Ms. Hanh got married late, six years of running around to give birth to her eldest son. Therefore, the baby is a “treasure” of the whole family, especially for her and her husband.
Once, the company sent her on an unscheduled business trip for 3 days. At first, she planned to take her son with her, but her husband advised:
“There is a grandmother at home, let her take care of him, I can go to work with peace of mind.”
Seeing her mother-in-law looking happy and enthusiastic about taking care of her grandchildren, she was also happy.
Three days of work passed, she returned. The familiar house was still neat and tidy. In the bedroom, the son was sleeping soundly in the crib, breathing evenly, his face was rosy. My mother-in-law sat next to me, waiting and softly singing lullabies. Looking at that scene, her heart seemed to melt with happiness, thinking that her stomach was “lucky to have a grandmother”.
Ms. Hanh went down to the kitchen to clean up her things, open the refrigerator to store food to take home. And then…
When the cabinet door opened, she was immediately stunned and her whole body trembled. Inside, the upper compartment was dozens of glass boxes neatly arranged. Each box was carefully labeled with a date. On the lid, her mother-in-law’s handwriting was clearly visible: “Milk of H…”, “Milk of M…” – that was her son’s name.
She panicked, opened the lid of a box, and a strong smell of fish hit her nose. Her forehead wrinkled and everything in front of her eyes went dark. She cried, hugged her chest and fell right under the cold brick floor.
Inside the room, the son was still sound asleep, unaware of the terrible wave that had hit his little family.
The terrifying question echoed in his mind:
“What did your mother-in-law do with your own blood?”