Chapter 44: Dawn of the Tribe
The next morning, Dong Van was crystal clear. The golden sunlight poured down on the roofs of houses covered with yin-yang tiles, drying the remaining dew. From a small cafe with an outdoor patio, one could look straight out at the market at its most brilliant. The voices of people talking and laughing, the distant sound of Mong flutes, the squealing of pigs, all blended together into a lively symphony of life.
Three men sat around a small round table, silent. They were tired, their eyes were slightly dark, but it was the sweet tiredness of someone who had just exhausted all his strength. The tension and competition between them had disappeared, leaving only the comfort of brothers who had “gone through life and death together”. They did not say much, just quietly smoked, looking in the same direction.
On Ngan’s side.
She was walking alone in the market. She had changed into a newly bought brocade dress, as colorful as a peacock, her hair neatly tied up. She looked extremely beautiful and radiant. She was no longer “acting”. She smiled and talked to an old woman selling vegetables, pointed, then picked up a silver bracelet to try on. She was a living picture that three men were admiring together. They shared a moment of affectionate ownership. She was theirs, and they were proud of it.
Tung looked at the way she smiled, a smile without any defense. He felt happy. She was really happy.
Minh looked at her graceful gait and her round, curvaceous ass swaying in her new dress. He whistled softly. So beautiful. She’s really my big sister.
Quan watched the way she interacted with people, the way she acted, as if she were born here. She wasn’t acting anymore. This was who she really was, without the weight of judgment.
Minh was the one to break the silence. He nudged Tung’s shoulder.
“Hey, look at you. You look so good in that Mong dress. Anything beautiful can look beautiful even in rags.”
Tung smiled gently, his first truly comfortable smile in many days. “She’s happy. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen her smile like that.”
“It’s not a polite smile,” Quan sipped his coffee, his voice thoughtful. “It’s freedom. We’ve given her a stage big enough to not have to act anymore.”
They began teasing each other about last night, the dirty talk now a code of affection.
“Thinking back still makes me so tired,” Minh shivered. “Last night Tung was like a mad buffalo. Quan looked like a student but he fought quite fiercely.”
“You’re different,” Tung glared back. “You made Ngan choke a few times.”
Quan just smiled. “Collecting real data is always the most effective method.”
All three burst out laughing.
Ngan had finished shopping at the market. She saw them, smiled and walked towards the table. In her hand she held a bag of stone apples, a specialty fruit of Ha Giang, small and crispy. She walked with a completely new confidence. Her gaze when looking at the three of them was no longer scrutinizing or inviting, but warm and affectionate like an elder sister, a queen of the herd.
She came to the table, but did not sit down immediately.
She took an apple and gave it to Tung. “Eat this to feel better, you are the strongest in the family.”
She stroked Minh’s head affectionately, messing up his hair. “It’s sunny and you’re not wearing a hat, you’ll get black.”
Finally, she leaned close to Quan and whispered just loud enough for him to hear. “Show me the best places to take pictures later, photographer.”
Every action was a recognition, a blessing bestowed upon each member of her new “family.”
Then Ngan pulled up a plastic chair and sat down, becoming the fourth corner of the round table. The “tribe” was complete.
“Nice?” she said teasingly. “You three skipped out on me to go have coffee alone?”
Minh quickly replied in a flattering tone. “No! We were just discussing what to feed you for lunch to ‘replenish’ you after a hard night!”
The four of them burst into laughter again. Their laughter was clear and refreshing, blending with the bustling atmosphere of the morning market, without any awkwardness or concealment. To outsiders, they were just a group of close friends enjoying the trip. But to themselves, they were a family newly born from the storm of flesh, a “tribe” with its own rules and bonds.
The war is over. A new journey, a journey of coexistence, has just begun.