The forest fire continued to spread towards the west of the town; deeper in were the remote mountains.
If there were no rain, it would truly burn everything to the ground.
On the evening of the third day of the fire, Vu called the three of us to his tent.
These past few days, the camp had also been preparing to retreat eastward, incredibly busy. We didn't mention returning but devoted our energy to helping.
Vu's brows remained tightly knitted:
"You all should prepare to leave before dawn tomorrow morning. Those guys have some of our weapons. It's not stable here either. I'll be more at ease if you return early."
He paused for a moment, the worry in his eyes growing heavier:
"We are familiar with this area. I will hand it over to Luong to manage. I will lead a unit to the coastal region to rendezvous with a brother unit. They have sea salt and heavy weapons. We can't go on without salt. I'm going there to see if I can get some to bring back here."
"You..."
Khang's eyes turned red.
In the current situation, a single parting could be a final farewell.
Vu's eyes also reddened. He patted Khang's shoulder and said:
"Live well, and be brave."
Khang nodded, choking back his emotions, stubbornly refusing to let his tears fall.
Seeing Khang like that, my heart sank, and I felt a pang of sorrow.
"Phuong, from now on, I'm entrusting this little brother of mine to you. I've prepared an off-road vehicle for you all; you can drive it back together. I have business tomorrow morning, so I won't be able to see you off."
A sudden emptiness filled my heart:
"Rest assured, I will definitely take good care of Khang. Thank you."
Vu looked at the three of us, his eyes welling with tears:
"From now on, take care of yourselves. When spring comes, we will drink together again."
"Take care. We will wait for that day."
That night, the forest fire burned relentlessly.
Each of us was lost in our own thoughts, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.
At five in the morning, the forest fire continued to spread, dyeing half the sky a blazing red. The night was as bright as day.
Luong came to see us off:
"I won't say much else. Everyone, take care."
Vu had been very thoughtful.
In the back of the military off-road vehicle were several canisters of gasoline, a rare commodity these days.
He had also put a few small handguns, several dozen bullets, and some iron tools in Khang's bag.
These things were incredibly useful in the current times.
In a world of chaos, items for self-defense were indispensable.
Khang drove the off-road vehicle, carrying Fatty Bang's sister and his nephews. His brother-in-law stayed behind at the camp to help and was not returning.
Fatty Bang and I drove the pickup truck, turning back to wave at Luong.
"Phuong, wait..."
Tran Van Khiem and his wife ran over. That family still had the nerve to show up.
I said coldly:
"Your son didn't take you with him, so why are you coming to me? I told you last time, I don't have poor relatives like you."
Tran Van Khiem's face turned shades of green and white. His body no longer seemed so robust.
His face was ashen as he looked at me:
"Phuong, that rebellious son of mine ran off on his own. I know he did unforgivable things, it's just... it's just, please consider that we two old folks don't have much longer to live, take us back to our hometown with you. Even if I die, I must die in the land of my ancestors."
Tran Van Khiem pleaded with tears in his eyes, his back now hunched, no longer possessing the air of the cunning schemer who had driven my father to his death years ago.
I sighed:
"Moc Chau town is also a hometown. You two can just stay here."
I didn't want to get any more involved and drove straight off.
Hearing a commotion behind us, Tran Van Khiem tried to give chase, but Khang blocked them.
I could only faintly hear the sound of the woman's wailing. Soon, the car was far away, and everything returned to silence.
Fatty Bang patted my shoulder worriedly.
I nodded to reassure him.
Towards that family, I had already shown them the greatest kindness a person could. From now on, whether they lived or died had nothing to do with me.
The journey back was peaceful; we reached the village without any trouble.
After settling Fatty Bang's family and returning the vehicle, Khang and I drove the off-road vehicle home.
I parked the car in the yard and covered it with tree branches. My grandfather asked me worriedly:
"You kids were gone for days without coming back. Did something happen? Are you hurt anywhere?"
I helped my grandfather into the main house and sat him down on a chair. I rubbed his back and said:
"A friend of mine had some business, so we were delayed. We're all fine, don't worry. We won't be going away anymore."
Grandfather was clearly still very anxious.
In moments like these, I was at a loss.
Khang had always been good at cheering Grandfather up.
He came over, put an arm around Grandfather's shoulder, winked at me, and said:
"You should go cook. You must be hungry from the road."
I understood his meaning and went to the backyard to pick some vegetables for the meal.
Before long, I didn't know what method Khang had used, but I could hear Grandfather's hearty laughter.
After a few days of proper rest at home, the events of the past week felt like a distant memory.
Life at home was so peaceful and warm.