“Land of the Gods”- Part 2: "A surprise Visit"

"It all started two months ago when Yelena was a trainee at the Pandora Institute of Archaeology. Before she could even think about getting a full-time job, she had to make a report. She was furious and flew to Hanoi - the capital of Vietnam one day after receiving a notice from her superiors. Right from the moment, she arrived in that Southeast Asian country, her story officially began...

...Time flew so fast, and the deadline for submitting the report was approaching. Excluding the time to get used to the new environment and establish relationships with members of the Institutes of Archeology in Vietnam, Yelena only had three days to complete the report. Aware that time was running out, she went to find documents from the city library, former employees of Pandora Institute, or through her other relationships. What the boss wants her to find out is the ancient tomb that existed more than 1000 years ago located in Thai Nguyen. That place is rumored to appear strange phenomena and contained a secret treasure, which was kept and left for posterity by the gods who ruled that place. Legend has it that whoever has it will possess a tremendous power that can change everything on earth.

"Whether I can be admitted as a full-time employee at the Institute or not is entirely up to this report. But if I keep snooping around like this, I'll be out of time. There are three days left for me to finish it. I miss America so much, especially my dear Massachusett. This trip I didn't even have time to travel in Vietnam because I was so busy with work."

'Any legend in this world is just a story' - Yelena mumbled to herself while in the library - 'If all the rumors were true, there would be giant footprints of 'Saint Giong' and the hoof prints of the horse he rode somewhere.'

'Don't judge a legend or rumor as myth or not based on the feelings of the individual or the majority, do so after verifying it yourself.'- Suddenly a stranger appeared in front of Yelena and said- 'There are some legends that the ancients transformed from real events.'

It was a girl around Yelena's age, slim figure, and beautiful appearance that made Yelena exclaim in amazement, 'Wow!'

'You are Yelena Karatini, an employee of the Pan … hm, what is its name? I don't remember very well...Ah, Pandora Institute of Archaeology, right?'- the girl asked.

'Yes, but you are half right. I'm just a trainee now." - Yelena replied, not forgetting to ask- "Who are you?".

With a personality that doesn't like roundabouts, that girl took a nearby chair and sat next to Yelena, and went straight to the point:

'I am Linh Dan, my English name is Lisa Dan Teller, an employee of Minh Vu Institute of Archaeology, who once worked in the US. I'm sure that you'll wonder: 'Wow, how did she know me?', right?"

"How did she know me? Oh shit!"- Yelena thought.

"I knew you would be shocked by the sudden generosity of a stranger like me. I have heard about you through former colleagues who have been asked by you and learned that you were very interested in 'that place'. I can give you more information, without any preconditions, of course...'

"Really?"- Yelena exclaimed before Linh finished.- "Impossible. This generosity makes me doubt. What do you want from me when you make that offer?"

"No, you can just consider it as my acquaintance gift.'- Linh continued- 'You know, someone who met you told me to enthusiastically help you, not only because I am knowledgeable about things you need, but also because of the deep impression you gave them. They like your personality. Enthusiastic, vivacious, intelligent, funny were what they describe you."

'Not to that extent. They seemed to flatter me too much'- Yelena said while scratching her head to show shyness- 'I help them with errands or make jokes to please them for the sake of work.'.

'Speaking of jokes, I heard about one of your jokes. Looks like it's about the lonely frog'- Linh said while smiling - 'In the end, the beautiful girl that the psychologist introduced to the poor frog works at...'

'...In the laboratory!'- Yelena said in delight. The two of them burst out laughing.

'So where should we start? Since this is our first meeting, we cannot fully understand each other. Or should you ask first?'- Linh asked.

Yelena was surprised and shy when sitting next to Linh, her hands were clasped under her thighs:

"I... I don't know where I should begin..."

Linh was quite comfortable, saying:

'It's ok. Because we just met for the first time, there seems to be little interaction and understanding. But I am an experienced person, the first time I saw you, I realized that you had a lot of unanswered questions. Hmm... You just don't know where to ask, right? All right!'

Linh stood up and held Yelena's hand, saying:

'Let's go out and talk.'

Linh pulled Yelena outside the library yard. Finding a stone bench nearby, Linh put Yelena down and said:

'You just sit here. I went to buy water from the vending machine over there. Don't leave until I get back.'

Yelena looked at Linh without blinking, then nodded and replied: 'OK, never mind, I can wait.'

Linh just smiled and left. Yelena watched Linh go away, feeling something in her heart that made her feel very familiar and comfortable with Linh.

'Maybe she's a good person,' Yelena thought. Then she prepared in her mind the important question to ask.

Two minutes later, Linh returned and gave Yelena a bottle of water affectionately, then sat next to Yelena and opened the water bottle in her hand, said:

"I think you knew what to ask now. Don't be shy, ask me."

Then Linh brought her bottle to her mouth to drink. Yelena suddenly asked:

'Do you… do you have a boyfriend?'

This extremely frank and unexpected question from Yelena made Linh almost choke on water.

"Are you ok?"- Yelena asked.

Linh turned to Yelena with surprised eyes and rosy cheeks and asked:

'Why… why would you suddenly ask like that? Would that be a bit...'

'Oh, sorry, I don't mean anything bad. It's just that I feel that you're quite special and has something familiar, like a friend. So I was going to get to know what your personality is with that question. I'm a person who likes to associate with people I have good feelings for at first sight.'- Yelena's cheeks suddenly turned red when she said that.

'Oh, the same with me. I wanna tell you that I haven't. But I once had a male friend who was also a former colleague. Although he considers me just a friend, I consider him more than that, like my lover. Our relationship used to be good, we both helped and took care of each other like we were in love, but sadly, he left me because of something that shouldn't have happened. We have lost contact with each other for a long time.'

'Really? I'm so sorry. A beautiful friendship.'- Yelena said.

'Although we are no longer connected, he still has his image in my heart.'

'Well, once we women love someone, it will be difficult to forget the love that we both had together' -Yelena said.

'Yes. It was a heart-wrenching love affair. Luckily I found him already, and still watch him from behind, to make sure he's okay as a way to ease my nostalgia.'

'So let me ask, in the end, what reason made you two break apart? Usually, the majority of breakdowns come from men.'

'No. That's my fault. It's because my feelings for him are not strong and durable enough. Indeed, I found something even more important and important to protect than our friendship. Until now I still feel sad, but I don't regret it.'

'Perhaps I understand how you feel right now.'

'You could understand it, couldn't you? 'Don't you think what I did is wrong?'

"No. My motto is: 'To get what you want, there is always a trade-off for something, no matter how important it is, as long as you have a good aim và don't do anything against law.'"

Suddenly Linh looked at Yelena with an attitude of sadness to relief, saying:

'Finally, there is someone who understands me. Thank god."

'Don't feel guilty if you don't do anything wrong. Talk about my motto, that's very normal in our society. I used to be like that, but I always told myself not to do anything against my conscience.'

Linh just smiled and looked at the water bottle for a moment. She put down the water bottle and cheerfully said:

'You were right. Okay, I feel much better now. Thank you.'

After a few minutes of fun chatting, Linh gave Yelena a business card and did not forget to give her phone number with a message before leaving: 'I have work to go to now. Here is my business card, with the name of the archaeological institute I work with and a cell phone number. Come find me in the next few days if you can. Don't be shy.'

Yelena in her heart still doesn't fully trust that open person, but her intuition tells her that she should follow Linh's words because it can help her achieve her goal of becoming an official Pandora employee.

'So when we meet there, will you tell me the legend of that ancient tomb?'

'My pleasure. Goodbye!'- Linh said. Then the two raised their hands to say goodbye to each other.

Two days after that meeting, Yelena went to look for Linh again, but this time it was her workplace - Thanh An Institute of Archaeological.

Thanks to the business card, she quickly got to the place she was looking for. Yelena tried calling Linh to let her know that she was coming, but all heard the sentence: "The first that you have called is not available at the moment, please try again later" from the Vietcall operator. When she went inside and asked Linh's colleagues about her, they all said that Linh was here earlier than anyone and was in the research room with some of her subordinates. So Yelena quickly went to the chair to wait outside Linh"s office. After waiting for about 15 minutes, Yelena saw Linh rushing to her side. Linh expressed joy when she saw Yelena and said:

"Oh, hello Yelena. How long have you been here? I just turned on the phone after the meeting and saw your call. I habitually turn off my phone when I'm in a meeting."

"It's okay, I just found out we are very similar. I often have the habit of keeping silent mode when I"m in the meeting room," Yelena laughed.

"At least you do that so you know who's calling without disturbing others. I'm completely off, haha"- Linh explained with a bright smile.

They seem to have found similarities between the two. Yelena no longer kept a wary attitude toward Linh. Linh warmly invited Yelena into the office.

After making Yelena a cup of tea, Linh went to the desk and pulled out a file from her all files in a drawer. It was titled: "Mysterious Ancient Tomb"...

"Before reading it, I will tell you about the legend related to that ancient tomb as promised."- Linh said and pointed to the guest chair- "Please take a seat!"

"Ah, thanks. I want to hear about it."- Yelena said as if in response to Linh"s invitation, sitting down on the chair.

Linh told about the legend of the ancient tomb in the file, and Yelena listened attentively. After 15 minutes of listening to Linh's story, Yelena gradually broke down many things and said:

"You have finally helped me unravel the mysteries surrounding the ancient tomb. So the creator of that ancient tomb was a mysterious entity, and since that entity disappeared, no one has gone there, right?

"Right. That's because while the legend of the tomb is still widely circulated throughout the country, it seems that no one can no longer remember its location."

"Although it is not satisfactory, this can be considered the most reasonable explanation at this time about the fact that the tomb has gradually fallen into oblivion over time, I think."- Yelena replied.

"Please read it. This is our research during the past time."- Linh handed Yelena the file in her hand and said.

Yelena read carefully. She realized that all her questions and theories in the past time had been clarified when watching it.

"The photos of the ancient tomb in the file, can I take a few of them?" - Yelena asked.

"Okay, just do what you want" - Linh agreed.

"I ask you, you must have been there once before, right?"

"Yes, including my staff."

"Did you discover anything? Antiques, for example"- Yelena asked.

"When we got there, the entrance to the ancient tomb was blocked with stones. The staff of my institute had to use explosives to destroy it. When the giant stone exploded and broke into pieces, I saw something glowing inside"- Linh replied.

"So what did it look like?" - Yelena asked. Yelena was told by Linh to open the fourth page, pointed to the second photo, and said: "This is what you want to know". Yelena looked at Linh for a moment and then looked at the photo. It was a stone coffin, with a strange symbol on the surface embossed with an ancient inscription.

"What does this word mean?" - Yelena curiously pointed at the question.

Linh was silent for a moment, then replied:

"It should be translated: 'The chosen one will open the coffin and unleash our powers.'"

"The chosen one… will be able to open the coffin… and unleash the power…?" – Yelena was so stunned that she stuttered.

She made a thoughtful face for a long time and then asked:

"Does 'the chosen one' refer to someone who is closely related to the coffin? The chosen one?"

"Who knows? We can't come to any conclusions yet."- Linh said.

"I have a pretty strong hunch about that. But this coffin has existed for more than 1000 years, so the chosen person must likely be a descendant of the person who created and guarded it 1000 years ago. Maybe he left an inscription written by him on the surface of the coffin as a message to his future descendants that they have a mission to open that coffin to retrieve what he left behind. A legacy of a long-standing culture passed down from generation to generation, for example"- Yelena reasoned.

"Yeah, perhaps his dead body, isn't it?"

"Hmm..."

"Don"t be serious like that. I"m just kidding."- Linh laughed loudly-

"By the way, do you want to go there once to test your reasoning? Curiosity is clearly showing on your face"- Linh looked at Yelena and smiled.

"Really? Can you lead me there?"- Yelena exclaimed in surprise.

"Right. I realized I finally had a valued guest with the same idea. If you want, I"m willing to be a tour guide to take you there."

"Yes. Of course, I want to. There is nothing like seeing it with your own eyes. So when can we leave?"- Yelena excitedly.

"In two days I will take you there to see for the first time..."- Linh suddenly lowered her voice- "...and also for the last time."

Yelena was surprised by that unusual statement, she asked: "Wait, why are you saying that all of a sudden? Could it be that after that day you were so busy that you couldn't come with me anymore?"

"Ah… that"s right. I'm the director of this place, so the work is always on me"- Linh immediately changed her cheerful attitude- "Also, after going there once and getting what you want, you won't go back there. right?"

"You're right. After completing the report, I have to go back to America. I have no choice."- Yelena hesitated.

Walking from the building to her car parked below the campus of the Institute, Yelena constantly thought about the ancient tomb. But she didn't know that she was being followed by a stranger parked nearby until she drove away... He watched her very intently in his car until she disappeared from view, then Looked at Linh's office window with a mysterious look... Halfway there, Yelena turned the car around and went to another place because she decided to deal with an important matter before going home: Go to her uncle's best friend's house. Her uncle's best friend, Oliver Kim Tran, had a house at Nguyen Trai Street.

As soon as she arrived there, Yelena was warmly welcomed by Nhan, Oliver"s nephew. He asked:

"Huh? Oh my god, Yelena. I thought you were working to a tight deadline before returning home. You were so busy but still had time to visit Uncle Oliver's house, perhaps to visit me?"

"Come on. Despite how you're busy, you should take some time off, right? Besides, I have a boyfriend, you have no chance anymore. Haha."

"Oh, my god. It's a pity to let such a beautiful girl get out of hand. I should have gone to America before and persisted in pursuing her while I could."

"It should have been like this before. I hope you find the love of your life soon. Don't be too sad, we can still be friends."

"Oh yeah, thanks for your good wish. I feel that I am worthy of you in every way, I had the opportunity, but I was taken away by others at the last minute..." - Nhan said with an annoyed voice. when someone else missed the chance to flirt with Yelena.

"Wow, the house is so beautifully decorated and gorgeous. What's going to happen soon?" Yelena asked. For a person who has lived here since she was a child until she grew up, every change, even the smallest, also made her notice.

"It's almost Christmas, don't you remember? - Nhan answered slowly- "I and Uncle Oliver discussed and decorated it to be as beautiful and cozy as possible, he wanted to make guests feel familiar and warm like their home."

"Wait... I thought that on Christmas day, everyone in the family gathered together, right?"

"Right, but that's only in the western culture, but from the point of view in Vietnam, Christmas is for everyone. I mean that's a time when everyone has the opportunity to go out, meet, and gather to eat and talk about life together. No intention to change the Christmas definition but Christmas is different from place to place."

"Got it. I couldn't have known about that difference. Thanks, Nhan." -Yelena asked- "So where's Uncle Oliver?".

"He went to buy a pine tree an hour ago. Maybe he'll be back soon, too."

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Yelena quickly opened the door because she seemed to know who was behind the door. As she expected, that person was her uncle. Mr. Kim Tran saw his granddaughter and exclaimed:

"Oh, my dear girl! What wind brought you here?"

Then he approached and gave the grandchild a warm hug, then picked her up.

"You hug me too tight. Your body is sweaty."

"Wow, is that so? I'm sorry. Let me go to my room and change clothes. Since it's been a while since I've seen you, I'm a bit excited."

"Do you need to be carried around like a baby? I'm an adult now."

"Is that so? You could say it with my nephew"s eyes. Because in my eyes, you're still a little girl."

"Come on, Uncle Oliver, why all of a sudden..."- Nhan embarrassed, said.

"Oh, don"t you see, Yelena? He was embarrassed when he heard that. Hehe."

"He doesn't want to flirt with me anymore.

"Why? Could it be..."

"Yes. I have a boyfriend."

So he went over and patted Yelena's shoulder to show his joy, saying:

"I'm happy for you. The person who loves you is very lucky."

"Hey, look at you. You should have been sad for your biological nephew, right? Why are you so happy for her, Uncle Oliver?"- Nhan frowned, said.

After Oliver finished changing, Yelena took the initiative to come and hug him and said:

"I miss you so much! And Uncle Denvy, too. I guess he and you talk on the phone every day, don't you?"

"Yeah, he can't stand it if he doesn't call me every day. By the way, have you called him lately?"

"There is no chance for me. Because since coming here, every time I call him, the operator will announce: "The person you have called is not available at the moment. Please try again later."

"Maybe he just likes to hear from me on the phone. I feel sorry for you, anyway."

"You've always been like that. I'm not sad... Even though I'm far away from home, I've had new experiences. The work I'm doing has made new progress."

"Let's talk about that later, there's something I want to show you."

Mr. Kim Tran pointed to the pine tree he had just bought and said:

"Yelena, I just bought this pine tree at the mall nearby. I didn't know you were coming, so I didn't tell the seller to decorate it my original intention was to bring it home to decorate with Nhan, a way to enjoy the full Christmas taste" - Mr. Kim Tran immediately looked at Yelena, laughed- "Remember when you fell from the Christmas tree I and Denvy decorated while climbing it 16 years ago? You were only 6 years old that year. In my eyes, you were like the little squirrel climbing up the tree looking for the oak."

"I remember"- Yelena smiled amusedly- "You and Uncle Denvy worked hard to decorate it. But in the end, I climbed up and broke everything, even toppling the tree, fortunately, there were you two below to help me. It's so nostalgic."

They laughed a gut-wrenching laugh.

"Uncle Oliver, could I help you to decorate the tree?"

"Hmm... I think you should just sit down on the chair and relax. You're tired from work already. Let me and Nhan do it, and it'll be over soon."

"I"m fine. I also want to enjoy the taste of Christmas like the old days"

"If you say so... Bring the bag right next to the door over there."

"Roger that."

After finishing the decoration for the pine tree, Yelena showed great interest when looking at her work.

"Are you excited? It feels like going back 16 years."

"Yes, that's so nostalgic."

"So how's your work lately? Tell me in detail."

Yelena told her uncle about what she had gathered from Linh and some of the information gathered and the upcoming difficult trip:

"I was given a task by my boss. It sounds easy but is quite difficult: Learn about an ancient tomb that was abandoned 1000 years ago somewhere in Vietnam, According to some people. their ancestors encountered a powerful and mysterious entity that took the form of a human over there. From some sources close to me, the entity is highly revered by the people and some refer to the entity as "Goddess", others "Miss" because of seeing the entity. looks like a very young girl..."

"Then from now on, you can just call that entity 'her'. Calling 'entity' doesn't sound good, haha"- Mr. Kim Tran suggested.

OK, I understand, hehe..."- Yelena continued to tell the unfinished story- "She helped the people there reclaim wasteland, cultivate and raise livestock,... She also build her ancient tomb so that she could rest in it and for her people to come to convey their petitions or to ask her to resolve disagreements, and disputes, or pray for blessings. After her mysterious disappearance, no more people no longer go there. That place became an ancient tomb that had been abandoned for so many years."

"Well, that's interesting. So what is the name of the person who gave you that information?"- Mr. Kim Tran asked.

"Ah, her name is Linh, the employee of a famous Institute of Archaeological in Vietnam, she has helped me a lot since we first met at the city library."- Yelena replied with enthusiasm- "Ah, she also freely invited me to go. Go to that old graveyard so I can write a report to my boss. If It's possible, I'll be officially accepted into Pandora Institute, uncle."

While listening to the story, Mr. Kim Tran asked:

"Is that girl named Linh trustworthy? What kind of person is she that makes you believe in her even if we only met for a short time?"

"I trust her completely. She also showed me documents related to that ancient tomb, why would she deceive me?" - Yelena firmly defended her point of view.

"The fact that she suddenly invited you there made me a little suspicious. Not to mention the reason for their meeting in the first place was already strange. I think you should think about it more"- Mr. Kim Tran gave Yelena some advice- "You are my best friend's niece, so I don't want anything bad to happen to you. I always treat you like a member of my family, you know."

"He's right, Yelena. You should be careful to avoid putting yourself in danger. It's not safe for you to go to investigate alone. What if a bad person tries to harm you?" - Nhan advised.

"I knew so well what you're been worrying about. You two can rest assured, I..." - Before Yelena could finish the sentence, a loud crash came from behind, causing both of them to panic and crouch under the table.

A large stone had been thrown through the window by someone, wrapped in a piece of paper. When she regained consciousness, Yelena saw Nhan rush out the door to chase the attacker. But that name disappeared in the blink of an eye. Mr. Kim Tran also had a soulful phase but still tried to calmly crawl to ask his niece:

"Are you ok? Did the broken glasses hurt you?"

"No, I'm fine"- Yelena replied as he held his chest and his face changed for the worse- "Why do you look so pale? Could it be... your heart disease..."

To ease Yelena's anxiety, Mr. Kim Tran smiled reassuringly: "It's okay, I'm fine. I'm glad to see you're fine. Because I'm concerned for your safety." Then he went back to pick up the stone and took out a piece of paper from it and read it. Yelena looked over and mumbled to read along:

"This is my first warning for you. You know too much about me. Don't go there to find the coffin, or 'he' will drown you to death..."