Minko Naing - Rearview Mirror

Even though she waited all day, the person receiving the donation did not appear. She understood that it was not common to see them and that they would pass by without realizing it, but she lamented, "Why don't we find a cool place to drink water in the summer heat?" She watched as everyone else went by and continued on their way, leaving her heartbroken.

"People are so big, they don't know that I should be recognized for my hard work. If no one drinks all day, I will break the water pot with my palm. Oh, my God, you can't have unwholesome thoughts when you give charity. Oh, my God, those who drink it should be cool."

Her father, suppressing his anger, watched her praying and mumbling, and laughed. “People are afraid of being called the donor Daw Kwee Ma, so should I change her name?” he asked her in a casual tone. She liked cold water so much that she couldn’t finish bathing, so she became even more angry because her father kept repeating that whenever her mother got angry, she called her Kwee Ma.

Although evening had come, the heat had not yet subsided. From a distance, a man wearing a soft hat, dozing off, saw a water pot and was walking quickly. He happily ran to the corner of the fence and watched.

She saw from behind him, holding the spout of the water jug ​​about a foot away from her, drinking without stopping, and she was happy.

"Good luck, may the donor Daw Kwee Ma be filled with happiness and prosperity."

After drinking two sips of water, the man read the inscription and prayed, and then left. Nyo was left with a mixture of pleasure and disappointment. Even when she went to bed at night, Nyo was not happy about her donation, which allowed a person to drink happily. Even after praying to the Buddha and laying her head on the pillow, she still couldn't finish giving her the amount she wanted.

Daw Tin Tin, who had been drinking the water from the rice cooker without complaining that it smelled of metal, was shouting back sarcastically, "Oh, my dear, my dear, my dear sister." Nyo laughed and fell asleep happily.

Before dawn, she had woken up happily, pulling her broom and going out into the misty yard. The sound of her sweeping the broom made the whole yard ring, and the birds woke up early and chirped. Why, waking up early is a blessing, it brings good health, and you know what? Nyo was the only one who was fighting the birds.

While I was watching the train driver crossing the tracks at dusk, she was changing the water pot, and I was satisfied, thinking that I had just finished my entrance exam and that I had just gotten a job.

As the sun rose, she noticed that people around the station were drinking water to quench their thirst, and she was not satisfied. Especially when she saw the passengers who had gotten off the slow train that stopped at the station between them, waiting in line to drink before they could cross the hot sun, she thought to herself, "I'll just have to do another splash of water."

She asked her father to climb the coconut tree and pick out the small ones. “I can’t even climb a coconut tree with just one coconut,” she said, and they broke the coconut into pieces and ate it. They had to sprinkle water again with a coconut water bottle before the sun set. Yesterday, yesterday’s person came again. Since it was her first donation, Nyo remembered and approached her carefully.

He looked to be about five or six years older than Nyo, but his hat and clothes were worn and worn, so he looked like an old man. He was carrying a bag, drinking a large glass of water, and calling her "Sadhu, Daw Kwee Ma Re."

After a few days, one day, while Nyo was filling the drinking water, he came. He watched her cleaning the filter because there were particles stuck to it. Nyo was very angry.

"Wait a minute, I was busy with work today, so I was late filling the water," he began.

He/She

“Okay, take it easy, I’ll be sweating a lot after coming out of the hot sun,” he said, standing and looking at Nyo. He wondered if the beauty of the girl with the soft brown skin and lovely face was made more attractive by the kindness in her heart. The leaves of the coconut tree were fluttering in the wind. He saw Nyo busy with her work, afraid that she would fall into the bucket without a lid.

“Does Daw Kwe Ma live around here?” he asked.

Nyo, suppressing the urge to laugh, simply replied, "Yes, of course."

He asked again which house, and Nyo pointed to theirs. He looked at the small red-tiled house, neatly enclosed by a fence.

"Oh, this is the owner's house," he muttered.

“Since it’s a rural station, they should just call it a “household” station,” Nyo criticized.

“The station is big and small, I will call Daw Kwe Ma ‘The Station Owner’ out of respect.”

Nyo said this while he was taking a sip of his drink.

“That Daw Kwee Ma doesn’t like it when you call her Daw Kwee Ma. She’s very angry. She’s happy that you’re using her donation as an example.”

“I’m not calling you angry, I’m calling you short-tailed buffalo. Since you’re a buffalo, it’s more natural for you to call me short-tailed buffalo. I’ve been teasing you, old man. I’ll kick you.”

He looked at the Nyo family's house with a confused look, regretting how he had behaved.

The black car is laughing.

“Yes, Daw Kwee Ma is nice, but if you know the original story about the buffalo’s short tail, tell me,” he demanded. “Yes,” he said, reaching into his pocket. A piece of wood about an inch long and less than a foot long came out. He turned it over and took it out, and another cigarette came out. He smiled and said, “You are a very stingy old man.” He reached into his pocket again. After a while, a large bottle of kerosene lighter came into his hand. He quickly struck it, lit it, and began to speak.

Ab Maung looked out from his perch in the ticket booth under the coco tree. Holding a drinking bucket in one hand and shaking the water filter in the other, he saw Nyo laughing heartily at the words of the man in the floppy hat in front of him.

"Once upon a time, a farm laborer was plowing a field with two buffaloes."

"Aren't the fields plowed with oxen? Why are they plowed with buffaloes?"

"A buffalo is more powerful than a cow. Try it. The kyat is broken. That's until after the lunch delivery time."