Journalist Mamalay - Selected Short Stories

Are you still hungry? I'm so tired of the rain that I can't even afford to buy it at a reasonable price. I had to pay the fine. I also bought some biscuits from the bakery. Now...

“Win May.. why are you still awake? Is your fever coming back? I wonder if you can hug my neck. Huh... are you crying? I think you have a headache.” - “No problem, Auntie, Win May can get up. Have you bought food yet? Have you talked yet?” she asked hesitantly, reluctant to get up and sat down.

“I told you, if the boss comes, I won’t even get flowers. I didn’t even have to sit at the machine to collect the flowers, I even took half a day off from school because my mother came to pick me up in a big car to give me the flowers.”

"Ah... the minister is coming soon. Did he say that?"

"Hey... I'm drinking a gift of cake. My dears, my dears, my dears, the Prime Minister is coming on the train tomorrow at noon. My dears, you have to dress up and give me flowers. And you have to dress like a princess. My mother has come to sew a dress for me." I said while eating and drinking. Be quick, be quick, be quick."

"It's been a month since I last saw you, so I wanted to see you."

"I've done it again, Win May. Please listen to my words. I'll see if I can make you a big fool again. He's living a good life and... he's not the kind of person who can tell you that he's a daughter or a mother."

Feeling pity for Win May who was crying, he said, "Forget it, Win May... forget it." "I can't have the courage to forget my own daughter.

“Didn’t you think this would happen when I gave you milk?” Win May asked. “I’m asking again. I begged you not to ask me that. If I tell you, I’ll go crazy. If I don’t tell you who my father is and who my mother is, you’ll never know in this life. It’s an impossible life.”

"Is his father still alive? Does his father know that I gave him the money?"

The rain had stopped and Win May opened the awning she had put up. She saw the moonlight shining on the green rice fields, and she couldn't help but feel sad and went away.

"I didn't give it to you, Ari," he said, sounding sad and angry. He didn't look at Ari, but just turned his face towards the field and stared blankly.

'I am at the nursery. Please search, please investigate, I know that they will find out. Besides, I don't know anything. : I'm crying too much, so I don't ask. Don't tell me, Aye.

"Yes. I'm asking because I'm not feeling well," said Auntie Hla, trembling with sadness.

In fact, Ari Hla was a single woman, very happy, but she had no children to support her. When she came to this city, she was wandering around without knowing where she was, and she found refuge only when she met Ari Hla. She even looked after her mother like a child. When she was with her father in Letpadan, she worked with her nieces and nephews near their house. Her father was a government employee, so whenever he went out, he would stay with them at night and watch over them. Since she did not have a mother like her, she loved her very much. Soon, Ari Hla did not get along with her nieces and moved to this city and lived there.

They were separated and then they met when he said that he had a daughter in this city. While he was sick, he lived a life of having to look after everything his aunt had to provide for him.

Win May also threw down the flower and went to her cousin.

I slowly turned around and saw that Su was staring at me with tears streaming down her face. I couldn't control myself anymore and continued.

I'm crying.

'Ari... I'm a little bit bad about myself. I'm not hiding it. I'm so unhappy that I can't talk about it. Ari also doesn't know, a father and a daughter. It was very intense, and ari left the house, and a friend of my father came to our house to investigate whether his son should be admitted to a boarding school in this city. After investigating, he went back and not long after, he brought his son and enrolled him. My father also said that even though you are boarding at the school, you should think of it as your own parents' house, and if you have any problems, come and go, don't be shy. Every Sunday, I used to come to the house. So, I found out that on Sunday, when he came, my father was on a trip. I also didn't have anyone to talk to, so I sat down and talked for a while, and when I didn't show up, I asked him to make coffee, and when he came in, he came and started talking to me, saying things like "I like you." I didn't just talk, but I became violent and violent and robbed him of my love. At this time, I was also angry, I was too embarrassed to scream or shout, so I forced her to leave. When my father came back, I couldn't control myself. He didn't come for three weeks. My father called me back because he had something to do, and since then he's been coming back and forth. My father apologized and after a while I had to accept his love. My father had to move to another city secretly so that my father wouldn't know. At this time, he also finished his exams and didn't come back. One night, they went on a date and he said that he loved me so much that he couldn't break up, and that they shouldn't get angry. He said that if he stayed in college, he would write to me often and come back. Let's say that they broke up since then. .

“Shortly after we moved to the city, I started feeling unwell, so I wrote to him, and he didn’t come to the wrong college, even though he gave me a date. I also cried because I had a lot of things to do. My father didn’t dare to tell me. My father said that when he got there, he got drunk with his friends. At first, he was very angry, but he didn’t say anything about it. So, let’s keep it short. After about two months, I ran away from home and hid with a monk in Sagaing. I didn’t dare to tell my father about it, so I got angry and wrote to him as if he was following me. I applied for school from Sagaing, and after the exams, he wrote that he would come any day, but then he didn’t answer the letter. It was difficult to follow him, and he got into trouble.

What a shame. So when I saw my daughter, the teacher said. I didn't understand either. I told her to go to my sister's house and see her. She was also a widow, a prostitute, and poor. I had to take care of the children I brought. Sometimes I told her that it would be better if these children were not read. She also said that if she had known earlier, she would have destroyed them. One day, towards dusk, I saw the child's face. It was raining. The baby was stillborn. When I said stillborn, I was crying, and I was crying, and I was crying. I didn't want to let her sleep through the day, so I went to the old woman at dusk. I also tried to get her well. I wrote to my father to accept her, saying that my husband was no longer there, but he didn't reply. I sent money when he said he would come later. The day I returned home, my father was not there. When the people who asked me to go to Ko Myat Htun's wedding said, "I'm going to the 30th wedding," I was so shocked. Oh... Dad, I went to the wedding of my son-in-law. I remembered that I didn't know anything and I...

So I was angry and sad because of a very cruel man who didn't come to me, a mean man. When my father came back, he didn't talk to me much, and his heart was not good for a day. Years passed, and the incident was already deep, and he couldn't forget it. After that, my father suddenly passed away, and he broke up with a friend and went to the market. He closed the shop, and he couldn't do anything. When he was in a bad mood, he went to Sagaing and asked his brother, "Is this little girl with someone else?" My brother asked curiously and laughed.

"No, my dear. When I arrived in Sagaing, the old lady, who was staying with the teacher for a while, came to see me one day. If I saw her, she would show me her face and come to me. Who told you, where did you hear it? No, I thought it was strange, so I asked her what she said. Tell me, my dear.

Don't be shy, tell me, my dear, I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I'm sorry... - The child is not buried, I'm still working on burying him in the cemetery, but when he comes back alive, he's still helpless. One of the people who sent him to the cemetery said that he heard the baby crying. When I saw him, I asked him about the benefits. He said that I can't tell the father of this child, and he wants to spend the money.... This child

I brought it to you because I thought it was dead. My mother is also dead, and I have no relatives. They asked me to bury her as if she was dead. You are also crazy about children. When I said that if you want to have children, I will take it, and the old man happily gave me money.

I gave her a small amount and took her away. I also felt sorry for her. I asked her where she was from and she said that she had moved to this city. She had given me 25 kyats to go once and would never come back. She had grown up and was already going to school. She had called me Amar Lay..and so on. I was so sad that I came back the same day. I heard that this old woman had passed away. When I came back, she was in no condition and started smoking. Oh... I was just imagining it. How would my daughter be? Who would she look like? I wanted to see her. I didn't want to tell her. I couldn't bear not seeing her for a long time, so I came here. When I arrived in this city, it was school time.

"I found a school and got into it. I didn't even dare ask, I just met her while I was hanging out in front of the school."

He kept talking about all the things he wanted to say, but he didn't pay attention to his sister. After he finished talking, he looked at his sister and saw that she was in tears. He couldn't control himself anymore and started crying again.

“Oh, let it be fate. It’s not just the men who are being blamed, but the men who are being blamed are also the ones who are being blamed. There are so many of these people that I’m afraid of them these days. Men, men. They are the ones who are being blamed. They are still being called noble because they avoid their mothers and sisters. Let’s answer with the law. Let’s say that the mother is the child’s mother. Is it difficult? And since the other one is called Uwe, the mother is the one who is being blamed, and the other one is the one who is being blamed. Forget it, Fire. Don’t see me, don’t want to see me.”

"Did I ask you?"

"I asked. I asked. I looked at the old woman who came with her grandmother and asked if the old woman who was crying was not coming. I also thought that if her parents heard about it, she would not let me see her. She said she was her grandmother's daughter."

Win May, however, sobbed and said in a low voice, "It would be better if you said this, Bones."

That night, Ari Hla and Win May couldn't sleep, thinking about Ari Hla and Win May. The past flashed back and forth, and Win May, who was in a state of grief, could only comfort her by saying, "Sleep, sleep, daughter." Win May, who loved her daughter and couldn't speak as a mother, lay there, thinking about her problem, exhausted.

Win May was also rolling around and crying, so she pulled the mosquito net on the other side of the bed and woke him up, saying, “Ari Hla, Ari Hla.” “What’s up, Win May?” she asked excitedly. “Tomorrow morning, I’ll go see how beautiful my daughter is. When is it, Ari Hla? I’ll go see how beautiful she is. This is the only time, Ari Hla. I’ll never see her again. I want to see the island. Tell me the time, Ari Hla, tell me,” she said, waving her hand and asking him over and over again. She didn’t want to say it, but she managed to say, “One day.”

The sun was scorching hot. It was hot above, hot below, and my whole body was scorched by the sun. I felt as if I was going to die alive in the burning fire, and I tried to walk as fast as possible towards the station. Every now and then, the sound of a drum beat from the station, which entered my ears and struck my heart, making me feel sad and like I wanted to cry. I kept muttering, “My daughter, how beautiful she is, how lovely she is!” and as I walked, I was trembling.

A large crowd gathered in groups in the yard and outside the station. The closer they got to the sound of the drum, the more their hearts beat.

The crowd, not just one here and there, was gathering in groups, so the court was in a big circle, and there was no space between them, so there was no space. The sun was hot, the crowd was noisy, and the smell was bad. In addition, he had no strength to stand on, and he felt heavy and tired, as if someone had laid on him. He sat down under the shade of a nearby tree for a while... "We're here, we're here," the crowd shouted at once, but he couldn't answer. He was worried that he wouldn't be seen. He pushed with all his strength, but the audience didn't move, and he just sat there, panting.

Finally, unable to help himself, the audience could not see him, and the shame could not be felt anymore, and the daughter, who had been sitting at his feet earlier, carried him to the tree stump where he had been resting, and went away.

Her daughter was dressed in a beautiful dress, a simple dress, and a short skirt, and the diamonds and gold lights were shining all over her body, making her look like a little angel. The two husband and wife, who were called father and mother, were also mocking Win May, who was looking at her daughter with a ponso, a ponso, and a ponso, and Win May couldn't help but feel sad. She felt a little sad that they had taken her place. She couldn't help but want to hug her daughter and kiss her, but her whole heart was filled with love and affection, so she didn't even see the Prime Minister and his wife coming down from the white carriage. She smiled and took the bouquet from her daughter's hand, and then she saw the Prime Minister. Oh my God... my daughter... my father. Oh my God, "Don't you look at me, little one?" he cried, his heart pounding, and he covered his face with his hands. He didn't know what was happening...

The Prime Minister's welcome party was packed with people, some of whom had to watch from a tree because they couldn't find a place to sit. An unidentified woman, believed to be in her 30s, fell from a tree and hit her head. She died on the spot and her body was taken to the hospital.

The Prime Minister and his wife were reading the news about the Prime Minister's welcoming ceremony with smiles and laughter.

Journal Kyaw Volume (9), No. (9), 31-May-19)