University Honors - Nwe Kanta Oo

Chapter (1)

Even if two people who miss summer pass this grove and pass the famous Thansaka Pass, they can see and touch the shadow of the summer forest and smell its fragrance.

The dreamy mountains and rolling hills of the Shan highlands are left behind, and the pine trees have already bid farewell to the past. From the Magway Range on the border of Taunggyi and Meiktila districts to the banks of Nam Pandek Stream, the newly fallen pine trees no longer accompany us on our journey.

To the left of the highway, only the bamboo forests, faithfully covering the high ground and the plains, dominate the landscape.

The bamboo groves, eager to bring the emerald juice, have already begun to draw the golden yellow blood, and the fragrant fragrance from the golden yellow leaves is rising.

Because they drank the forest dew, the brown mountains, neither dry nor wet, exuded a sweet earthy scent.

The scent of summer, the lovely scent of the summer breeze.

Oh... Even the two of Nwe Kantar Oo's blood-drinking and selling thorny thorns have appeared and greeted us. Oh... they have welcomed us.

After crossing the red bridge beyond Kwee Tat Son village, the driver of the small (F) license plate car, who was driving from the front, let out a sigh of relief. His sigh was a sigh of relief because he was relieved.

We will reach the open land.

The driver said, turning his head back imperceptibly while holding the steering wheel.

"I'm about to reach the flatlands, sir. I'm really feeling it."

The only young man in the back of the car, who was called "Teacher," leaned back and raised his head, leaning on his side. He didn't answer in particular, only a long, grumbling "No."

Although it was not difficult, the road was quite winding and winding, so the driver was careful and drove slowly.

I was still thinking while driving.

His teacher was not usually a talkative person, let alone a soft-spoken one. Now, on this trip, he was quieter, and since he first saw the yellow leaves, he had been especially quiet. He was a little surprised by this. However, he had no objection to his teacher's behavior. Isn't his job just to drive the car properly?

It is possible that the teacher will be tired in this hot area away from the peaceful Taunggyi town. The truth is that the teacher is always tired. He is always tired, working day and night with patients, and now he is tired and he has fallen asleep in the back of the car. If the teacher falls asleep, he will be happy. His teacher is not the one who sleeps at night, and he knows this best. He knows best.

The driver thought about this and, without changing gears, accelerated the car and drove steadily.

The kind and responsible driver wouldn't know, and in fact, his teacher hadn't come along while he was asleep, and he thought it would be true if he said he was in a dream.

In the dreamy shade of the cherry forest and pine groves of the Shan city of Kanbawza, he was not a dreamer. The eternally wintery Shan city was his present. The present, which was alive and moving, did not provide a dreamy environment.

The past is like a dream. Or it pretends to be something that doesn't exist. That's why I can't say whether I should be sad or happy about it, I know that I'm happy and nostalgic. Sometimes I think about it. Just like there is death that takes us to an unknown future, I wonder if there is a kind of retroactive death that takes us back to the past that I knew but no longer exists. Would it be good? Yes. Would it be good? I don't know for sure, because the joys and sorrows of the past are not related to good or bad, but to feelings. I feel good and bad. Everything I feel is just joy and sorrow.

He was lost in his thoughts when the car arrived at the entrance to the Five Pagoda Valley. Looking up from the last high ground at the entrance, the plains of Tharsi spread out as far as the eye could see, speaking as much as it wanted to.

The summer evening mists still covered the plains, but they did not obscure the view. The western sky still had a faint glow, so that from this vantage point, every object in the background could be seen, even if it was not very clear, if one looked closely.

The driver shouted.

“There, Teacher Poppa, I can still see Poppa.” Then he turned around. Because he was looking from a height, the purple plain of summer seemed to stretch out as if it were stretching towards the horizon. The clouds, like a thick blanket of clouds, were rising above the horizon, and he could see the Poppa Mountain, standing tall and tall, as if it were a separate mountain.

The driver said.

“Every time I come to this place, I see Poppa. My mind is narrow as I drive through the mountains. When I see the plains, my mind is free as if I had woken up from a dream. When I see Poppa, I want to remember him.”

He asked the driver, looking interested.

“How is it, Ko Htwe? When I see Poppa, I want to remember him.”

The driver, Ko Htwe Yin, laughed rather than smiled.

“Yes, I want to remember. I am a native of Kyaukpandaung, aren’t I? In the words of the novelists I read, I miss you. I miss Poppa, I miss Kyaukpandaung, and especially I miss Poppa and the summer of Kyaukpandaung. Am I being too poetic?”

His teacher laughed. Because his teacher laughed, Ko Htwe Yin laughed too, hoping that when they finished laughing, he would hear something from his teacher.

When his teacher didn't speak again, Ko Htwe Yin felt like a clown who had made a joke that didn't go well with the show.

Ko Htwe Yin continued to drive the car normally.

The wind blew in through the open car windows. The summer plains wind was so different from the perpetually cold mountain air of the highlands. The mountain air was soft, light to the touch, and cool to the touch. The summer plains wind was harsh. It was light to the touch. It was warm and fuzzy to the touch. Oh, it was also drowsy.

The road ran straight. On either side of the road, the bamboo forests had disappeared, and the farmlands were cracked and broken, with only tall bushes and low bushes of thorny trees, white thorny trees, and thorny shrubs guarding the land.

The air was filled with the smell of dust and soil, but the scent of the flowers was still lingering.

Oh...the spring garden also has its own flowers, its own buds, its own fragrance, its own essence, and its own unique beauty and melancholy. They are there.

About a mile ahead, I could see a place that looked like a small island of trees, surrounded by a clearing.

Then the teacher spoke from behind the car. "What are you doing, huh... Ko Htwe Yin misses summer, right?"

"Sir, what did you say?"

"Oh... earlier, Ko Htwe-rin said he missed summer."

"Aw... ah... uh... uh... yes, sir."

"Let's not say we miss summer, but rather say we love summer"

Ko Htwe Yin frowned and thought for a moment. Then, imitating the tone of a character in a novel he had read, he answered firmly.

"I have no objection, sir."

“I have no objection, Ko Htwe-rin. If you love summer, let’s take a break at the village of Mon-tha in front of the house.”

Ko Htwe Yin frowned. Then he protested in a soft voice.

“The sun has set, sir. We have to drive for almost an hour to reach Meiktila. If we are late, Dr. U Ba Maung and his wife will be worried.”

“U Ba Maung is not a person who worries, that’s why he is a very reliable district doctor, isn’t it? Let’s take a break in our village, Mon Thar.”

“But the problem is, we have to stay overnight in Meiktila and drive to Yangon at 5 am. The medical conference starts the next day.”

“Yes, that’s why I’m entering Ywamon Thar. Do you have any objections, Ko Htwe?”

Ko Htwe Yin shook his head gently.

"I have never objected to the teacher, because I was afraid he would get tired."

“Then please stop at Ywamon Thar for a while.”

"Yes, sir." The car continued to run.