P'Morning - Five short stories

Neighbor

"Sir... I don't know what's going on in that room right now. They're not talking in a loud, slurred voice. I don't know what's going on with Pattalaji."

Teacher: "Who is it? Why are you so serious?"

Mae Khin. “Who will take it, teacher, Mi Cho and my sister? Usually, I would go to the kitchen to get some salt and pepper, but now I don’t even bat an eyelid.”

"What are you doing?"

“I didn’t do anything, ah… I remember, three or four days ago, the girl from the house, the animal Mi Aye, opened the salt jar in the kitchen. A lizard was climbing on the lip of the jar, and a crow was also trying to peck at it. So I got angry. When I got angry, their laughter stopped. Since then, I’ve been feeling sad.

"I think they're biased."

"These girls are so mean, their brother Chit-Tie is a fool. When we were young, we used to eat and drink one way, and if we didn't eat, we used to fight with their brother. That stupid son of a bitch slapped our sister and went to prison for six months."

"I'm afraid so, sir. We don't want to be close to any of those idiots."

"What should I be afraid of? I have neighbors like us, we have to take care of them. Don't worry about anything. I will make sure they all get under your feet. In the meantime, stay calm and don't worry about anything. I will show you the X-rays. The horoscope hasn't come yet. I need a few days to change to Sunday."

"How long will the teacher stay? Will I have to endure the beatings and the scolding?"

“Wait.. Pretend not to hear, pretend not to know, sometimes laugh and sneak into their room, eat betel nut, don’t dare slap me, I still have it, I will also make a small potion, potion is better, because I need a small potion, I ordered it from a monk in Sittwe, I don’t know when it will arrive.”

"The teacher is never sure, I can't stay long, the rent is already over a month's rent in addition to the deposit, and I'm already angry with the landlord, if it's not milk, I'll move out immediately."

"I have to change because of the box, I'm afraid, I'll give you a week at the most, okay. Tomorrow I'll give you a little baby, I'll put that baby under their bed, so that they can be strong, and at once I'll worship you like a god."

"What if they enter their room and commit a crime?"

"Laughing, I went with the Pharoah. First, I ate the betel nut without asking. I put one in my betel nut bag, and I put the other under my bed. Don't let him know."

"If they see me in the middle of the road, they'll be suspicious of me."

"I don't live in the house, I'll run away when you put me in and cover me, I'll run away from under the bed, I'll just laugh and call you when I enter their room, I won't let them do anything to me, I'll give you a ring on your forehead."

The teacher returned home, cut a small piece of paper from a newspaper, and rolled it up. Then he called Mae Khin and gave it to her. He also patted her forehead with his finger. Then he asked, “What are they doing?”

"I don't know, they were just whispering in the room."

"Hey... come in, what's going on with you two, what's going on?"

"He said and went inside laughing, his forehead already covered in tears... Don't be afraid."

Mae Khin did as the teacher said. When she got to the room, two sisters were lying on their sides on the bed. One was sitting at the head of the bed, pressing her forehead. Mae Khin opened the copper betel nut placed on the chair and put the betel nut in. The betel nut closed, went to the foot of the bed, held the foot of the sleeping person with her hand, said, “Are you cold?”, covered her with a blanket, and put the betel nut under the bed.

The two sisters looked at each other without speaking, but smiled. One...

"Why didn't you cross over to this side room because of your bad luck? You're just now remembering. Why did you come to mind?" he said.

"I'm not getting anywhere. Sometimes I just think about it and wonder, 'What's going on with you, sister?'"

"Why, what if nothing happened, Mom... why, didn't you hear?" "No... I didn't hear, Mom."

"This is my brother, he was arrested for a stabbing, and he has no money to spend."

“That’s hard, I have 15 kyats. Ma Shwe Saw forcibly took off the chemical earrings and gave me some money. Now I only have 15 kyats left. I can use them if I need them. The insurance will cover everything for the baby,” he said, taking it out of his bag and giving it to me.

Chitty was released from prison.

"I will never forget your kindness for the rest of my life. I would risk my life for you. No one should insult my elder sister. Fools are the leaders in this place."

"If you even glance at my older sister, you'll have a gut wrenching experience," he said.

The next day, Mae Khin and the teacher met, and Mae Khin...

“Yes, sir, sir, you are very talented. I felt sorry for you and even gave you 15 kyats,” she said.

Happy Myanmar New Year

Special issue, April 1937