Kyu Kyu Thin - 5 short stories

I will break the rules safely.

"It's not too far from the bus station. I think it will take about fifteen minutes to walk to the textile factory."

"The younger one will have to buy a bicycle to go to school, okay? It's a bit far from school."

Ko Aung Hla looked around the house and expressed his thoughts. Ma Khin Aye looked at him carefully and said,

"The house is a little cramped."

“It’s not too small, Aye. It’s two bedrooms. There’s a small kitchen in the back. And there’s a little bit of land in front of the house and on both sides. It’s just the way Aye likes it.”

“Well... yes. If Ko Aung likes it, it’s done. Let’s try to bargain down the price by twenty or thirty thousand, Ko Aung. We’ll have to pay two or three pieces of tin. Tell me.”

“I don’t think I’ll get that, Aye……. My friend has already said it, and it’s worth the price, Aye. This place is more spacious than the small apartment we lived in. It’s so refreshing to see the trees, bamboo, and green children. Aye, if you want to live with plants like this.”

“Yes, Ko Aung, I like this place too.”

“I really like the mango tree with its flowers at the top. Look at the base, the safflower tree is also blooming.”

"Yes, let's take this house, Ko Aung."

Ma Khin Aye repeatedly agreed. Still, Ko Aung Hla persisted.

“My son also likes this place. He wants to live in a place like this.”

So the couple decided to buy a house together. The land title says thirty or sixty feet, but there is no fence, so it seems larger than that. The house on that land is made of brick, has a corrugated iron roof, and is fully equipped with electricity. The house is not spacious enough for their family of five, but they are happy to live in it.

In front of the house is a wide dirt road. From that wide road, just a few steps and a few steps up the stairs, you will arrive directly at the entrance to their house. It is a long way from the apartment they have rented for over twenty years, which they have reached after climbing over thirty stairs. Their feet are not tired, nor are they tired.

The money they had saved by working honestly and hard allowed them to buy their own house. There was only one. Their place was a little out of town. So the house was spread out. There was no house next to the house at the top or the bottom.

Furthermore, most of them are manual laborers, and a relatively well-off minority raise cows, pigs, and chickens.

Some work casually. Some are head-to-toe vendors. They welcome Ko Aung Hla and his family who have moved into their area with great admiration.

(The family, consisting of Ko Aung Hla, a taxi driver; Ma Khin Aye and her daughter Kyi Thet, who work in a garment factory; and Kyi Zaw, who works in a newspaper office and is trying to get a degree from a university through correspondence; and Maung Soe, a sixth-grade student, are unique and interesting to them.

Ko Aung Hla and his family, who have young children, also have a reason to want a good environment and good neighbors. Ko Aung Hla leaves home at six in the morning to pick up the car from the owner. After driving all day, he usually returns home at eight or nine in the evening. He has no days off. Ma Khin Aye and her mother also go to the factory at eight in the morning, go to work, and usually return home at five in the evening.

My eldest son, Zaw, spends most of his time at his workplace and only comes home occasionally.

My younger son, Maung Soe, also goes to school from nine in the morning until four in the evening. So their house is lonely all day long.

"Oh, Mother. The mustard plants we planted are gone."

Ma Khin Aye, who had woken up early in the morning and was preparing rice in the kitchen for her husband and young son, ran out of the house in a hurry.

"Look, Mom, the chickens are coming to pick them up. Oh, and my daughter's rose bushes are also coming with them."

Thet said in a childish voice and sat down in despair beside the scattered nursery.

"Yes, just kidding... When I first woke up, nothing happened. I wonder when it happened."

"Yesterday, when I came back from school, I saw a big rooster and three hens, so I drove them away. Those are the only ones that will live with Sister Thet..." Maung Soe's tone was also irritated. Thet Thet continued to cry as she picked her rose bushes one by one.

"I'm so sorry, Mom. This little plant has even sprouted a bud. I don't know where the chickens are coming from. Look, the mustard plants are already very strong. If this continues, we won't be able to plant anything... What will we do, Mom?"

While holding the rose bushes, the girl kept talking.

Ma Khin Aye also spared no expense for the little plants that her three sons and daughter had to dig, weed, add compost, and water every day to keep them in the shade.

“Wait. I’ll go and get it the next day. You know, you guys will get my money’s worth. Sister, calm down, don’t you know my skills? Oh… It’s been a while since I’ve eaten chicken curry, sister.”

"Oh my god..don't do it, my son. It's only been a month since I arrived. There will be problems with the environment."

Maung Soe looked up at his father, who had spoken to him from where he was standing while taking off his shoes...

"Their chickens are coming to destroy us, Dad. No way. The next time we see them, we'll just have chicken soup."

“Come on, Maung Soe, if you want to eat that much, Mom will buy it at the market this evening after work.”

Ma Khin Aye had to calm her son down. In fact, he didn't want to cause trouble when he first arrived in that environment. So he had to calm down.

“Aye.. that’s good. Four chicken broths, fish paste syrup, hey… the mangoes falling on my head, the children… the eldest son will be back today, just as he said.”

Just hearing Ko Aung Hla's cooking made their mouths water. The anger had almost subsided. He looked up at the mango tree at the front of the house where the rose plants that Ta Myat Tanoo held in his hand were gently planted in the ground and said.

"Yes, mother, the mango tree has many young and many fruits."

"My dear, my dear, I don't like you. I find the fruits sweet, don't you?"

"Mom..."

Maung Soe suddenly called. Then he kept asking. "Is that tree ours? It belongs to us."

"Yes?"

“Oh... it's my mother's tree, Maung Soe, why?”

"Hey... the guy over there said, 'This isn't our tree.'"

"Hmm..when did that happen? Which boy said that?"

"There's a boy from that house. He's about the same age as me. Yesterday morning I went out to pick some baby chicks."

"He's picking. He's already got half of it. I've only got four or five. He said, 'The tree doesn't belong to us.'"

“Aung Mae..., yes, yes, yes. Your father’s friend who sold this house told me so himself. He planted it. It’s been eight years, Aung.”

"Oh, yes. That's right."

Ma Khin Aye was not impressed by Ko Aung Hla's calm response.

“What... That's right, Ko Aung. The tree growing next to Aye's house is Aye's tree.”

"Okay, of course, of course. Now, now, I'm going to work, have some lunch."

Even though Ma Khin Aye was still not satisfied with the soft words and arguments.

"Wait... I'll have to ask you in front of your friends when they arrive."

Ma Khin Aye's tone made Aung Hla scratch her head again.

That evening, Ma Khin Aye's house was bustling with people. That day, Ma Khin Aye's mother and son had only been working part-time at the garment factory. Maung Soe was also at home because it was school holidays.

In the afternoon, on their way home from work, Ma Khin Aye and her son's mother rented a soap opera. Three or four neighbors, who had become close to the family, came to watch it. Since they were all women, Ma Khin Aye welcomed them with a bowl of tea and salad, a favorite of women.

While they were enjoying their tea and salad while watching the drama, they heard a loud noise from behind. Maung Soe ran to the back. Immediately, we heard his scream.

"Mom....., pigs.... My sister's big ass is already in the mud."

Maung Soe's message made Ma Khin Aye and Thet run to the back. While they were washing their clothes, they saw three big pigs happily rolling around in the pond near the stone tub.

"Well.... I've just got the little one, Mom. It's brand new, only washed once. You're a piece of shit."

The pigs didn't care at all about the tongs that were thrown at them. Maung Soe also beat the pigs with a large broom.

Suddenly, the pigs ran away, squealing and squealing. In the mud there was a small, solitary wasp.

"Look, mom. My daughter, I'm a little girl... I've been renting for two months, and I'll pay it off this month, Mom..."

Thet said with a face that looked like it was about to cry. Ma Khin Aye felt bad looking at her daughter, the daughter who didn't wear her homework, didn't eat, didn't give it to her mother every month, the daughter who didn't continue her education after failing the tenth grade three times and went to work with Ma Aye. The daughter who worked overtime and had to buy her clothes. Ma Khin Aye felt so sorry for her daughter that she didn't know how to comfort her.

"People don't have rules either. If you're born, you're born systematically. In fact, you'll have to cut it with a knife. That way, you'll remember..."

Maung Soe scolded him with gritted teeth. "That's U San Ki and Aki's pigs from Maung Soe's house, and they come to our aunt's house from time to time."

A guest spoke harshly to the hosts. That angered Maung Soe even more.

"Whoever's pig... Next time I come, I'll really cut it with a knife, throw it on the pork. Really, really."

"My dear son..... Don't try to do bad things with your words, Maung Soe. It's not good to be idle. Don't cry, my dear. If I get a salary, I'll buy you a new mother, my dear."

“Okay, Mom, we don’t have any extra money. I’ll have to buy Maung Soe a bike too. The leaking roof will also need to be replaced before the rain comes.”

The voice of the child, who was holding back tears, was soft. That made Ma Khin Aye feel even more sorry for her daughter.

Ma Khin Aye also said that she would take care of her son and daughter. She herself was a bit short-tempered, and the chicken would come and peck, and the pig would come and peck.