Nyein Kyaw - I'm sorry I missed you.

1

It was cold and damp. The rain that had not fallen for three or four days had begun to drizzle in the afternoon. As I was about to leave the office, a heavy rain began to fall. The wind was blowing hard. I regretted not taking an umbrella when I saw the heavy rain. Come with me, okay? The clerk said. He refused, feeling sick. That's enough, the clerk said. It would be better if I went with the umbrella. If I didn't, the rain would be even worse. I thought I would have to stay in the office under the rain until five or six in the evening. Thank you, he said, and walked towards the clerk. Even if the wind did not blow, the old wooden umbrella could cover two people. The leaves were so big that when it blew, it did not reach below the knees or waist. "Ko Than Tin, are you going back to Yangon headquarters soon?" He held the clerk's red-haired arm and said, "It will take a month and a half. For me, I can stay in the countryside or Yangon."

"You've been here for six months, almost a year, or even more than two years. You've already settled in here, and I think you've been friends with me for more than half of the city."

The two of them pulled over to the side of the road to avoid a horse-drawn carriage and a rickshaw. They got back on the asphalt road as soon as the two vehicles passed.

"It's like my own town or village, my dear."

The clerk's glasses were covered in raindrops. He watched as his cheeks wrinkled slightly as he smiled.

"There's only one thing left to do to take this city away... is that right, Than Tin?"

Amidst the sound of the rain, the clerk's laughter rang out. He smiled.

"The secretary is from this city.. he will manage it as he pleases."

After saying that, he laughed. Just look at me. You know about the people of this town who get a headache if they can't beat a man seven days a week, right? The town was called Linnai before it had its current name. Just say that you can handle that punishment, and find a priest within twenty-four hours, the clerk said, making fun of it.

"The people of this city really deserve a doctorate in culinary arts, sir."

He didn't answer her. He turned around and smiled. He pursed his lips and laughed. "Why are you laughing?" The clerk didn't answer. He only laughed louder. "There's nothing funny in what I said." Three or four steps away.

"Who knows what the person in question is saying... For those watching from the sidelines, I know what this statement means and who it is addressed to, Than Tin. What could be funnier than that?"

Walking slowly along the water that crossed the asphalt road, he said, "But... I'm talking about the food I'm paying for." "Don't give up a single penny."

He knew that he was referring to Khin Thaw, the youngest sister of Ko Tin Ohn and Ma Sein Kyi, who was delivering rice to the poor. He smiled.

“The little girl is not bad, Than Tin Ra... Her behavior is as you can see... She can sew by herself and go to night school, her sisters torture her, she doesn’t even take a penny of everything she earns, she only gets one meal allowance when she goes to work, and you are in between.”

He nodded. His place, the clerk's place, and the neighborhood where Khin Thar lived were all in different neighborhoods, and since the town was small and narrow, news from one neighborhood was heard by the other. Khin Thar attracted the attention of the young people in the town. However, they thought of the character of the harsh-tongued sister. They did not treat Khin Thar as more than ordinary friendship. Some spoke harshly to Khin Thar. They even spoke with pity and anger that she was too tolerant. They said that she should be so afraid of her sisters and obey them, and that she should not even protect them from what people above her often do. Khin Thar did not say anything in response, but just smiled.

"She's a very patient girl, sir." "I wonder if she even has the ability to speak her mind properly. Her sisters, too, have not been shy in front of people, and they still want to hit or tease her in front of him. I'm ashamed of them."

Khin Thar had told him. When he used to tease me, he wanted to hide in a mouse hole or an ant hole, he was so ashamed. He thought that the knowledge that my brother and sister were my parents, that they should be dependent on me and obey me, and that they should discipline me, seemed to have kept Khin Thar's mouth shut. "It's pitiful," the clerk said at his remark. "Pity is the beginning of love. I'm just telling you what I've heard, Than Tin." The clerk laughed, "Ah, hey."

The rain, which had stopped for a moment, began to fall again in small pieces. We arrived at the intersection of Forest Office Road and City Circle Road. At the turn of the road leading to Market Road,

"Isn't that Khin Tha watching from the volleyball court?"

He looked where the clerk was looking. Khin Tha was standing by the center pillar. He was looking at him. He said, "Yes." Khin Tha went back inside. After a while, he opened his umbrella and walked slowly towards him. A folding umbrella in his right hand. The clerk stopped. "It's like I brought you an umbrella," he whispered. It was true for the clerk. .

“Ko Than Tin, I didn’t bring an umbrella when I went to the office this morning, so it rained again, as you might have guessed. Take this umbrella, it’s yours.”

“It’s okay, Khin Thar, I…” “Oh…why shouldn’t it be okay, Rob?” The clerk reached for the umbrella. “Don’t come back right away, I’ll come in on my way to the office in the morning.” At the end of the sentence, Khin Thar left him. He was about to say something. Khin Thar quickly walked back to the salon. All the eyes that had been looking at Khin Thar passed through the salon. The eyes of the women who were almost at the sewing machines of thirty or forty were on him. The clerk handed him the winter-sleeved umbrella. He opened the folding umbrella and

"There's a letter saying I need a blanket of love. It's still raining right now, so an umbrella is better, Rob..."

He took the folding umbrella. He was embarrassed and laughed at the clerk's joke. He looked at Khin Tha. He turned to look at him from where he had set his umbrella to check the water outside the Brahmin's hut.

"The women in the brothel are looking at you with smiles on their faces."