Kyaw Aung - Five short stories

Stay, mother.

Almost all the guests had already left. Then, the siblings sat down by their mother's coffin, preparing to cry heartily. The brother sat on one side and the sister on the other, looking at their mother's face. Her mother's face was still pale and unblemished. Her daughter had painted her face with perfume, and the light was bright. I don't know if I would call it a flower of death. Even now, I thought that her mother's face was innocent.

In the temporary pavilion in front of the house, friends from the area gathered and played cards. In the early evening, the two siblings were unable to face each other because of the audience that had come to visit. My brother was treated to a male reception, while my sister was treated to a female reception. Only now did the two siblings face each other. ///

It is a confrontation.

My brother recently passed the bar exam and went to work as a junior judge in a faraway land.

They had to move to a village for work. Now, after their mother died, they had to fly to their destination. Since their father, a retired civil servant, passed away, the family has been living together without any problems. The eldest son is a simple and hardworking person. Although he is studying in college, he usually returns to his parents and sister every school holiday. Even during the December school holiday, which is only 15 days, he has to return to his mother's place. In terms of age, he is not young. B.A.

When I graduated, I was already old. During the Japanese era, my education was cut short, so I had to go to college at the age of 21. It was time to get married, but every time I saw my mother and sister's faces, I felt a strong desire to get married. My sister felt the same way. Every time my mother asked them to get married, they both shook their heads and refused.

My sister, like my older brother, was too attached to her mother and did not want to get married in her lifetime. She had to take care of her mother and live a life of celibacy, and if she turned her back on her mother, she would become a nun.

I am determined. A mother to love, a mother to embrace, a mother to grow in love with.

Oh, even the locals praise Daw Lun for providing good things for her children in this lifetime.

This is my mother's favorite chicken soup, this is my favorite pork stew. My daughter cooked each dish according to my mother's preference. "My mother and I always eat good food," she said, seven houses to the east and seven houses to the west.

“Hey... Ko Ko bought a Rakhine longyi for my mother, and sent it to her, along with Rakhine fish paste, which my mother likes. He got it from his Rakhine friends. This is the shrimp paste that Ko Ko gave to my mother,” and so on, he brought the things he found and showed them to every friend he met on the way home.

“We still can’t think of getting married. The bond between this sister and me is too strong. I swear to God that I won’t do anything if my mother doesn’t like it. If I get a wife, I think I’ll get her only if she likes me. We have three siblings, and my mother will be happy if she is happy…”

My brother also had this attitude, and the locals said, "We are not too good at it, but we are good at it for our children." It was really not too good.

Son and daughter, when their mother dies, are in the same order.

Inside, issues related to my mother surfaced one after another.

How a mother teaches her children to be smart. How a mother nurtures her children and their bond, etc., all come to mind one after another. At that moment, tears welled up again.

The daughter cried again, thinking about how the two of them were now left with only one child, how she had grown up in her mother's arms since her father had turned away, how she had lived her life as a child, and how she was now left with only her eyes and ears.

"Now... now... little sister, go to sleep, okay? Big brother, I'll take turns watching over my mother's body..."

“Oh no... Ko Ko, I won't sleep tonight... I can't sleep, I'm going to cry to get some strength. And let me see your mother's face to get some strength, Ko Ko... This time, I'll see you for the last time..”

The eldest son, though he did not cry in any way, looked at his mother's body with tears streaming down his face. But in his heart, he was filled with grief and sorrow for his mother.

"

These are all my fault, my mother is suffering because she is far away from me. If she were under my watch, my mother would not be suffering like this. She lives in the forest and there are no good doctors. If she had been taken to Yangon in time for treatment, my mother would not have died. My sister also needs to be saved. She has not heard from me yet.///

"He suddenly became ill and ordered me to..."

"I didn't know this at first, Ko Ko. I didn't think the disease would be so bad that it would be so rampant. My sister is also to blame, Ko Ko... My sister is stupid, my mother is angry..."

"Now then... My sister has a headache... Don't cry, come on. Let's cover your mother's body with the Zin Mae Longyi that you like. Give me the key to your chest, Ko Ko Longyi, go get it."

I will..."

"Wait for me, brother... My sister never takes me.. I never look for you..."

The little girl got up from the coffin and went into the inner room.

The older son sat next to his mother, staring intently at her face. Soon, his younger sister ran out.

"Come on, Koko, come and try it. Mom, I found some things in the box. Let's go to Koko's room and see."

The son and daughter hurriedly entered the room.

"Look here, Ko Ko... Aren't these your father's handwriting, Ko Ko? They're letters that Dad gave you when you were young, before we got married. When I'm feeling up to it, Mom and Dad often take these letters out and read them, Ko Ko..."