My husband and I have been divorced for 2 years but we still regularly…

My husband and I have been divorced for 2 years, but we still often take our grandchild to visit his grandparents. Last month, my mother-in-law gave him a new backpack. My son loved it so much that he always wore it on his shoulders, until I went home to wash the clothes and found that the backpack was heavier than usual. When I opened it and saw what was inside, I covered my face and cried… Mom…

I used to think that after the divorce, the relationship with my ex-husband’s family would gradually fade away like an old dream. But that day, when I opened the backpack I brought back from my grandfather’s house, I was speechless… Inside was a secret I didn’t expect. I covered my face and cried. Mom… Why did you do that?

It was a scorching May day, the heat scorching every corner. In a small apartment in Pasig , Lara , 32, was folding a pile of freshly washed clothes when her 6-year-old son, Mico , ran in with a brand new cartoon backpack on his shoulder. 

“Show it off to mom! She bought it for me!” – the boy excitedly said.

The backpack was a bright red superhero, the straps still smelling of new plastic. Linh looked at me and smiled. “So beautiful! Have you thanked Grandma yet?”

“Okay! I’ll still have dinner with my grandparents before going back to my mom.”

Lara nodded, her heart fluttering. Even though she had been divorced from Roberto – her ex-husband – for more than two years, she still tried to maintain the relationship between Bin and his grandparents. Partly because of him, and partly because she loved Roberto’s parents – who were always kind and never turned their backs on her despite the broken marriage.

That afternoon, when Mico was fast asleep after a tiring day of playing, Lara picked up her backpack to dust it off. As she lifted it, Lara stopped.

“Why is this backpack so heavy?”

She unzipped it. First, a few boxes of crayons, a notebook, and then… A stack of thick envelopes, tied with rubber bands, neatly nestled in a small compartment.

Lara opened the door, and… Her heart sank.

Inside was  money , lots of it – 500k bills, probably more than 50,000 PHP.  Her eyes blurred. There were some scribbles written on a small piece of paper:

“I knew I wouldn’t accept it so I sent it back to Mico. He’s my nephew after all. Don’t be mad at me. “Ex-mother-in-law.”

Lara  let go, the stack of money falling to the tile floor. She covered her face and cried. Not because of the money—although she was struggling with daycare and housing—but because of the silence, the unspoken affection of the woman who once called her daughter-in-law.

Two years ago, Lara and Roberto ‘s divorce was quiet. There were no arguments, no affairs, just… They were too different. Roberto was busy with work, coming home early and late at night, gradually forgetting his wife who was at home taking care of the children, waiting for a question.

Lara cried, clung, and finally got tired of letting go.

Hôm xét xử, chỉ có mẹ chồng cô – bà Nanay Corazon – ngồi phía sau, đôi mắt buồn như sương chiều tháng Mười. Khi Lara ôm Mico bước ra khỏi cổng tòa, bà chỉ nói:

“Nếu con cho phép, mẹ vẫn muốn gặp con. Với mẹ, mẹ vẫn là mẹ của cháu trai mình. Không ai có thể thay đổi điều đó.”

Lara gật đầu. Có lẽ vì vậy mà hai năm nay, dù không còn là người nhà nữa, mỗi tháng cô vẫn đưa Mico về nhà chơi một lần. Roberto ít khi được gặp con, nhưng bà Nanay Corazon luôn dành thời gian đón tiếp, nấu những món con thích.

Đêm đó, Lara gọi điện cho Bà Corazon.

“Alo, mẹ ơi? Mẹ ơi… trong ba lô của Mico có gì vậy?”

Giọng Bà Corazony nhỏ nhẹ qua điện thoại: “Đừng giận tôi. Tôi biết anh đang gặp khó khăn, tôi muốn giúp anh một chút…”

“Mẹ ơi, con không nhận đâu. Con làm được, con có thể chăm sóc Mico mà.” Lara nghẹn giọng.

“Không phải vì tôi nghĩ mình không thể chăm sóc em. Tôi chỉ muốn Mico có thêm chút… từ nhà ông nội thôi.”

Lara  im lặng. Những giọt nước mắt nóng hổi lăn dài trên má.

Đêm đó, sau khi con ngủ,

Lara ngồi nhìn chiếc ba lô đặt cạnh giường. Cô nhớ lại mỗi lần bà Dung lén ném vào một túi bánh, hộp sữa, lúc thì quần áo mới, lúc thì vài cuốn truyện. Mẹ không nói gì nhiều, chỉ lặng lẽ lo lắng cho cháu như sợ con dâu cũ sẽ phiền lòng.

Lara đột nhiên cảm thấy đau nhói.

Cô nhớ mẹ ruột, người đã mất cách đây ba năm vì đột quỵ. Cô cũng là một người mẹ luôn âm thầm hy sinh, luôn chăm lo từng việc nhỏ cho con.

Giờ đây, Bà Corazon – một người mẹ không có máu mủ – cũng làm điều tương tự. Không phải vì trách nhiệm, mà vì tình yêu thương chân thành.

Sáng hôm sau , Lara đưa Micoo đến trường. Cô bé không lấy tiền mà cẩn thận bỏ lại vào phong bì, rồi chuẩn bị một món quà nhỏ – một hộp trà thảo mộc, vài viên thuốc bổ – mang đến nhà Bà Corazon.

Khi mở cửa, Lara chỉ nói:

“Tôi trả lại cho anh một trái tim nhỏ. Tôi yêu anh, tôi biết. Nhưng tôi cũng phải giữ gìn sức khỏe, để Bin vẫn còn chỗ chạy về.”

Bà Corazon chỉ nắm chặt tay Lara , không nói một lời. Trong mắt bà, Lara nhìn thấy một điều còn quý giá hơn cả tình bạn –  sự bao dung.

Ba tháng sau…

Thời gian trôi qua như một giấc mơ ngắn ngủi. Mùa mưa bất ngờ ập đến, mang theo những cơn giông, như cuốn trôi đi những điều chưa kịp nói.

Lara vẫn đều đặn đưa Mico về thăm ông bà nội hàng tháng. Sau khi phát hiện ra số tiền trong ba lô, mối quan hệ giữa cô và Bà Corazon trở nên gắn bó hơn bao giờ hết. Không còn khoảng cách “mẹ chồng – con dâu cũ”, chỉ còn lại tình bạn chân thành. Chị thường xuyên ghé thăm, mang theo hoa quả và thuốc bổ. Thỉnh thoảng Bà Corazon gọi điện hỏi thăm sức khỏe, dặn dò Lara ăn uống đầy đủ, không bỏ bữa.

Nhưng rồi một buổi chiều giữa tháng 8, trời mưa như trút nước, Lara nhận được cuộc gọi từ số máy của Mang Lito , chồng của Nanay Corazon.

Giọng anh khàn khàn:

“Lara … mẹ nó… mẹ đi rồi con ạ.”

Tai của Lara ù đi.

“I had a stroke this morning… did not arrive at the hospital in time. Go peacefully, without any pain…”

She sat down on the chair, tears pouring out in time. She didn’t think that last week’s visit would be the last time she heard her mother’s voice. At that time, she just laughed, poured tea, sat next to Mico, and told fairy tales to her grandchildren. There was no sign of abnormality.

On the day of the funeral, Lara was confused about where she should stand. She is no longer the official daughter-in-law. But Mang Lito took the initiative to pull her in:

“I am a family member. You can just stand next to me.”

Mico was led away by his grandfather, because the adults didn’t want him to witness the heartbreak. Linh stood silently next to bà Corazon’s photo. The photo of her mother a few years ago, still has a gentle expression, a crooked smile, and eyes that seem to see through people’s hearts.

Next to the altar, there was a specially placed envelope, clearly written:
“To Lara and my grandson.”

Lara opened it, inside was a handwritten letter, the handwriting trembled but straightened:

“Spirit,

If I had read this letter, I might not have been alive. Mom writes just in case… because I know my heart is getting weaker.

I just want you to know one thing: I love you like my own daughter. Although the story between me and Tuan is over, I have never done anything that makes me sad. I love the way you teach me, the way I still let him go home even though no one forced him.

Lara , as a mother, sometimes you are not born with the right to love. There are biological mothers who abandon their children, but there are also mothers-in-law who cherish their children like blood. I don’t know if you can feel it, but I always consider you a blessing…

Mom left some money in the passbook. In it, the name of the beneficiary is a child. Not because she wants to ‘repay the favor’, but because she wants to contribute a small part so that Mico has a good future. Don’t be shy. I can’t bring anything, I just hope that you will accept it as if you have received a part of your mother’s love.

Remember to stay healthy. Raising children is strong. If there is a predestination, maybe I will find new happiness, I am also happy.

“Love you – Mother Nanay Corazon.”

Lara hugged the letter in her heart, tears welling down. Those words made her choke as if someone was squeezing her chest. A woman who had been silent all her life, who had never spoken out loud, had left her with so much affection.

That day, after the funeral ended, Linh asked Mr. Mang Lito for permission to bring back the letter and savings book. He nodded:

“My mother wants that. Don’t reject people’s hearts.”

A week later, Lara took Mico to the pagoda – where the family chose to send her ashes. The boy asked in a daze:

“Mom, where did grandma go? Why didn’t you come home?”

Lara bent down to hug her child, choking up and said:

“You’ve gone far away, son. But I’ll always be watching over you. Whenever you do well in your studies, you’ll be smiling in a very high, very bright place.”

Mico looked up at the sky and nodded. Then he took a piece of paper from his pocket – the drawing he had given her on her birthday last year. “I brought it for you to keep. So you won’t forget me.”

Lara burst into tears.

Three months later , Lara used part of Mrs. Corazon ‘s savings to pay Bin’s tuition to enter first grade at a better private school. Lara continued to save the rest for her children. Every time she opened the window, Lara felt like her mother’s gentle eyes were smiling at her.

She is still single, but her heart no longer feels lonely.

Because she understands that:
Not everyone is lucky enough to be the child of a mother who once… didn’t give birth to me.