Ma Hnin Phway - 5 short stories

Era

"What's that noise?"

Every time I feel like screaming, I feel like I'm being stabbed in the ear with hot iron.

The whole time I was listening, my ears and mind were suffering and exhausted.

Despite being suppressed, anger and dissatisfaction slowly rose to the surface.

Who sings such a hot, wild song?

Is it music? Is it art? Ja alone was angry, his breathing becoming heavy.

Now, the journey that was expected to be pleasant and enjoyable has become completely ugly due to the loud noise coming from the CD player in the car. I can't help but be happy and excited.

If I had refused to go when my childhood friend Ko Hla Saung invited me, I would have been fine. I wouldn't have to suffer like this. Now...

Ko Hla Saung called me with kindness..

“Come with me, Ko Win Ya, for relaxation. Staying at home is not working. We need a change. You and I are not getting any younger. We also need to be healthy and happy. I am calling you because it is convenient for now. I will visit the Bago pagodas and visit the Kham Pyin temple. I don’t need to worry about food. I will take care of everything. You just need to give me a day’s worth of time. Well…if you are lucky, I will even get a few pages to write for you. Write a few more pages, Ko Win Ya. You still have an audience.”

Ko Hla Saung not only spoke well of him, but also drove the big airbag car into the alleyway near his house and called him, and he didn't refuse.

The departure from Yangon was as expected. | Ko Hla Saung temporarily converted his long-distance luggage (express) air bag car into a pilgrimage vehicle during long-distance travel, so he could accommodate many passengers. The passengers were of all ages. Adults, young people, children, families came with a full set of food and drinks. There were more young people.

Since they got out of the car, they were laughing, talking, and competing with each other, so he was happy to join them.

As Ko Hla Saung said, I also felt the urge to write a short story based on that journey and those people.

He hadn't written for a long time. He had also lost the will to write for a long time. The reason for this was that almost all of his articles sent to magazines over the past six years had been rejected.

When I investigated why it was rejected, I found that his writing style, his thoughts, and his views were no longer in line with the times. They were no longer up to date. The editors said this was how they were judged.

Since then, he has thrown away his pen, either proudly (or bitterly), or in despair. And he has remained completely isolated from the literary community.

Now, thanks to new experiences, new environments, and new perspectives, the artistic butterfly that had been dormant in his bones has awakened.

Yes. He will write back. He will write about the people of his time. He will write a realistic novel that will reflect today's era, filled with the characters, lives, thoughts, and views of the youth of his time.

So he would mix with the people in the car. He would talk to them about various things. He would study them. You really know a person's character when you travel with them, right?

Just as he was enjoying the idea, the sound of music that started playing interrupted his thoughts.

The entire car was covered in a hot, noisy soundtrack.

Because of this noise, he could no longer pay attention to the voices of the adults and children around him. He had no desire to talk to them either. His mind was so polluted that he could not even think clearly while gazing at the scenery on either side of the road.

After finishing one song, I still didn't feel like relaxing, and within half a minute, another song came on. It was unbearable for four or five minutes, and then the song ended, and I felt relaxed for a few seconds. It didn't last long. Within a short time, another song came on again.

I wondered if I should stop at the end of one album. I didn't. The next album I added was even worse.

When the worse record ended, I changed the record and turned it on. I prayed for a calm, peaceful melody. But my prayer was incomplete. All that came out was a throat-scratching, hissing sound.

Every time a song ended, one of the fans in the car would ask, “Whose song should I play?” “Which song should I play?” without hesitation. The names of the artists and singers they asked for were so foreign to him that he didn't know or remember them.

He does not underestimate the role of modern music and stereo music. Sometimes, when he goes out into the city, when he sits in a tea shop, when there is a charity event in the small neighborhood where he lives, he listens to the songs he hears without understanding the meaning. Now... "What songs are these? They really bother my ears."

When I got off the bus to visit Shwe Maw Daw Pagoda in Bago, I couldn't help but sit next to Ko Hla Saung, who was sitting in the front of the bus with his family, and couldn't help but talk to him.

"These are the albums that the travelers brought with them. They're popular with young people."

Ko Hla Saung said lightly, "I'm going to the bathroom."

Saying this, he left his room.

He was left alone, limping at the feet of the Buddha.

He thought about it as he climbed the pagoda and turned around. He thought that the only way to solve this problem was to openly oppose it.

"Shut up, my ears are getting hot," he said, firmly and firmly.

"Oh, it's good to travel, just to be a little bit more relaxed," he said in a pleading tone.

Well.. no matter how he talks, he will definitely clash with the other passengers. He might even end up alone. There were three or four passengers his age among the passengers, but it was clear that they would take their children with them as they pleased. There was no one who could accompany him.

He sighed..

It's hard. Thinking about it carefully, all the other passengers were the ones who had paid Ko Hla Saung a lot of money to ride. Only one person was going to ride the bus for free and have dinner with Ko Hla Saung and his family, the host.

In fact, is it a situation where only those who have to compromise should compromise?

After visiting the Buddha in Bago and heading towards Khampyin Natnan, he had lost all ability to tolerate the sounds.

What should I do? Should I continue the journey? Should I just get off in Bago? Should I stay?

Even as I was thinking, the car had already reached the outskirts of the city. I couldn't help it anymore.

Finally, he made up his mind. As the car approached, he had to find a way to escape the sounds.

At that moment, a realization came to my mind.

He fumbled with his hand for his backpack.

Hey.. I found it. A little cotton ball wrapped in a small plastic bag.

About four days ago, I had a bad upper toothache, so I bought a bottle of Chinese toothache medicine from a roadside pharmacy and put it in. The medicine bottle contained a small amount of cotton wool, and the toothache was relieved. I put the extra cotton wool in my coat pocket. The cotton ball was stuck to the corner of my coat pocket.

He happily took the cotton ball out of the plastic bag, divided it into two pieces, and then carefully inserted it into each ear.

It's finally getting sunny. Huh...

The cotton padding prevented the music from reaching his ears at all. Although not completely, the ear pain was significantly reduced.

He smiled contentedly. "I'll have to find a way if I have to." Then he closed his eyes, leaned his head back, and rested comfortably.

He was overjoyed to be able to regain some of the joy of traveling.

He has been freed from the torture of the burning, wild, and harsh sound of music. He has been given the opportunity to write a short story. He thinks. A poem. A realistic novel that reflects the times.

One thing is difficult....

Because his ears were blocked, he couldn't hear the voices of the people around him.