Minko Naing - Every time I look at the moon's face

“I don't want to experience stories anymore, so I don't read novels anymore.”

I rolled my eyes and she asked, “Why aren’t novels made up of stories? Tell me.” I didn’t answer, but instead whispered, “What do you want to read?” She thought for a moment. Then

"Don't think of it as a big deal, it's a journey. It's a way of traveling, how to get there. That's what I'm interested in, you know what I mean."

I shook my head and smiled, "I just understand. Is it local knowledge or travel articles?"

She turned to me with a mischievous smile. "Don't be so rude, I trust you, you're not that stupid, I'm just confiding in you, you're not serious about me, it's sad," she said in disappointment.

He was pleased with my words, but the pain of having felt something didn't seem to go away. Please, I'm serious, so please try to be serious, he said, looking at my face like a mirror. Then, in a low voice,

"I have this opportunity, who else can I get it from? Tell me."

I smile as much as possible.

"Don't worry, when we meet again, I will ask you questions about life and try to answer them. There will be some differences, there will be some things I can't do otherwise. Of course, when we meet again with each other, I can still ask you where you still hurt, believe me."

Her face became as clear as a glass of settled water.

When I first saw it, I was shocked.

I just felt that seeing her was like a pile of dried beans on a shelf.

I was walking with her in a forest school, cool and fragrant with nature. She tried to avoid me in fear. She knew I definitely recognized her, and as if she thought she was no longer interested, she politely said goodbye and turned away. She had changed so much that she didn't want to recognize her normally.

I couldn't help but stare at her, because she had been there for years. It was because I was unfamiliar with the area I had never been to, and because I was driven by things I couldn't name. I didn't recognize her, so I spoke to her in a way that made me say a few words back.

And so that night, I couldn't sleep and thought about her.

In fact, the background is not very clear to tell the story. She and I were just classmates, I don't remember ever talking to each other. We knew each other. If you tell us more, it would be very rare. We would know a little about each other.

She passed the tenth grade and went to university, but she disappeared from my sight. She ran away with her husband, her parents didn't approve and she didn't want to come back, she found out that he had a son and a wife, so she got a legal divorce and returned to her parents. That's all I know. I just have to admit that I felt a little bit of pity for her for a while. And then I forgot about her because I couldn't see her or hear from her. We've only just met again. That's all.

In fact, she was just pretending to be thirsty. As soon as she got a drink from the clear, cool water, she started talking to me like someone who was drinking glass after glass.

"I've been thinking about you all night, and I've finally decided to tell you a lot of things. I'll tell you the reason why I decided to do this, and what I want to tell you now."

I called his full name and said, “Tell me, I’m on a break from work, I’m feeling down, and I’m meeting a friend of mine in a remote area, but I still haven’t said goodbye to him. You’ve been avoiding me for two days, and I’m feeling sick and don’t know what to do. Just tell me.”

She said, "Aye, I was wrong. I was shy and avoiding you. Don't tell me, I want to avoid you in the whole world, but I can't avoid you." She continued, struggling to speak. "Life is like this, don't think too much."

My comforting words refreshed her. "Is it true that I don't even dare to look people in the face anymore?" she asked boldly.

"The whole world is busy with their own work, you're the only one who's crazy."

She thought. "After talking about all the nonsense and nonsense, I'll just say, 'Everyone makes mistakes,'" she said in a low voice.

I said, "That's the difference between a small mistake and a big mistake," and then I remembered that I had made a mistake.

"My mistake was a big mistake," he muttered regretfully.

I felt something strange inside me. I could tell it wasn't that bad. I grabbed the Dhamma book next to him and looked at it.

"Look here, the Buddha said that it was wrong to practice six years of suffering before becoming a Buddha."

"It's not a good comparison," she said, laughing and crying.

“I’m not comparing, I’m just telling you something,” I replied, and she looked at me with a warm smile. In the twilight, she and I walked along the edge of the fields. She seemed embarrassed to see the villagers looking at her. The girl from the city, who had come to rest because she was sick, never left her house. Now, her boyfriend has come to see her. What are the streets like?

I'm already walking. I think the boy is probably thinking about whether he has many girlfriends or not.

"My mistake was a big mistake," he muttered regretfully.

I felt something strange inside me. I could tell it wasn't that bad. I grabbed the Dhamma book next to him and looked at it.

"Look here, the Buddha said that it was wrong to practice six years of suffering before becoming a Buddha."

"It's not a good comparison," she said, laughing and crying.

“I'm not comparing, I'm just stating a point,” I replied, and she looked at me with a warm smile.

At dusk, she and I walked along the edge of the fields. She seemed embarrassed that the villagers were looking at her. The girl from the city, who had come to rest because she was sick, had never left her house. Now, her friend, a boy, had come to visit her. They must be wondering if he was her boyfriend or something.

"I'll be done with the work by the end of this month, so I'll be back. You'll follow me back." She seemed to feel warmed by the way I spoke as if I were giving her orders. "Why do you want me to give you orders?" she asked with a warm smile.

"I'm your friend, what could be more convincing than that?" I said, bragging to myself.

"I'll be done with my work by the end of this month, so I'll be back. Please come back with me."

She seemed to feel warmed by my commanding tone, and asked with a warm smile, "Why do you want me to give you orders?"

“I’m your friend, what’s more convincing than that?” I said, bragging to myself, “We’ve only been talking for a few days, what’s a friend?” he teased. “Don’t change your mind, whether you want to go back or not, that’s all,” the servant scolded. .

She sat down on the sidewalk by the pond, sighed, and said in a broken voice, "What should I do again? I've left because I don't want to be with you anymore."

"What should I not want to face? I can't watch you dry up like this field. I must work hard to make the land green again."

She looked at me with dull eyes and asked, "Did you yourself say that I look like a dried fish and tamarind?"

I had a hard time answering. “You are a little worn out. You are physically worn out because of the worldly things. Just do as I say,” he said, and I sat down next to him. He looked at the dust swirling under the fragrant air and said, “What should I do? My life is dead. It is like a dead tree.” He pointed to a dead tree from a distance.

"Try it," she ignored my reprimand, "People are the most self-aware. I don't have the strength to face the world anymore. Even if it's a dead tree, it's still useful for chopping firewood."

I felt like pushing her away and leaving her.

"He's lying around saying he's sick. Tell your friend, tell him. He doesn't want to eat rice, so he doesn't drink rice porridge, and shakes his head when I make coffee."

My aunt trusted me. The next day, I finished work early and went to their house to go for a walk. My aunt broke down. She grabbed my hand and put it on the roof and wouldn't even leave the room. I asked for help, "You pull me out, call your friend," and I reached the door.

In the dark room like a pitch black bottle, I was curled up with my head and tail wrapped in a blanket. My aunt woke me up and said, "Moe Moe, your friend is here." She pointed to me and asked me to come over. I called her twice. She didn't answer.

“I sat at the entrance of the room, and she covered her head and tail, and we talked to each other.