In 1975: on a Mid-Autumn Festival night, a 5-year-old boy held his sister’s hand to go to a nearby school to receive gifts. On the way back, he slipped from her grasp, blended into the bustling crowd, and got lost.

Separated from his sister, the boy wandered and ended up at the police station in Ward 11, HCMC. There, he met a police officer named Nguyen Thanh Danh. Danh asked for his address and family details, but the boy could only say he didn’t know or couldn’t remember.

Feeling compassion for the lost boy, despite limited resources, Danh and his colleagues took him in, letting him stay temporarily at the station. After about 3-4 months, Ngo Thi Nam from Cu Chi district, HCMC, came to adopt him.

In Cu Chi, the boy lived with his adoptive mother and grandparents, given the new name Ngo Van Hai. His adoptive family loved him and sent him to school, though he only attended briefly before stopping.

Growing up, Hai took a lot of jobs to make a living, rarely leaving Cu Chi. In his memory, he only recalled having a sister named Lang, a mother who sold bread, and a rau muong (a kind of vegetable) field around their home.

While living with his adoptive mother, Hai never mentioned searching for his biological parents, fearing it would hurt her. Only after her passing, when he was over 50 himself, did he express a desire to find his roots.

However, he didn’t know where to start, as he had few memories of his hometown or family. The long time apart and changes in the landscape made his search seem hopeless.

On that Mid-Autumn night in 1975, Le Thi That (now 93, HCMC) lost her ninth child, Tran Tan Phat (born 1971). That night, her daughter Tran Thi Thu Lang took her younger brother to the school for Mid-Autumn gifts, and they got separated.

The mother That was originally from Hai Phong City. At 11, she earned her living as a peddler. In 1954, she and her extended family migrated to HCMC, settling in a house on Ly Thuong Kiet Street, District 11.

There, she married a man from the North and gave birth to 10 children. On the day her son went missing, That searched frantically everywhere. She asked neighbors and passersby and sought help from radio and television, but no information came.

As they grew up, That’s children always remembered their lost sibling. One of them, Tran Manh Tien, kept the memory alive.

Reunion

In 1990, after returning from a youth volunteer program, Tien planned to search for his brother. However, he was told the family had found him, a young man living in Can Tho City. After some time, though, Tien felt this person wasn’t his true sibling.

He repeatedly urged his mother to continue the search for his real brother. After much persuasion, That sent a letter to the program Nhu Chua He Co Cuoc Chia Ly (As If There Had Never Been a Separation), asking for help to find her son, lost for 50 years.

Meanwhile, Tran Thi Thu Lang, That’s daughter and Tien’s sister, lived with constant guilt and regret. For 50 years, she blamed herself for losing her brother.

She confided, “My greatest wish in life was to make up for losing my brother. For decades, wherever I went, I told people about my lost brother and asked if anyone had seen someone resembling him.”

Now, due to old age, That’s memory falters, but the memory of her son, lost at 5, remains vivid. She recalls the reason and place he went missing, remembering calling her ninth son “Cu Ti,” a loving and obedient child. In an emotional moment, That said meeting her son again would let her rest in peace.

Upon receiving That’s letter, the program Nhu Chua He Co Cuoc Chia Ly spent significant time and effort searching for Tran Tan Phat (born 1971). After many challenges, the program confirmed that the man with the adopted name of Ngo Van Hai was indeed Tran Tan Phat, sharing blood ties with the mother Le Thi That.

Meeting her lost son after 50 years, That was stunned and could not believe it was real. Her tears of happiness soaked the wrinkles on her age‑spotted face. She tremblingly placed her hand on her son’s face, then asked whether he had any memories of her, whether he recognized the mother who used to carry a basket selling bread.

In his mother’s arms, the man over 50 was full of emotion, repeatedly nodding to That’s questions. Tien and Lang also came to receive their brother in an emotional reunion. At the moment the family reunited, everyone had tears in their eyes.

Ha Nguyen