Ko Swe (Panorama) - Footprints of the Mind

As soon as I stepped outside Ko Thein Myint's restaurant, I heard the clock at the entrance strike (6). When I looked at the clock, it was exactly six o'clock. I muttered, "How can it be six o'clock?" As darkness fell, a thick fog covered the entire area. At the end of the rainy season, the fog was thick and misty, and neither rain nor drizzle fell. It was not completely blocking the view. If it had been thicker, it would have been difficult to drive back. Amidst the thick fog, the lights of the shops along Lanmadaw Chinatown were shining brightly. The restaurants were already crowded with customers.

This kind of evening, or what Ko Thein Myint and his friends call “drinking evenings,” is what Ko Thein Myint loves. Although he never gets too drunk, he loves to laugh and chat with his friends. That’s why once or twice a month, Ko Thein Myint and his friends meet up. They share their experiences, laugh and enjoy life while sipping a glass or two of beer. They have a lot of experiences to share in their group. They are taxi drivers who live their lives every day.

Ko Thein Myint's parents were worried that he would be able to have fun with his friends when he grew up. Ko Thein Myint's childhood was very special. Ko Thein Myint had three birthmarks on his stomach and chest. From the time he was a child, he did not speak much and was very quiet. Even when he could speak, he would often say, "I will go home and be happy." Sometimes, he would even pretend to be following them and would tremble. When Ko Thein Myint grew up, his parents, who were worried about him, gradually asked him why he kept saying, "I will go home and be happy." When asked, Ko Thein Myint could not speak clearly. Sometimes, he said that he saw images that seemed like dreams. A young man and a young woman running in fear, and two angry men behind them. At that time, Ko Thein Myint was trembling with fear. Later, as he grew older, these behaviors gradually disappeared. He no longer kept quiet and was more outgoing and social. The feeling of being seen as something out of a movie gradually disappeared.

Ko Thein Myint's parents live in the township. Ko Thein Myint graduated from Yangon University with a major in physics, but he did not want to work in the government or work in a company. He wanted to live independently. So he bought his own car and drove it as a rental car. Living conditions were also difficult. Even if his son was admitted to Yangon University, his parents would have bought him an apartment. In this way, he not only made ends meet, but also accumulated extra money. Since he did not need to send it back to his parents, he was able to open a bank account. He only went back to the township once or twice a year. His married sister's family lived with his parents, so he had peace of mind. In addition, he enjoyed his life and his work by reading his favorite books in his free time as a taxi driver.

For taxi drivers like Ko Thein Myint, the key is regular customers. If they get good customers, they have a regular job every day, and once they pick up three or four other passengers, they have a decent income for the day. Ko Thein Myint has two customers. One is a middle school student, and the other is a middle school student.

He was also given a ride to and from school. The other was U Kaung San, a professor at the Department of Psychology at Yangon University. He was also given a ride to and from the Yangon University campus every day on school days. The professor was very knowledgeable and was very respectful. He paid Ko Thein Myint a monthly fee to drive him so that he wouldn’t have to worry about maintaining the car. Ko Thein Myint would ask him about the knowledge he wanted to know about psychology from time to time. Before he could have a drink with his friends, the boy had to send the professor home.

Ko Thein Myint drove through the crowded Chinatown shops and into the narrow alleyway where the car was parked. He then got in his car and drove into the somewhat congested traffic. By the time he passed the Sule Roundabout, the traffic had cleared a bit and the darkness had already settled in. There was also a thick fog, so he drove steadily. He was heading towards his apartment in Thaketa, a suburb of Yangon. He could see a safe distance with his headlights, but the fog made it difficult to see the buildings in the distance.

Slowly, I arrived at the Tsaké Suspension Bridge. As I crossed the bridge, the surrounding light became dimmer, transforming into a new world. The noisy traffic and people's voices had passed. I thought the fog was getting thicker as the air suddenly became quiet. However, the fog suddenly cleared and the scene suddenly became strangely clear. At that moment, I saw a movement on the other side of the road through the windshield. I noticed the movement of a white hand under the car's headlights. A young woman in her twenties, dressed in pale white and clean clothes, was waving to stop the car. There was no one else in the entire scene except for the young woman. The surroundings were quiet.

Ko Thein Myint didn't intend to pick up a passenger on his way back, but he gently stopped the car in front of the young woman, thinking that if he met her on the way back, he would pick her up. Then he looked closely at the girl's face. He saw that she was a very pretty young woman. A young woman with thin lips, a straight nose, and an oval face. Her long, straight hair hung down her back. She was tall and curvy. However, Ko Thein Myint noticed something strange. Her eyes. What should have been associated with this appearance were her bright, sparkling eyes. However, her eyes were wide enough to look good, but they were dull and colorless. When he looked down at Ko Thein Myint to speak, he felt as if an invisible force had captured him, and Ko Thein Myint felt a shiver run down his spine. It was like something he had seen somewhere else, I felt like I knew him intimately, but I couldn't identify him.

“Can you take me to Thakete (B) Ward?”

The girl asked. Ko Thein Myint was surprised by the voice that came out. Although it was a sweet voice, it sounded like a telephone call from a very distant place. He was surprised. The neighborhood she said was only a five-minute drive from where his room was located, so he accepted. When the door to the back room was opened, she slowly sat down. Ko Thein Myint slowly drove away,

"Where did you come from, alone?"

"A friend. I'm going abroad tomorrow, so I'm having a party tonight. I've been wanting to go back since early morning, but my friends insisted on it, so I had to wait until the rain stopped. I was afraid my mother would be upset. My mother was alone at home."

Ko Thein Myint's one question was like asking her about herself. The girl continued to talk. Her mother was worried, she was unsure where to go, and so on. Her voices seemed to be speaking from a distance. They were heard and then disappeared. However, Ko Thein Myint listened, thinking that it must be because of the sound of the car engine and the wind. He often glanced through the rearview mirror at the white girl he thought he knew.

(10) After driving for about 10 minutes, we arrived at the neighborhood the girl had told us about. We followed the road she had indicated and entered a wide street. The girl asked Ko Thein Myint to stop in front of a large, two-story, black wooden house with a fairly large yard and a small, dark-colored house at the back of the yard. Ko Thein Myint also stopped the car gently in front of the gate. After turning off the engine, Ko Thein Myint got out of the car. He turned around at the front of the car, went to the back room, and opened the car door.

"Huh?"

A sudden exclamation came from Ko Thein Myint's mouth. The young woman was nowhere to be seen in the back of the car. He immediately looked around and saw no sign of a dog or cat in the deserted scene. How could she have disappeared in such a short time? Had she already rushed into the house before he knew it? He looked towards the entrance of the yard with thoughts in his mind. He could only see the closed gate and the white brick road behind it in a blur. There was no movement. It was so quiet. At that moment, Ko Thein Myint heard a dog barking in the distance. He shivered as if his hair was standing on end.

Impossible. It was impossible for a person to disappear from view in such a short time. He could still hear her pointing until the very end before the car stopped. Were we drunk and hallucinating? That was impossible. He had to drive right after leaving the restaurant, so he checked himself. As usual, a glass of beer was just a little too much and didn't get him high. So what? A ghost that had come to haunt him in the early hours of the morning? Impossible. Ko Thein Myint didn't believe in ghosts and spirits. He had heard many ghost stories all his life, but he believed that they were all lies. So what was happening now?

The girl's appearance was now visible in his eyes. The words she spoke, the house she pointed to, what? The confusion was clouding Ko Thein Myint's mind. His senses denied the existence of a spirit. At the same time, he believed that the events he had witnessed were not haunted. Suddenly, he remembered her strange eyes. The eyes that did not match her facial expressions. The fog that was still there. The fog had cleared when he first saw her, and why was it that the fog had thickened again when she got in the car and drove away? He was confused. He had to find a solution. He had entered the house too quickly without her noticing.

It must have disappeared. Was it because of the car fare? If it was because of the car fare, you should have apologized politely and said thank you. Are you socially clumsy? Ko Thein Myint can't stand it anymore.

His steps led to the entrance. When he stopped in front of the gate, he saw that the gate was unlocked. It was a wooden gate, with a metal ring holding the two ends of the gate together. He easily removed the metal ring from the top of the gate, entered the gate, and closed the gate again. Then, with quick steps, he crossed the porch of the two-story black teak house and stood in front of the main gate. There was no light under the porch. Only the light from the streetlights in the distance could make out the main gate. Behind this door, she would be there.

"Doc Doc"

The faint knock on the door was quite loud in the quiet surroundings. There was no response.

"Thump, thump, thump"

He knocked harder than the first time. The sound of the door slamming echoed through the surrounding area, terrifyingly loud. There was no response.

"Thump, thump, thump"

This time, he kept knocking until his knuckles hurt. He heard a rustling sound, and a small red light bulb lit up on the five-post lamppost in the entrance. Before long, he heard footsteps behind the main door, and the door opened, revealing an old woman in her fifties. Pale skin, dull, dull eyes, and a thin body. A few strands of white, sparse hair hung down on either side of her face. However, youth and old age were different, but he knew it as soon as he saw her. He saw her for a moment, but she was not. The woman's face, eyes, eyebrows, and nose were very similar to the girl who had recently ridden in his car. He made up his mind immediately. The old woman must be the mother of the girl who had ridden in his car. He spoke with determination.

"Just five minutes ago, I drove my daughter to this house, and as soon as the car stopped in front of the house, she disappeared. Is it because my daughter is inside the house?"

Ko Thein Myint directly told me what I wanted to know without any fuss or fuss.

"Oh"

As Ko Thein Myint had said before, the woman's response was cold. Only a muffled "Oh" came out, and in the dim light, tears welled up in the woman's eyes. Then, in a four-part voice,

"Yes, of course, son. Sometimes I come home to my daughter in the early evenings when the fog is still there."

He didn't exactly understand what the old woman meant, but Ko Thein Myint asked the question he wanted to know again.

"Yes, that's what I said. It's not about the money. Even if you don't bring the money, you should at least say thank you. I'm surprised you disappeared so quickly without saying anything. Where are you now?"

Ko Thein Myint continued to speak. He heard a deep sigh from the woman.

"I'm sorry, son. He didn't mean it that way. He's a very kind-hearted guy."

He replied. Ko Thein Myint

"I don't think so either. But I'm not used to thinking like this. Please let me see it for a moment. I can't believe it's gone in such a short time."

As he said this, he stepped over his grandmother's shoulder and looked behind her.

Then, with a look of determination on the woman's face, she sighed.

"Son, I don't want to tell you anymore because old things will become new. But there are also coincidences that I can't tell you about, so I'll tell you about them."

The woman paused, pressed her chest with her hand, and tried to take a deep breath.

"It's been over 5 years since my daughter passed away, son."

Ko Thein Myint's head snapped up. He felt a cold wave run down his spine from behind. He was speechless with surprise. At that moment, he felt something brush against him, a gust of wind. He turned around abruptly. In the dim light, he saw a shadow floating on the white brick road in front of the house, vaguely. Is she back?