Nuya - A Beautiful Flower and Other Short Stories

"Bhaa Bhaa, I'm going to school. I've put some food in the cat house for Bhaa Bhaa and Dad. I've also prepared the dinner table."

Aye Hla took her school bag off the wall and walked to her grandmother in the bedroom.

"After you and your wife have been fed, let's go at once."

Grandma said as she left the bedroom.

"Ai and Atu have finished eating and are leaving. They won't even let Ukha do the work because she'll be late for school. Ukha is going too. I'll have to call Myakhin in."

Grandma was staring at Aye Hla as she came down from the Kavya Kaya house.

“The little one is the most tired in the whole house.

"They haven't been able to live like children since their mother died. Not only do they have less responsibility as a younger sibling and a father, but they also have to study hard to master the material. That's why they're only in seventh grade now."

Grandma was watching and thinking about Aye Hla.

Aye Hla, Aye Aye, and Atu are three siblings who were raised by their grandmother when their mother died when Aye Hla was seven, Aye Aye was five, and Atu was three.

Aye Hla became the most beloved of all her friends, Mya Khin, who was in the same class as her. Mya Khin had a mother and two children, and she had a younger brother and sister, and an older sister named Daw Lay at home.

"Come here, Mya Khin."

Mya Khin hadn't come out yet, even though Aye Hla was standing in front of the house calling her. A short while later, Mya Khin ran out in a hurry, and the two of them hurriedly left for school.

At lunchtime, Aye Hla and Mya Khin arrived at the bakery together.

"I was so nervous about whether I would be able to get to school in the morning, why are you late today?"

Aye Hla was talking to Mya Khin.

Mya Khin's face was not happy.

"I wasn't late on purpose, it's just that my mother is sick. The whole house is busy with work because of her stomachache."

"Your mother's face makes me sick to my stomach... Is that right? She's just given birth," Aye Hla asked eagerly.

"Where else are you going to give birth? I've been having stomach pains since last night, and nothing has changed since I got to school this morning. My aunt and father are worried about that. My mother is also very upset. I just want to go home, it's so nice."

When Aye Hla heard that she was having stomach pains before she could see her mother, she prayed in her mind, "May my mother see her soon," and thought back to her deceased mother.

Aye Hla was only seven years old when her mother died. She vividly remembers her mother, who was full of energy and complaining of stomachaches, the neighbors coming and going, and her face looking sad. The last thing Aye Hla remembers is carrying her mother in a big blanket and carrying her to the city hospital.

“Bhay Bhay, why did you have to take your mother to the city hospital?” she asked Bhay Bhay, but Bhay Bhay would only reply, “I had to take her because I couldn’t give birth, and this doctor doesn’t understand anything.” When her mother didn’t return for several days, Aye Hla asked her again. Bhay Bhay, with tears in her eyes, replied, “Don’t ask me again and again, your mother died because she couldn’t give birth.”

Aye Hla only had to ask about her mother once, who had died because her midwife had been late. Whenever Aye Hla felt sad, she didn't dare to ask her mother, but she would think about her mother silently. "Your mother died because her midwife was late," she could not forget hearing her mother say.

Aye Hla remembered her mother while studying in class and became worried about Mya Khin's mother. When the school bell rang in the evening, Aye Hla followed Mya Khin as she left the classroom, singing a poem.

Aye Hla said, “Wait... I want to take you home.” Mya Khin walked slowly, then said, “Your grandparents must be worried, so come after telling them to go home,” and Aye Hla walked back to the house.

He found his grandmother in the kitchen.

"Bah bah... Aye Hla, I can't do anything anymore, I'm going to go to see my mother, who has a stomach ache."

Grandma asked from the cooking pot, "Mya Khin, what's wrong with your stomach? What are you going to do?"

“I’m going to see Mya Khin so sad, Grandma. I told her that her mother hasn’t given birth yet, so I’m going to see her.”

"Oh.. It's not good for children of our age to see the faces of children. Don't mess around in the house, don't mess around. Besides, "Zee Ma" from our house didn't come home this morning. I don't know where she's been wandering around. She hasn't come to eat either."

“Oh.. that’s right, Grandma, I forgot, “If you keep walking around like that, you’ll end up going from house to house. You won’t have kittens, Grandma.”

Aye Hla remembered the big cat “Zee Ma” and said, “Oh my… Zee Ma didn’t come back this morning either. So you guys should go look for her. It’s not good to be walking around like this when she’s about to give birth. Now.. I’ll go,” she said to the cat and left for Mya Khin’s house.

At Mya Khin's house, Mya Khin and her younger brother and sister were sitting outside the children's room.

"Hey, come here."

When Aye Hla went inside to urinate, she heard Mya Khin's mother moaning from inside the room.

"The midwife is here, Mya Khin."

Aye Hla asked eagerly, and Mya Khin nodded.

"Ha... So what's there to be afraid of? I'm just about to give birth."