “Why not?” The thirteen year old boy, who stood a great deal taller than the girl mimicked her, “Why not?” before he answered truthfully, “Because I say so. Thieu Phan (Ada), you are a girl and real boys do not play with girls.”

The innocent little girl looked like she was about to cry as her eyes began to water. She could not understand why her neighbor wouldn’t allow her to play. Her brothers always included her in their games, but when Tri Lam was around, her brothers would listen to him and prohibited her from joining them. When she bothered her brothers and begged them to let her play with them, they would tell her, “Go ask big brother Tri Lam first!”

Seeing her teary eyes, Tri Lam got thoroughly annoyed and said, “All girls are cry babies. That’s why it’s no fun to play with them.” No matter how hard she protested and insisted, Thieu Phan always failed to get permission from Tri Lam to let her join them.

Four years later, Thieu Phan fully understood why her brothers listened to Tri Lam. He was older than them and bigger than them back then, and they were afraid to disobey his orders. Within these four years, Thieu Phan grew to hate Tri Lam for his superior attitude and for being mean to her when she was young. Even though he finally encouraged her to join him and her brothers in their games, she refused to have anything to do with him. She made little attempt to be nice to him and tried to avoid him whenever possible. Around this time, Thieu Phan contently enjoyed her friendship with Dang Le Minh (Joyce).

Le Minh was Tri Lam’s cousin whose parents died in a fire; hence, she moved in and lived with Tri Lam’s family. Le Minh was one year younger than Thieu Phan, and her tragic childhood allowed her to mature quicker than most children. Although timid, Le Minh befriended everyone and treated everyone with the same kindness.

In the years to follow, Thien Lac (Louis) found himself strongly attracted to Le Minh; unfortunately, he was not the only one. Hao Dan (Benny) also discovered himself missing her during her absence and overjoyed during her presence. The two brothers never spoke to each other about this matter because their relationship altered since childhood. Thien Lac contemplated on the nature of their relationship; exactly when did the two brothers drifted apart? They used to play with each other and always hung out with Tri Lam together. What happened between them?

Only Hao Dan and Cung Nhu (Kristy) knew the reason for their distant relationship. As Hao Dan grew older, he slowly accepted his mother’s teachings and saw that life gave Thien Lac an unfair advantage while he got nothing except for a loving mother. He grew to resent his father for loving his brother so much, and he rebelled by disobeying his father constantly, despite his loving mother’s protest. His loving mother’s once unmatchable beauty disappeared with time and what used to be a mesmerizing beauty got replaced by a haggard and defeated-looking second wife.

During this period, Thieu Thu (Adam) found himself being much more compatible with his first wife, thus he paid less attention to his second wife, whose lack of beauty no longer attracted him as it used to. Seeing his father’s abandonment of his mother stirred up in Hao Dan a hatred towards all of his family members except for his mother and half sister, Thieu Phan. The more he rebelled, the more Thieu Thu yelled at him and expressed his disapproval, which would only provoke Hao Dan to rebel even more. Thieu Thu’s reaction to Hao Dan’s blatantly disrespectful attitude towards himself and his first wife caused more harm to Hao Dan than he expected. In Hao Dan’s mind, Thieu Thu’s reaction only proved that Thieu Thu cared little for him. Hearing the same lecture each time, “You good for nothing bastard! Why can’t you be more like your brother Thien Lac?” infuriated him and made him despise Thien Lac even more. Hao Dan could not pretend to himself that he lived in a loving family and denied that Thien Lac could possibly love him as a brother. The more Thien Lac tried to help him and be kind to him, the more Hao Dan felt that Thien Lac was a pretentious hypocrite who put on a show to obtain more love from their father, as if that was possible.

Hao Dan loved his half sister because she had always been there for him since young, and he knew that she did not gain much from being a girl in this society. How was she different from being a second son? Therefore, he identified with her and loved her just as much as his mother. These two were the only people he would listen to and the only two who he respected within the family. And the one person he cared for outside of the family was Dang Le Minh.

By twenty years old, Thien Lac developed a strong affinity for Le Minh, whose presence brightened his day and whose smile made him feel weak. Fortunately for him, his tame and mild nature suited her perfectly and she also fell in love with him. Almost everyone felt that they made a wonderful couple and encouraged the two to reveal their feelings to each other. Both were too embarrassed to admit anything to each other. Their meddlesome friends, namely Thieu Phan and Tri Lam, teased them and revealed what the other person felt. Although no words or declaration of love was exchanged, they both knew how the other felt and were content with just knowing.

Only two people who witnessed the development of this love opposed it: Hao Dan and Trinh Thieu Thu.

Because of his love for Le Minh, Hao Dan sincerely wanted her to be happy, and if Thien Lac could bring her happiness, then he was willing to step out of this as much as it pained him to know that his feelings were unrequited. He mourned not ever having the opportunity to express his love, but it was enough for him to see her happy. Yet, his bitterness increased even more. It seemed to him that Thien Lac had everything in life, and Hao Dan’s jealousy drove him to distant himself from Thien Lac. His hatred towards Thien Lac was evident to everyone, although only his mother understood why and only his mother approved of it. “Hao Dan, you must watch out for yourself. Remember that Thien Lac is your worst enemy because he will be left with everything while you are left with nothing. Do not befriend your enemy, for that is the worst thing that you can do to yourself,” his mother would tell him over and over again.

In the Trinh family, only Thieu Phan attempted to settle matters between Thien Lac and Hao Dan. It affected her to see her brothers act like strangers, and even though she knew that it was mostly Hao Dan’s decision for this outcome she still treated him just as lovingly as always. Hao Dan tried to suppress any anger whenever his older but sweet half sister brought up Thien Lac in their conversation because he knew that she was too naïve to understand the facts of life and was only trying to mend his relationship with Thien Lac out of love. There were times when he failed and exploded in front of her, much to his regret, but he could not bottle nor could he control this bitterness at all times.

Du Linh (Dodo) discouraged her daughter from interacting with the disobedient son of the family and lectured her endlessly about being loyal to her real brother, but Thieu Phan would always argue, “Hao Dan is my half brother! He’s also related to me by blood,” to which Du Linh would toss her hands up in the air and sigh. If she had it her way, she would try to get Thieu Thu to kick Cung Nhu out of the family; nevertheless, the woman was not completely cold hearted. After securing a better relationship with Thieu Thu, Du Linh actually felt pity for Cung Nhu and tried to stop mocking her as much as she used to.

Cung Nhu misinterpreted Du Linh’s attempt at kindness and thought that Du Linh was trying to show that she was the better of the two wives by feigning to maintain peace within the house. Thus, she resented Du Linh more than ever. It hurt Cung Nhu to see her son get yelled at by his father, but what could she do? He listened to her but not always, or else he would have stopped talking to that half sister of his, who -Cung Nhu was sure- was only trying to tame Hao Dan so that he would not hurt Thien Lac. As far as Cung Nhu was concerned, every member of the family was out to protect Thien Lac and had only his interest in mind. Whenever Thieu Thu visited his second wife, who usually locked herself in her room or wandered around her area of the manor, he would leave abruptly because he could not tolerate her outrageous belief that no one cared for Hao Dan. If he didn’t love Hao Dan, then why would he bother to lecture the boy and try to improve him as a person?

However, his first son also gave him a headache. Thieu Thu no longer denied the obvious love his son had for Le Minh. Why was he a fool and waited for this long before choosing to tell Thien Lac that he had already picked a wife for Thien Lac? No matter what, he would keep to his promise and make sure that Thien Lac married Luong Tieu Bang (Vivian).

[patricia n]

deleted wrong post

[patricia n]

sorry for the wrong post

GRIEF 4
A Challenge

Trinh Du Linh…Dodo Cheng
Trinh Thieu Phan…Ada Choi
Le Tri Lam…Julian Cheung
Dang Le Minh…Joyce Tang
*Sorry, I’m simply too lazy to look up the Vietnamese names for all of the characters in the story, so only the important characters will have their names in Vietnamese.*

At the age of nineteen, Thieu Phan (Ada) had acquired a beauty that her mother never imagined her daughter to ever possess. Every time Du Linh (Dodo) looked at her daughter, she would beam and marvel at her daughter’s beauty. Many visitors of the Trinh household commented that Thieu Phan’s beauty was like an orchid- exotic and captivating. Her dimples enhanced her wonderful smile, and her eyes twinkled like the stars in the sky. She looked ravishing in ordinary clothes, but her rich father gave her the best in life and adorned her with the best silk and embroidered mandarin skirt set. Every morning, Thieu Phan stepped out of her room, dressed conservatively with her two braids framing her heart shaped face.

Being a famed beauty in her town, many men naturally expressed interest in her, but she quickly rejected them. Like all idealistic and young women, Thieu Phan dreamt of meeting the perfect man who not only looked dashingly handsome but also inherited a strong will and good heart. She was confident with her beauty and knew that she would get married; it was just a matter of waiting for the right person to come into her life.

That morning, she happily skipped to meet her closest friend and hopefully soon to be sister-in-law, Dang Le Minh (Joyce). She hummed a popular melody and dreamily closed her eyes while skipping along the way. What was this young lady dreaming of? A smile appeared on her face as she imagined ways in which she would meet the perfect man for her.

Umph. Unexpectedly, Thieu Phan bumped into something and fell back. She did not have time to realize that she was falling. Luckily for her, a pair of arms reached out in time and blocked her fall. When she opened her eyes, she found herself wrapped in a pair of arms, and once she recognized the owner of the arms, she pulled herself away from him and looked to the side in disgust. “A thank you would have been appropriate, Thieu Phan,” said Tri Lam (Julian). Thieu Phan almost commented until she remembered her childhood promise to ignore her worst nemesis, and she ignored him as she walked on into his home.

Tri Lam watched as she walked past him, and it occurred to him that every man and woman in town was right: Thieu Phan was beautiful. When did she develop and blossom? How did he miss it? Just as quickly as this thought came across him, it disappeared as he caught up to her and tried to talk to her like he had ever since he decided that real boys could play with girls. He smiled and talked nonstop, “Wait a minute Thieu Phan. How long do you plan to hold a grudge against me? Don’t you think that you are being a bit ridiculous?” Thieu Phan swiftly turned around and replied, “It’s not any more silly than your stupid notion that real boys do not play with girls.” He finally got her to talk to him, and her statement caused him to laugh nonstop. Feeling extremely insulted by his laughter, Thieu Phan turned around again and continued to walk to Le Minh’s room. Tri Lam chased her and held her back with his hands, “Thieu Phan [more laughter], that was ages ago when we were kids. Don’t you think that you are being a bit immature here?”

Thieu Phan’s eyes widened in disbelief. Shouldn’t he be apologizing for ruining her childhood by refusing to let her play with him and her brothers? How dare he insult her and call her immature. Thieu Phan abruptly used her hands and forced Tri Lam’s hands off her as she screamed, “Le Tri Lam, don’t you ever touch me again!” Thieu Phan left Tri Lam standing near Le Minh’s bedroom looking dumbfounded. How was it possible for one girl to hold a grudge for so long? Especially over such a trivial matter?

Thieu Phan stepped into Le Minh’s room, still upset by her encounter with Tri Lam. When she slammed Le Minh’s door, it startled Le Minh and Thieu Phan immediately apologized for her rude behavior. The ever so sweet Le Minh recognized a troubled soul when she saw one and hurriedly asked, “What’s wrong, Thieu Phan? Does it have anything to do with Tri Lam?” Thieu Phan vented out her anger, “Who else can get me so upset and worked up?” Le Minh stood up and smiled while reaching out to hold onto her friend’s hands to calm her, “Thieu Phan, why do you hold a grudge for so long?” Thieu Phan pouted, something which she did often when unhappy, “He started it!”

Le Minh patted her friend’s hands tenderly and teased her, “Have you ever heard of the phrase, ‘hate becomes love’? At the rate you two are going, I will bet that you two marry each other.” Le Minh immediately dropped Thieu Phan’s hands and ran away before Thieu Phan had time to react. Once Thieu Phan absorbed what Le Minh said, she started chasing Le Minh around to hit her and exclaimed, “Never! Even if he was the last man in the world, I would never ever marry him.” Still giggling, Le Minh stopped running to catch her breath and said, “Thieu Phan, do you realize how desired my cousin is among women? Every girl in town wants him just as much as every man in town wants you.” Insulted by her words, Thieu Phan inquired, “How can you put him in the same category as me? Nobody can possibly want that monkey!”

Feeling exhausted from the chase, Le Minh collapsed onto her bed and continued, “You’re wrong, Thieu Phan. Think about it, my cousin is the heir to the biggest tea plantation in town, he’s well educated, and according to many, many women, he is incredibly handsome and charming. Any woman would be a fool to reject him.” Thieu Phan argued, “Any woman would be a fool to marry him.”

Outside Le Minh’s room, Tri Lam squatted down quietly in front of the door as he eavesdropped in their conversation. He smiled at the idea of Thieu Phan feeling repulsed by him. Her rejection of him provoked him to accept the challenge to get her to fall for him. No women in town had ever resisted his charm, and it would be fun to get the only woman who hated him to fall deeply in love with him.

[patricia n]

GRIEF 5
Confession

Trinh Thieu Thu…Adam Cheng
Trinh Du Linh…Dodo Cheng
Trinh Cunh Nhu…Kristy Yang
Trinh Thien Lac…Louis Koo
Trinh Hao Dan…Benny Chan
Dang Le Minh…Joyce Tang
Luong Trieu Vi…Tony Leung
Luong Tieu Bang…Vivian Leung
*Sorry, I’m simply too lazy to look up the Vietnamese names for all of the characters in the story, so only the important characters will have their names in Vietnamese.*

Two months before Thien Lac’s (Louis) twenty first birthday, the wind blew violently throughout the night. All windows had to be shut and locked so that they would not flap wildly and disrupt the sleep of the residents. In a large bedroom, husband and wife laid in bed. Trinh Thieu Thu (Adam) twisted and turned in bed because he had not been able to rest. His constant motion disturbed his wife’s slumber, and she finally asked him, “Lao Gia, why aren’t you sleeping?” Thieu Thu carefully got out of bed and lit the candle in the bedroom.

In the still of the night, Thieu Thu finally confessed to his wife the promise he had made to Luong Trieu Vi (Tony Leung) fourteen years ago. Stunned by this news, Du Linh (Dodo) kept quiet until she found her composure and questioned her husband’s decision, “How could you disregard your son’s future like that?” To which he replied, “He’s my son, and I shall do as I please.” His irrational statement infuriated her, and she asked, “Do you love your son?” Thieu Thu looked at the face of his concerned wife and sat down next to her, sighing, “Of course I do. You know that I would never do anything to harm him.”

Du Linh implored her husband’s eyes and insisted, “Then forego your promise with Luong Trieu Vi. You know Thien Lac loves Le Minh (Joyce) and only wants her as his wife. If you care about his happiness, you will not force him into this marriage.” Thieu Thu broke from his wife’s spell and shook his head sadly, “Alas, Phu Nhan. You were not there to witness this family’s generosity and kindness. I owe them my life. If it weren’t for them, I would not have this life to return to this family.” His wife whispered, “If they were as kind as you claimed, they would not have place such an extreme demand on our family.” Thieu Thu held up his hand to hush her, “No. I will not have you speak ill of the Luong family. They’ve done much for me, and they never asked for such promise. I volunteered Thien Lac to marry their daughter.” Thieu Thu stood up and moved away from the bed. With his back facing his wife, he gravely declared, “This is the end of the conversation. What you say will not change my decision. I only wanted to let you know this ahead of time so that you will not be shocked when we take the Luong daughter as our son’s first bride.” Du Linh understood that she could not influence her husband’s decision and angrily got back into bed, refusing to speak to him.

Thieu Thu wanted to give his wife space and time to think about his confession; hence, he spent the rest of the week in his second wife’s bedroom. His departure from Du Linh catalyzed her acceptance of the engagement. By the end of the week, Du Linh made it clear to Thieu Thu that she would accept the Luong daughter as her future bride in law without question.

During this week, Hao Dan (Benny) saw his mother smile more often because her husband paid more attention to her now than he had in the past few years. Seeing her state made Hao Dan a more obedient son. Consequently, less yelling occurred in the household. Thieu Thu made the connection between Hao Dan’s obedience and Cung Nhu’s (Kristy) happiness, and this insight put Thieu Thu to shame. For it occurred to him that he had been neglecting his second wife and he promised to himself that he would try to devote more time to her in the future. Though he had little to say to her, he would try to be around her to show her that he still loved her, even if the love was not as great as before.

One month before Thien Lac’s twenty first birthday, Thieu Thu conjured up the courage to approach his son about the wedding. He waited until a summer evening when the warm breeze swept by the town. He observed his son for a while and thought of all the moments which Thien Lac made him proud. He grew up to be a fine and handsome young gentleman with a mild nature. His academic accomplishment and quick thinking would allow him to make a great heir to the biggest rice plantation in the eastern region of Taiwan.

Thien Lac paced back and forth while reading the great teachings of Confucius and then tried to recite each passage by heart. He moved his head in rhythm as he recited the passages, pausing only when he forgot what followed the line he just recited. Half an hour passed by, and he yawned. He carefully placed the book inside his shirt and then he stretched out his arms and relaxed his neck. As he rotated his neck, he saw his father stand near him, staring in his direction. He asked, “How long have you’ve been standing there, Father?”

Thieu Thu nodded at his son and walked towards him, “I remember there was a time when you called me ‘Daddy’ instead of ‘Father.’ That seemed like just yesterday. You’ve grown so much since.” Thien Lac did not know what to say to that, and he kept quiet. Thieu Thu stared at his son and said, “Thien Lac, you’re a grown man, and it’s about time you’ve settled down.”

“How did Father know what I was thinking?” thought Thien Lac. Then aloud, “Father, I’ve also been thinking about marriage more often these days.” Not expressing surprise, for Thieu Thu already knew who Thien Lac wanted to marry, he merely asked, “Really?” Thien Lac nodded and said, “I also feel that I am old enough and mature enough to start a family.” Thieu Thu smiled and stated, “Good because I’ve already chosen a bride for you.”

With that, he walked into Thien Lac’s room with the shocked Thien Lac following him. “Father, who did you choose for me?” Thieu Thu answered as if it was the most natural thing to say, “She comes from a very good family and will make you a good wife.” Losing his patience, Thien Lac asked, “Who?” “Luong Tieu Bang.” Thien Lac repeated this name several times before he exclaimed, “I cannot marry her. I love Dang Le Minh (Joyce) and only Dang Le Minh.” The expression on Thien Lac’s face made Thieu Thu wished that he never made the promise, but he had to. He owed the Luong family too much to break a longstanding promise. Thus, he emphasized, “Marriage is the parents’ decision.” Thien Lac knelt down and pleaded, “Father, I cannot marry someone who I’ve never met. For all I know, I may cause her misery for the rest of her life.” Thieu Thu rationalized, “If you know that you are capable of causing someone misery, you should also be capable of avoiding events that would cause the pain.” Thien Lac asked, “Why not make it simple and avoid an unhappy marriage?”

Thieu Thu looked away from his son and questioned, “What makes you certain that it will be an unhappy marriage? How many couples have entered arranged marriages and found themselves happy in the end?” Thien Lac shook his head and said, “I do not wish to take that risk when I’ve already found someone who makes me happy. She also comes from a good family, Father!” Thieu Thu turned around and raised his son up as he knelt down, much to Thien Lac’s horror, “Father, what are you doing?” Thieu Thu kow-towed to his son and answered, “Son, I know that I gambled your happiness when I promised you to another. But I beg you to do this for me. The Luongs are my savior, and if it weren’t for them, I’d be dead long ago. You might not ever discover my body.” Thieu Thu explained the story to Thien Lac from the beginning. At the end of the night, Thien Lac felt that this burden on his father’s chest could only be lifted by his agreement to marry the mute and blind girl, Luong Tieu Bang. Thien Lac knew his responsibility as the oldest son, and he vaguely nodded and agreed to his father’s request, sealing his fate for the rest of his life.

[patricia n]

GRIEF 6
Separation
Trinh Thieu Thu…Adam Cheng
Trinh Thien Lac…Louis Koo
Trinh Thieu Phan…Ada Choi
Trinh Hao Dan…Benny Chan
Le Tri Lam…Julian Cheung
Dang Le Minh…Joyce Tang
Luong Tieu Bang…Vivian Leung
*Sorry, I’m simply too lazy to look up the Vietnamese names for all of the characters in the story, so only the important characters will have their names in Vietnamese.*

Hao Dan (Benny) angrily barged into Thien Lac’s (Louis) room in the evening two weeks before Thien Lac’s twenty first birthday. He saw the worn looking Thien Lac sitting at the center table and looking at him absentmindedly. Wasting no time, Hao Dan plunged at Thien Lac to punch him and then threw him against his bed.

Thieu Phan (Ada) heard the noise from her bedroom and hurried into her older brother’s room. The scene in front of her surprised her. She gasped and covered her mouth when she saw blood coming out of Thien Lac’s mouth. “Older brother Thien Lac! Little brother Hao Dan!” she screamed as she walked to the bed and tried to pull Hao Dan off of Thien Lac. Unfortunately, her petite frame and weak strength could not overcome Hao Dan’s bigger frame and strength that was fueled with his anger. Ignoring his sister’s protest, Hao Dan grabbed onto Thien Lac’s shirt and pulled him up, “What the **** did you do to hurt Le Minh (Joyce) like that?” Thien Lac remained silent, which only caused Hao Dan to hurt him some more. In actuality, Thien Lac welcomed the beating. Earlier that morning, he hurt Le Minh greatly when he revealed that he would get married on his twenty first birthday to another lady. He did not explain the reason and just told her, “You deserve someone better than me, and I hope you find someone better than me to appreciate and love you for all that you are.” He saw her run away with fresh tears springing from her eyes when he left all of her questions unanswered.

The rage in Hao Dan’s eyes scared Thien Lac, for he had never seen Hao Dan so upset. Yet, the more upset Hao Dan was, the better because that meant that Hao Dan would hurt Thien Lac even worse. Hao Dan slapped and punched Thien Lac several more times, and when he saw the smile on Thien Lac’s face, he became more hysterical, “How could you hurt her knowing how much she loved you? You ****er! I’ll beat the shit out of you if you don’t go and make her feel better.”

“Little brother Hao Dan! Stop it now.” Thieu Phan wedged her way in between Hao Dan and Thien Lac. Hao Dan was about to punch Thien Lac’s face but stopped himself in time when he saw his half sister’s face looking up at him with terrified eyes. Hao Dan yelled out in frustration and briskly walked out, and Thieu Phan chased after him. “Little brother Hao Dan!” He ignored her, and she persisted, “Little brother Hao Dan! Please stop [gasping for air]. I can explain what happened.” Hao Dan halted and waited. Thieu Phan walked up to him and explained the story to him, “Father forced Thien Lac to marry another woman against his will…”

When she fully explained the story, Hao Dan asked, “How long have you’ve been hiding this from me?” She looked at him and answered truthfully, “I just found out from Mother this morning.” Then curiously, she eyed Hao Dan as she asked him, “Are you in love with Le Minh?” Hao Dan flinched, but this was enough for Thieu Phan to see the truth. Thieu Phan extended her arm and touched Hao Dan’s shoulder, “Little brother Hao Dan, please control your temper in the future. I don’t want to see anyone get hurt. I especially do not want to see you get in trouble. I worry about you.” Thieu Phan then excused herself to return to Thien Lac’s room to take care of Thien Lac.

Hao Dan immediately ran over to the Le residence and encountered an upset Tri Lam (Julian). Tri Lam stopped Hao Dan, and Hao Dan blurted out everything so that Tri Lam could let him go see Le Minh. When Tri Lam heard about the arranged marriage, he felt pity for the unfortunate couple who were destined to be apart. Hao Dan ran with all his might to Le Minh’s room and pounded on her door until she let him in. When she opened her door, his heart sank at the forlorn looking girl in front of him. Where was the smile that he always saw plastered on her face? What happened to the sparkle in her eyes? She only found out about the marriage that morning, but she appeared to have suffered from the news for decades. Hao Dan walked in and tried to comfort her, “Big sister Le Minh, I …” Le Minh cut him off, “You do not have to apologize for anything, Hao Dan. It’s not your fault that Thien Lac loves another.”

Hao Dan paused. Why didn’t Thien Lac choose to tell her the complete story? Not wishing to see her in agony, Hao Dan told her what Thieu Phan told him. At the end of the story, Le Minh appeared a bit happier and asked, “So he loves me? Does that mean that he and I have hope?” Hao Dan forced a smile and answered, “Yes.” Why couldn’t the person she loved be him? Le Minh thanked him profusely and rushed to the Trinh’s residence.

On her way there, Le Minh kept thinking how wonderful the world seemed again. The birds are chirping much to her ears’ content, and her heart was soaring. She smiled widely and crazily wiped the tears off her own eyes. She wanted to look beautiful for Thien Lac. The last thing she wanted him to see was her tears. She wanted him to see that she was happy because he once told her, “As long as you have a smile on your face, I will be happy. But if I see you cry then despair will consume me.” If what Hao Dan told her was true, then that meant that Thien Lac still only loved her. That explained everything, for no man, especially a man like Thien Lac, could possibly fall in and out of love so easily. If he was marrying this woman out of duty, then it didn’t matter to her if Thien Lac wanted to marry her as his second wife. As long as he didn’t marry anyone else after her. Le Minh blushed at the idea of being so presumptuous. He hadn’t even proposed, and she already had thoughts about being the only wife he would ever commit to.

She happily walked through the main door of the Trinh Manor and turned to head towards Thien Lac’s room when someone stopped her. She looked up and was surprised to see Trinh Thieu Thu standing in front of her. He gestured for her to follow him and said, “I need to speak to you privately.” Though puzzled by this, she obediently tagged behind him. In the privacy of the study room, Thieu Thu could not believe that he would be further jeopardizing his son’s happiness because of a friendship that was formed fourteen years ago. “Miss Dang, I understand that you and Thien Lac are close friends. Am I correct?” Out of nervousness and out of an unsettling feeling, Thieu Thu picked up the stress reliever balls and rotated them using his right hand. As if hypnotized by the motion of the balls, Le Minh nodded. One “ahem” after, Thieu Thu said, “Perhaps you know about his engagement to Luong Tieu Bang.” Another nod from Le Minh encouraged him to continue, “Then what are you doing here in this manor still? Are you hoping to further your friendship with a man who is already engaged?” Le Minh snapped her head up quickly and uttered, “Trinh Lao Gia, Thien Lac already agreed to marry this other woman out of duty. Why are you still trying to stop us from…” She blushed as she realized that what she said would be inappropriate for a female to announce.

Trinh Thieu Thu was somewhat of a reasonable man, so he did not wish to push Dang Le Minh to say what would make her uncomfortable. Already understanding what she wanted to express, Trinh Thieu Thu said, “Miss Dang, I know that you love my son. I am also aware of his love for you. But this marriage is a very delicate matter, for the bride is mute and blind. She is the daughter of a man who I respect greatly, and I will do everything in my power to secure her happiness. I know that if Thien Lac marries you, he will definitely neglect her.” Le Minh glanced down and asked in a shaky voice, “Will you deny him and me of happiness because of a girl who you do not know?” Her question brought the situation into a different light. Thieu Thu suddenly stopped rotating the stress balls and responded, “No. I will not deny you of that. I am asking you to be patient and wait for three or four years before you agree to marry him.”

If Le Minh did not find this conversation hilarious before, then she certainly did now. Her laughter rang throughout the room and she voiced, “You’re asking for the impossible.” Thieu Thu nodded in agreement and said, “I know. I know that I am asking you to make a huge sacrifice on behalf of a perfect stranger. Put please try to put yourself in her situation. She’s blind and mute. More likely than not, Thien Lac will only think of her as a sister. Three years will allow him to develop a platonic love for her that’s strong enough for him to be concerned about her and take care of her for the rest of her life. But if you enter the picture before those three years, he will quickly abandon her and pay attention to only you.”

Le Minh replied, “Thien Lac is a good person. He will not abandon her even if the period is less than three years. You should be aware of your son’s nature.” Thieu Thu threatened, “You’re right, but I do not wish to take that chance. However, if you do not agree to my request, then you should not expect Thien Lac to receive my blessing for his relationship with you. And I will make sure to it that you two will never get married.” Le Minh gulped. She knew that Trinh Thieu Thu had power in that town and was capable of preventing Le Minh from marrying Thien Lac. She stood as silent as a statue and he returned to rotating his stress balls until she finally said, “Sure. I agree to your conditions. What do you want me to do?”

Thieu Thu faced her and answered, “Leave town for three years. Your presence in this town will distract him from his future bride.” Le Minh protested, “What?” Thieu Thu responded, “You will be taken care of. I have friends outside of town who could shelter you, and I will subsidize your expenses for the next three years. But you must leave as soon as possible without letting anyone know the truth.”

That evening, Le Minh packed all of her belongings, and she said her farewells to everyone the following morning. She explained that she needed go away to allow her heart to recover and that she wished to return to her original hometown and pay tribute to her parents’ graves. She would return eventually, but she did not know when.

Thien Lac stayed in his room the morning Le Minh left. He wished to call out to her and beg her to stay, but he knew that he had hurt her deeply. The last thing he wanted was to inflict more pain on her, and he knew that his presence would only bother her. So he stayed in his room and prayed that she would find a man worthy of her.

Hao Dan and Thieu Phan had the opportunity to see her off and exchanged words with her. Both were surprised that she chose not to pursue a marriage with Thien Lac when it was almost guaranteed that he would treat her as the main wife. When Le Minh disappeared from sight, Hao Dan sighed heavily because he never found the courage to confess his feelings to her. Why bother? He already knew that she only loved his half brother, and Thien Lac and he were as different as night and day. How could a person prefer night when the person already preferred day?

[patricia n]

GRIEF 7
The Wedding
Trinh Thieu Thu…Adam Cheng
Trinh Du Linh…Dodo Cheng
Trinh Cunh Nhu…Kristy Yang
Trinh Thien Lac…Louis Koo
Trinh Thieu Phan…Ada Choi
Dang Le Minh…Joyce Tang
Luong Trieu Vi…Tony Leung
Luong My Linh…Barbara Yung
Luong Tieu Bang…Vivian Leung
*Sorry, I’m simply too lazy to look up the Vietnamese names for all of the characters in the story, so only the important characters will have their names in Vietnamese.*

A glorious occasion like a wedding deserved to be dignified with glee, shouts of joy, and loud expressions of happiness in the forms of laughter, smiles, and colorful decoration. Nevertheless, none would discover such signs at the Luong residence in Taipei. The servants solemnly prepared for the permanent departure of their little mistress, and the house was unusually quiet.

Inside a room, carefully arranged to leave the space in the center vacant, a bed was found to the right of the door. At the opposite end stood a vanity table with a comb and no mirror. A girl sat in front of the vanity table with her hands fixated on her lap as an elder woman picked up the comb and began brushing the girl’s hair. Once done, the woman gently said, “Tieu Bang (Vivian), you can turn around now.” The girl obeyed her mother and stood up and gracefully walked around her chair and sat down. Luong My Linh(Barbara Yung) stared at her beautiful daughter intently. If her daughter was not hindered by her handicap, Luong My Linh could not imagine how many suitors her daughter would have. Indeed, Luong Tieu Bang was a captivating beauty, not only in the eyes of her mother but also by the conventional standards of beauty. Her perfect skin, which was hardly ever exposed to the harsh weather, stood out against her jet black hair. She was a water lily in her mother’s eyes. Water lilies are magnificent flowers and each are unique in there own ways, but each lily possessed a delicate beauty, which everyone could not help but admire.

Luong My Linh got lost in her thoughts, and a nudge from her daughter woke her up from her daydream. My Linh stroke her daughter’s face and said, “Remember all that I have taught you for the past fourteen years. You are a very special girl, and I know that you are capable of making your fiancé a happy man.” Tieu Bang used both of her hands and held onto her mother’s hand, which cupped Tieu Bang’s right cheek. Tieu Bang nodded and gave her mother a reassuring smile, as if to tell her mother that she would not disappoint her mom, that she would try her best to make her husband appreciate her. My Linh kissed the top of her daugther’s head and voiced, “Good daughter. Rest peacefully tonight, and we shall began our journey to Tienhsiang tomorrow.”

Firecrackers exploded in front of the Trinh Manor on the day of the wedding. An extravagant carriage, which required four men to carry, approached the Trinh Manor. Many onlookers made room for the carriage and wondered what the bride looked like. Gossip spread through that town quickly, and many found out about the unfortunate breakup between Thien Lac (Louis) and Le Minh (Joyce). Was this the third person involved in the relationship? Even if the observers disapproved of third persons involved in relationships, they dared not insult the future Trinh Phu Nhan.

A sturdy brown horse with a gloomy looking groom led the carriage carriers to the Trinh Manor. Many observers also wondered why he seemed so unhappy on his wedding day. They all heard that Le Minh left recently. Could it be that Thien Lac finally knew who he truly loved and now he regretted his decision to choose this woman as his bride instead of Le Minh? No matter how much the observers speculated, they would never be able to guess the reason. The horse stopped, and the groom slid down from the horse. A stout woman lifted the cover of the carriage and helped the bride out of the carriage. All the traditional customs of the wedding ceremony made it impossible for anyone to notice that the bride was blind, and no one would ever guess the truth. The stout woman aided the bride in.

The ceremony proceeded, and all the guests celebrated joyously. The guests were much happier with the wedding than Thien Lac was, and he drank the night away until he was forced to join his wife to consummate the marriage.

Inside a room, the bride patiently sat on her bed. This room was a duplicate of her own room at home. The bed was to the right of the door and the vanity mirror lied opposite of the bed with nothing in the middle of the room. In the back wall, between the bed and the vanity mirror, sat a zither on a separate table. Trinh Thieu Thu ordered his servants to rearrange the room so that it would be convenient for Tieu Bang to adjust to her new home.

Tieu Bang’s mother told her about this night, and how the first time would be painful for her daughter. Nevertheless, My Linh knew that she could not really teach her daughter about sex, and her daughter would have to learn the hard way. Tieu Bang did not know what to expect and sat there on her bed, waiting for someone to come in. The door finally opened, and she heard a group of voices cheering the groom. What were they encouraging him to do? The door finally closed and she heard a voice slurring, “Let me tell you something. I am only doing this out of obligation towards my father, but I will never think of you as a wife.” Thien Lac was drunk by this moment and he said many things which he would not normally say while sober, “You are the reason the love of my life left me. I should hate you, and perhaps I will hate you…”

Luong Tieu Bang never predicted that the arrange marriage would destroy her husband’s happiness. For the past fourteen years, her mother repeatedly told her that she would make a good wife, but no one ever brought up the possibility that the groom would object to the marriage. Tears rolled down her face when she realized that her husband didn’t want her at all. She had been taught to love him and accept him, and she took it for granted that he would undergo a similar training. Her parents wanted her to be happy with her new family, but did it ever occur to anyone that her new family would not be happy with her? She did not know what to do. Clearly, her parents wanted her to marry into this family and their only wish was to see her secure and happily settled. But how could she be selfish and ruin someone else’s chances at happiness?

Exhausted from lack of sleep recently, Thien Lac said no more before the wave of alcohol fully hit him and he collapsed.

Tieu Bang heard the thump, and it was silent after that. She correctly assumed that he passed out from the alcohol, so she got off her bed and used her hands to search for his body. She crawled on the floor desperately until she found him. She carefully placed his arm around her shoulder and used up all the strength she could muster to drag him to the bed. When she finally succeeded and placed him on the bed, she too collapsed and fell asleep from over exertion.

The following morning, Thien Lac woke up with a slight hangover and kept on muttering, “Le Minh…” Tieu Bang startled from hearing a stranger’s voice. She panicked when she felt a body underneath her and moved about to get off the body. She failed miserably and toppled over the body even more, causing Thien Lac’s body to jerk. Thien Lac finally woke up and saw a girl dressed in the traditional Chinese wedding costume. Her headpiece had not been removed because she remained unveiled. He lifted his hand and placed it against his head to settle the migraines from the hangover. He then noticed that he wore a red wedding gown, and he remembered that he got married last night.

Seeing how the poor woman struggled, he helped her get off of him and sat her down. He asked her, “Why didn’t you remove your head piece?” After a while, he recalled that she was mute and blind. He took the liberty to remove her veil and headpiece because he wanted her to breathe more easily. When he placed her headpiece on the ground and looked at her, he was taken by her beauty. “What a waste. A beautiful girl like that with no one to love her,” he thought. He asked aloud, “How did I get on this bed?”

Tieu Bang used her hands and began to make gestures. He recognized the gestures because he worked with deaf children several years ago, and he emotionlessly asked her, “You know sign language?” She nodded enthusiastically.

Tieu Bang never revealed what he told her on their wedding night. During the daytime, the two acted as though they were a normal couple to leave a good impression on the Luong couple, but no member of the Trinh family was fooled. Only the Luong couple were fooled, for they did not know about Dang Le Minh.

After one week of observing the newlyweds, the Luong couple felt satisfied with the marriage, and they and their servants were ready to go home. On the day of their departure, Tieu Bang held tightly to her mother’s hands as her tears streamed down her lovely and rosy cheeks. Her mother wiped them away and said, “Be good Tieu Bang. I am so happy that you are now settled into a good family. Whatever you do, make sure to treat your husband and in-laws well. They’ve done our family a huge favor.” Luong Trieu Vi (Tony) held onto his wife and said, “Tieu Bang, come visit us when you and your husband have the time to. Whatever you do, please do not disappoint your father-in-law. He has been really good to our family.” Tieu Bang nodded. She walked her parents out of the Trinh Manor and waited until Thieu Phan (Ada) approached her and informed, “ Big sister-in-law, your family is already gone. You should go back in now.”

Thieu Phan pitied Tieu Bang too much to blame her for Thien Lac and Le Minh’s separation, and after spending time with Tieu Bang, Thieu Phan admired her much. Furthermore, in her household, only she and Thien Lac could understood sign language, and she helped keep Tieu Bang company every once in a while when her brother ignored Tieu Bang.

Thieu Phan wrapped her hands around Tieu Bang’s arm and led her back into the house.

[patricia n]

GRIEF 8
Turn of Events
Trinh Thieu Thu…Adam Cheng
Trinh Du Linh…Dodo Cheng
Trinh Cunh Nhu…Kristy Yang
Trinh Thien Lac…Louis Koo
Trinh Thieu Phan…Ada Choi
Trinh Hao Dan…Benny Chan
Le Tri Lam…Julian Cheung
Dang Le Minh…Joyce Tang
Luong Tieu Bang…Vivian Leung
Ma Tuan Vi …Steven Ma
*Sorry, I’m simply too lazy to look up the Vietnamese names for all of the characters in the story, so only the important characters will have their names in Vietnamese.*

With her best friend gone, Thieu Phan (Ada) volunteered her time at the orphanage to teach the children how to read and write. Volunteering was a good escape from home. She wearily walked as she pondered her life at home, and thinking about it made her emotionally exhausted. Her shoulders drooped slightly, and her lips formed a frown. She felt guilty that her mother received more attention from her father than her second mother, and she could not bear to see the miserable newlyweds. And then, there was Hao Dan. She wanted Hao Dan (Benny) to go with her and receive the same benefits from volunteering as she did. Thus, several times, she urged Hao Dan to come with her, but he refused. Ever since Le Minh (Joyce) left, Hao Dan became more unreasonable and difficult at home. He befriended people who society disapproved of and looked down on. Their influence on him led him to pick up bad habits such as smoking and drinking. He would come home late at night, obviously intoxicated, and slept until noon the next day; when he woke up, he would leave home again and sought these new friends of his.

Thieu Phan reached the orphanage, and her thoughts disappeared as she walked in, anticipating the smiles of the unfortunate children who greatly appreciated her friendship. She saw them zealously gather around her, and she bent her back so that she could talk to them at eye level, “Hi children! How are you today?” Her enthusiastic voice and vibrant smile made the children feel more loved, and one exclaimed, “Teacher, we are very happy today!” Thieu Phan smiled and asked, “Very happy? Why is that?” Another answered, “We have another teacher today, and he is a very nice man.”

A little boy ran out of the room with his stumpy legs and returned with a friendly looking man. The boy held onto the man’s hand and spoke to him, “I want you to meet our favorite teacher, Miss Trinh.” Thieu Phan heard her name being mentioned, and she glanced over in the direction of the little boy and saw a man standing there with the boy. When they made eye contact, the man walked over to her and introduced himself, “My name is Ma Tuan Vu (Steven Ma), and I am another volunteer here.” Thieu Phan extended her hand to shake his and introduced herself, “I am Trinh Thieu Phan, and I am a volunteer to teach the children Chinese.”

Tuan Vu felt himself blushing under the gaze of such a beautiful woman and found an excuse to leave the room as soon as possible because he felt so nervous. He didn’t know what to say to her and felt foolish for not being able to think of anything remarkable and memorable to say. He told her, “It appears that the children are anxious to start their lesson. I’ll leave so that you can begin. It was a pleasure meeting you Miss Trinh.” Thieu Phan returned the smile and watched him leave.

After finishing the lesson, instead of going home, Thieu Phan walked over to the Le residence. Tri Lam (Julian) saw her and met her at the front door. He smiled crookedly and asked, “How have you been, Thieu Phan?” She could have sworn that she saw him running to the front door to greet her, but she decided that she was imagining things. She looked haughtily at him and replied, “The same since you’ve last seen me.” The last time Tri Lam saw her was two weeks ago, and he was quite certain that much have happened. So he responded, “I last saw you at your brother’s wedding, Thieu Phan. Many things have occurred since then, especially in your household.”

Tri Lam hoped that Thieu Phan didn’t notice him rush to the front door. He had not seen her in a while and found himself missing their constant bickering. Ever since he accepted his own challenge to get her to fall for him, he had paid more attention to her and found himself falling for her. He enjoyed their arguments even though she did most of the arguing while he tried to get them to carry on a normal conversation. With Le Minh gone, Thieu Phan came to the residence less often. However, Tri Lam constantly went to the Trinh Manor to visit Thien Lac (Louis), but Thieu Phan would be out so Tri Lam had little opportunities to see her. And during the times that she was home, Tri Lam had to strain his neck to get a peek of her from Thien Lac’s (Louis) window. Fortunately for him, Thien Lac isolated himself in his own misery to even notice his friend’s strange behavior.

Tri Lam wondered why she came to his home that day, and Thieu Phan took her time to give him the reason. She avoided looking at his eyes when she requested, “Can I talk to you?” Did he hear right? She came to his home to see him? Then Thieu Phan looked at his eyes and continued, “It’s about Hao Dan.” Tri Lam hoped that she wanted to talk about something else, but he was satisfied that they would finally have a normal conversation, even if it was about Hao Dan.

Tri Lam took her to the garden. The aroma from the roses smelled pleasant, and the rainbow of colors surrounding Thieu Phan made her feel as though she was lost in paradise. She felt more at ease in the garden, and Tri Lam noticed her relax more. Her shoulders looked looser and the stiff expression she wore earlier evaporated. Tri Lam hoped that Thieu Phan didn’t notice him staring at her. He observed that she wore a pale blue Mandarin skirt set, which brought out her amazingly clear complexion. Her high cheek bones and pointy chin contributed well to her heart shape face, and Tri Lam inwardly sighed. Sitting there and staring at her for hours would make him the happiest man in the world.

Thieu Phan looked at Tri Lam and confessed, “I am terribly worried about Hao Dan.” Tri Lam nodded, for he had heard the same from Thien Lac. Nevertheless, Tri Lam was well aware of Thien Lac’s relationship with Hao Dan and knew that Thien Lac’s influence on Hao Dan was nonexistent. Tri Lam asked her, “Why are you telling me this?” Thieu Phan’s eyes wandered all around the garden until she settled her eyes on Tri Lam, “Because he also considers you a friend. I want us to find a way to help him.”

Tri Lam leaned back against his chair a bit and rested his chin against his knuckles as he contemplated. Then aloud, “I will need time to find the best way to approach him without driving him down this path even farther.” Thieu Phan nodded thoughtfully and got up, “Thanks, Tri Lam. Let me know when you’ve come up with something, and I’ll find you if I have an idea.” To Tri Lam’s disappointment, Thieu Phan suddenly left. Tri Lam wanted to stop her, but he knew that it was not the time for him to act so impulsively.

It was late in the afternoon, and Hao Dan stumbled home. Last night, he explored the brothel for the very first time and became a man at the age of seventeen. When he woke up with a naked woman lying next to him late that morning, he panicked and worried about what his father would think. But then he pushed the thought away as he recalled that his old man could care less about him, so why should he care about what his old man think? All that man cared about was Thien Lac. Thinking about his dim future, Hao Dan ordered more bottles of wine and drank until he got intoxicated. Where were his drinking buddies? The ***** who he slept with woke up and smiled seductively at him. She shamelessly got off of the bed naked and sat on him while he was drinking. Feeling disgusted with her lack of humility, Hao Dan roughly pushed her off and continued drinking by himself. The woman quickly put on her robe, crossed her arms, and stared at him harshly. Then she put on a fake smile and said in a singsong voice, “Little master, this is my room. The least you can do is treat me more kindly.” Hao Dan felt gross knowing what kind of woman he bedded last night and pondered how many men she had been with. He drank some more until he got violent. His attitude was unacceptable at the brothel, and they finally kicked him out by late afternoon.

As Thieu Phan walked home, she saw her younger brother stumbling and nauseating near the threshold of the main entrance. She ran to him and quickly helped him up, “Little brother Hao Dan, what happened?” Hao Dan tried to make out the person in front of him, but his sight was hazy from the alcohol, and at last, he recognized the voice, “Big sister Thieu Phan, is that you? What are you doing here at the brothel? Don’t tell me that you are a ***** as well!” Thieu Phan was shock to hear what came out of Hao Dan’s mouth and scolded him, “Little brother Hao Dan, when did you begin to visit the brothel? If Father finds out, you will be in big trouble.” Hao Dan used all of his weight to push himself away from Thieu Phan, “Who cares what that geezer thinks? Everything I do is bad in his eyes because I am only a second son.” Thieu Phan clung onto her brother fiercely and debated, “Wrong! Of course he loves you, but you have to realize how your actions are hurting him.” Thieu Phan continued to drag Hao Dan’s body into their home. She wanted to bring him to his room immediately, but she stopped when she saw her father.

Trinh Thieu Thu (Adam Cheng) had enough of his son’s inexcusable actions. He lashed, “Thieu Phan, drop him!” Thieu Phan looked at her father and then at her brother, “Father, please forgive him. He’s still young.” Du Linh (Dodo) came out and encountered the scene in front of her. She had a smug look on her face when she saw her step-son drunk. Cung Nhu (Kristy) also heard the commotion and ran out to the front and saw her son completely uncoordinated. Thieu Thu commanded, “Drop him now! I am sick of him being so irresponsible and spending money wrecklessly. I…I…Steward, get me the discipline stick!” The steward obediently followed his order and gave his master the stick. Thieu Thu grabbed it and started beating Hao Dan with the stick.

“You, you useless son. What did I do in my previous life to get a son like you?” Whack! Whack! Whack! Hao Dan was too drunk to resist and too drunk to feel the full affect of the pain. Thieu Phan screamed, “Father, please stop. You will kill him at that rate.” Thieu Thu looked at his daughter and yelled, “Stay out of this.” Cung Nhu got on her knees and begged him, “Lao Gia, please forgive our son. He’s my only child.” Thieu Thu looked at his second wife and shouted, “You’ve neglected to teach him properly. That’s why he’s so spoiled and respects nobody. I swear, if he doesn’t change for the better, I will teach him a worse lesson next time.”

Tieu Bang heard the screaming and yelling, and she rushed out of her room to find the source of the noise. She used the rails to guide her and carelessly sped to find the source. She heard the whack and the screams, and she paced even faster until she tripped and fell.

Thieu Thu stopped hitting his son when he saw his daughter-in-law fall and land hard. He rushed over to help her. When she got up, she pulled onto his sleeve and gestured for him to stop. Thieu Phan translated the sign language, “Father, she said that Hao Dan is your son. Can you please forgive him?” Thieu Thu did not want to put his daughter-in-law in an awkward position, so he let his son go this time. Thieu Thu stormed into his first wife’s bedroom and Du Linh followed him to calm him.

Cung Nhu rushed over to help her son, “Hao Dan, are you alright?” Her tears fell and burned his bruised flesh. Blood crept out of his mouth, and Hao Dan fainted. Whether he fainted from overdrinking or from the pain would remain a mystery.

Thieu Phan helped Tieu Bang walk over to Hao Dan. Cung Nhu looked up and thanked the both of them, and Thieu Phan translated Tieu Bang’s hand gestures, “She says that we are all family, and we should help one another.” Cung Nhu nodded gratefully and apologized to Thieu Phan, “I am sorry that I’ve misjudged you all this time, Thieu Phan. Hao Dan was right when he told me that you are a good sister to him.” Thieu Phan smiled and put her hand on her second mother’s shoulder, “Second mother, there’s no need to apologize.”

[patricia n]

GRIEF 9
A New Beginning
Luong Tieu Bang…Vivian Leung
Trinh Thien Lac…Louis Koo
Trinh Thieu Phan…Ada Choi
Trinh Hao Dan…Benny Chan
Dang Le Minh…Joyce Chan

The windows flapped noisily as the wind blew and blew away while everyone was resting peacefully in bed. Thien Lac (Louis) shivered and prepared to get up to close the windows; however, the sound of footsteps discouraged him from carrying out his plan. He laid still as the footsteps carefully approached the windows. Despite the darkness surrounding the room, the moonlight provided him with enough light to witness his wife’s attempt to make her way carefully across the room to close the windows. For the first time, he noticed how gracefully she maneuvered across the room. He quickly inhaled and panicked as she stood right next to him; could she sense that he was awake? However, relief quickly settled in, for Tieu Bang (Vivian) cautiously arranged a blanket on top of him before she left to close the windows and returned to bed. Thien Lac slowly exhaled and re-evaluated his life. Ever since he married her, Thien Lac had never intentionally slept in the same bed as Tieu Bang. Aside from the first night of the marriage when she carried his intoxicated body to the bed, he had slept on a set of chairs arranged in a line.

And after so many months of being married to Tieu Bang, he managed to evade her daily and learned nothing about her on his own. Everything he knew about her was learned on the first morning of their marriage or through the gossips which he accidentally overheard his servants shared. It had never occurred to him until this very night how lonely Tieu Bang must feel. Before the marriage, she had her family who obviously loved her and kept her company. In contrast, this marriage had altered her lifestyle and forced her into a world of solitude, yet she had magnificently endured this torture with much dignity. To be caged up in a room where she could easily find her way around without sight and never once uttering a word of complaint to anyone. How would he feel if he was stuck in her predicament? In his heart, he had long ceased to blame her for his break up with Le Minh (Joyce) and had already given up hopes on Le Minh.

“Ah, Le Minh. Why haven’t you responded to any of my letters? I thought that you were an understanding woman,” thought Thien Lac. During a desperate evening of bitterness, Thien Lac spilled the entire story in a letter-how his father arranged the marriage and executed it against his wish- and professed his love in bold words, words which he never had the courage to say aloud, words which left him feeling completely vulnerable. Weekly, he weakened and gave into the temptation of writing to her and begging her to come back, but she never replied. The last letter he wrote was three months ago; after that final letter, his heart began to feel numb and he could no longer feel any more emotion. Happiness, sadness, excitement, joy, anger, hatred. He couldn’t separate any of these feelings or recognize them in himself. All he felt was loneliness, thus he could empathize with the feelings of loneliness. No one in his family could understand how the marriage pained him and cheated him of a happy life, but for the very first time, he understood that his wife also suffered from this marriage. The only difference between the two was that he could escape this painful loneliness during the daytime when he engrossed himself in the family business where as she had to face it at all times. It startled him to have an inkling of emotional feeling again, even if it was in the form of pity. Thien Lac fell asleep with this last thought in his mind.

Several days later, Thien Lac busily gathered the report for the weekly sales. He sighed when he tallied up the sales profit and it failed to match with the report on the weekly inventory. He absentmindedly brushed his left hand through his hair and when he slapped it down, he accidentally knocked the ink tray onto his lap. Seeing the black ink pour all over his clothes hypnotized him; he began to envision a world without color, a world of the blind. Ever since that evening where he witnessed Tieu Bang cover the blanket on him, he had thought much about her present state. Wasn’t she also a victim of this marriage? In what ways had she really benefited from being Trinh Phu Nhan? Thien Lac grabbed his hat and put it on his head and tied a scarf around his neck. His actions surprised him as well, and as he put on his jacket, he knew with absolute certainty that he would voluntarily join his wife for lunch for the first time.

When Thien Lac stepped into his home, the beautiful hum of the zither lured him to the wing where his room was situated. Albeit confused by the source of the music, Thien Lac walked into his room to discover Tieu Bang playing the zither with grief clearly plastered on her beautiful face. He quietly observed his wife and swore to himself for hurting her and abandoning her all these months. He couldn’t make any promises to himself to make her happy, but he swallowed his last feelings of resentment and bitterness towards his situation as he saw that he had the power to ease her loneliness.

“Tieu Bang.” Tieu Bang abruptly stopped playing and turned towards the direction of the voice. Her eyes, clearly startled, also contained a hint of hope. Thien Lac guiltily walked towards her, “How long have you been playing the zither?” The Bang raised up nine fingers. “This entire time I thought that the zither was only for decoration.” The conversation died quickly as neither knew what to say next, for it was suffocatingly awkward for both parties since neither were accustom to each other’s presence. “Have you eaten yet?” Tieu Bang signaled, “No, but I can bring in food for the both of us if you are hungry.” Instead, Thien Lac brought the food in and spent a quiet noon eating with his wife.

The following day, he went home for lunch again, but he did not appear to his wife until she finished playing the zither. He wanted to fully appreciate the piece she played, and her ability to portray a subtle sense of loneliness remarkably impressed him. Again, his presence took Tieu Bang by surprised but she didn’t question his sudden interest in dining with her. As they ate, Thien Lac opened the conversation, “Thank you for making sure that I stay warm at night time, but how did you know when I didn’t have a blanket on me?” Tieu Bang smiled and signaled, “There are only two blankets on our bed. Whenever I wake up in the middle of the night, I search to see how many blankets there are on the bed.” Curiously, Thien Lac asked, “Do you wake up in the middle of the night often?” Tieu Bang sincerely responded, “Since I am blind, I rely on my sense of hearing more than others do. So even though you attempt to noiselessly sneak in at nighttime, I can still hear you. I know that you are usually exhausted from work, so I wait for some time to allow you to fall asleep before I count the blankets and give one to you.” Thien Lac smiled and mentally noted that he had been underestimating Tieu Bang this entire time.

Day after day, Thien Lac went home for lunch with Tieu Bang. Gradually, Tieu Bang began to play happier pieces on the zither to suit her mood. With their daily interactions, both naturally became more comfortable with each other. Also, Thien Lac grew to respect Tieu Bang for all of her accomplishments, and Tieu Bang saw a wonderful man in Thien Lac.

Everyone within the Trinh family noticed this new change, except for Hao Dan (Benny) who busied himself at casinos during the daytime and brothels at nighttime. And most kept quiet due to the sensitive nature of the situation, and all were able to observe a slowly blossoming relationship. Thieu Phan (Ada) struggled with herself, for she did not know what to make of the situation. Where should her loyalty lie? To her best friend Le Minh or to her sister in law who defended her half brother? Thus, she decided to have nothing to do with her brother’s decision because she could not choose between the two women. She neither encouraged him nor discouraged him, but she kept quiet about the situation. However, she wondered why her brother had a change of heart over such a short period of time?

[patricia n]

GRIEF 10
Acceptance and Love

Trinh Thien Lac…Louis Koo
Trinh Thieu Phan…Ada Choi
Luong Tieu Bang…Vivian Leung
Dang Le Minh…Joyce Tang

The dew of the autumn morning crept silently through the town, creating a romantic mist, perhaps foreshadowing a memorable day for young and old couples.

Thien Lac (Louis Koo), determined to finish calculating the morning inventory, hurriedly brushed in the correct figures for the record as his stomach growled, unnecessarily reminding him of his lunch date with his wife at home. He contently sighed as he entered the last sum and swiftly exited his office. He anticipated another beautiful masterpiece from his wife’s zither and wondered which piece she planned to entertain him with this noon. He remembered that her zither was getting rusty and some of the strings were overused and were about to snap apart. Rather than walking down his usual route to head home, Thien Lac abruptly turned in the direction of another street, where business shops could be found. He entered a quaint yet classy instrument store where the most expensive and highest quality zithers could be found. The owner recognized the well known heir of the Trinh Rice Plantation and immediately attended to his needs. “Welcome, First Young Master Trinh. Is there anything I can interest you in today?”

Thien Lac briefly nodded his head and approached the back row where the zithers could be found and queried, “Of these, which is the best?” The owner smiled and gave him a reply which demonstrated his years of experience in the business, “First Young Master Trinh, that depends on the player. The best zither for me may not be the best zither for you. The quality of the music depends on the compatibility of the instrument and the player.” Thien Lac nodded in appreciation of the advice and remained observing the instruments. After some time, he finally picked the black zither with a picture of a lily made with an exquisite pearl. The size was similar to the one Tieu Bang owns and the vibration produced by the strings was soothing to the ears. In truth, he was beyond happy with the purchase and his intuition told him that his wife would be satisfied as well.

Tieu Bang (Vivian Leung) patiently sat at the table in her bedroom, with her hands folded across her lap. Even though she was hungry, she still waited for her husband while the food laid on the table had cooled long ago. She panicked at the thought that something might have happened to him and she helplessly clutched onto the table cloth as she reminded herself to stay calm. She stood up and walked over to the zither and played it to distract herself from thinking the worst and played and played roughly until her hands bled.

The jumbling of the music was so unlike what Thieu Phan (Ada Choi) was used to hearing. Thieu Phan rushed to Vivian’s bedroom and saw Tieu Bang’s bleeding fingers stroking the strings, “Sister-in-law, your fingers…” Tieu Bang did not realize that she had handled the zither so roughly; she withdrew her hands and sucked on her fingers to prevent the blood from spilling on the ground. Thieu Phan looked at the zither and noticed that several of the strings had snapped which partially explained the erratic pitch of the piece. She walked over to Tieu Bang and tenderly asked, “What happened?” Tieu Bang signaled, “Where is Thien Lac? Is he alright?” Thieu Phan’s eyes wandered to the table and saw the untouched food; she tried to ease Tieu Bang’s worries, “I’m sure Big brother Thien Lac is fine. He may be busy with work.” Tieu Bang signaled, “Thank you, Thieu Phan. I worry too much.” Seeing Tieu Bang’s concern for Thien Lac, Thieu Phan knew that Tieu Bang had already grown to love her brother. Despite her strong ties with Le Minh (Joyce Tang), Thieu Phan could not bring herself to remain neutral towards Tieu Bang for long. Tieu Bang had been a very good wife towards Thien Lac and had been good towards everyone in the family. She was so kind and loving, that Thieu Phan had already grown to accept her as her sister in law. She regretted the delay in reaching out to Tieu Bang. The girl had been so lonely since she became a member of the Trinh family and Thieu Phan did little to alleviate her solitude. For the very first time, Thieu Phan invited Tieu Bang to join her for lunch. Seeing Tieu Bang nod, Thieu Phan insisted, “First, let us go out to wash your hands.”

Thien Lac knew that he was late for lunch and he walked home as fast as he could while protecting the zither. He excitedly entered his bedroom, expecting to see Tieu Bang in the bedroom. Rather, he saw the table full of food, but Tieu Bang was no where in sight. He carefully placed the zither down and walked over to the bed hoping that she was asleep; however, the bed was already carefully made. His eyes finally caught sight of the bloody zither and he panicked. He rushed out and asked the servants if anyone had seen her, to which they all responded negative. He returned to his room and paced back and forth, trying to think of an explanation for the bloody zither. He had already lost his appetite as concern overwhelmed him.

Suddenly, he heard several footsteps approaching his bedroom and he immediately looked up. The sight of his wife relieved him of his worries yet he reprimanded her, “Did you realize how worried I was when I didn’t see you here?” Tieu Bang lowered her head because she felt guilty for making him upset. She signaled, “I’m sorry.” When Thien Lac saw the bandaged fingers he grabbed onto them and asked, “What happened to your fingers?” Thieu Phan observed the interaction between the two and was happy for them, for she witnessed the blossoming love between the married couple. She playfully commented, “It’s your fault, Big brother. Sister-in-law was worried sick about you and had to push all terrible thoughts out of her mind by playing with the zither forcefully.” Thien Lac softened his voice as he asked Tieu Bang, “Is that true?” Tieu Bang shook her head and signaled, “No. It’s my fault for being careless.” Thien Lac slowly released his hands and led her to the table as he explained, “I was late because something came up at the last minute.” He sat her down and went to retrieve the new zither, “I wanted to surprise you with a gift for being such an understanding wife.” He then looked at Thieu Phan and using his head, he motioned her to leave. She giggled and announced, “Big brother Thien Lac, Sister-in-law, I’m late for the orphanage. I’ll see you both later today.” She walked out and closed the door behind her.

Thien Lac moved the dishes to one side of the table before setting the zither down as he confessed, “I know that I’ve been a terrible husband. But I want you to know that I want our marriage to work out.” Tieu Bang gasped with surprise and a tear of happiness slid down her face, which Thien Lac lovingly brushed aside. “I admit that I was very resistant to the idea of our marriage, but over the past few months, I learned a lot about you and came to love you for the person that you are. I didn’t think that I was capable of feeling any emotions but you taught me to feel again. You allowed me to live like a human being. When I saw the bloody zither earlier and panicked, I knew that I cared deeply for you and I hope that you can forgive me for mistreating you.” Seeing her graciously nod with happiness radiating from her face and sweet smile, Thien Lac carefully settled his lips on top of hers.

That dewy but wonderfully welcomed evening, they consummated their marriage. But by midnight, the wind followed suit and made its way through the town, causing the windows to creek endlessly, mystifying everyone of the possible events of the coming week.