Min Thein Kha - Ma Aung Yin

Chapter (1)

If you can't do it alone

One day, five people were chatting in the shade of a large textile factory called "Shwe Gae" on the Kukkai side of Yangon. Only one of the five was a man, and the other four were women. The man was Than Maung, the driver of the Shwe Gae factory. Three of the four women were factory workers, and the other was a recently hired factory clerk, Ma Kaley Ma Myat Hla. The five of them were sitting in the shade of the factory, eating their breakfast. They were opening their rice bowls and eating breakfast. After eating, they washed their rice bowls and rice dishes, and then went inside the factory to talk about the cars they had come across.

“Here is Than Maung’s..., Ma Aung Yin Gyi is back at the big house.”

A worker named Kula asked, and the driver named Than Maung answered.

"Don't mention that, Ma Kala Ma's Ma Aung is back. He even knocked me out when he came back tonight..."

He replied.

"Wait a minute... this old woman, has she lost weight or gained weight..."

Than Than, a worker, said.

“Here is Than Than, not too thin. Not too thin, just the same as before..., there is one thing, the skin has turned a little brown..."

"Ko Than Maung replied. Then the maid named Ma Khin Thein said,

“I really want to meet Ma Aung Yin Gyi. Anyway, when I get off work in the evening, I will go to the mansion before I go home. I will meet Ma Aung Yin Gyi and I will not go back until I see her.”

He said in a determined tone.

“Aung Malay... Khin Thein, you are not the only one who is being scolded. We are the same. If we meet Aung Yin Gyi, we will not return, hey.”

"Makulama shouted."

Then, the writer Ma Myat Hla, who was constantly looking at this person's face, that person's face, listening to what that person said, and listening to what that person said...

"Who is this Ma Aung Yin Gyi you are talking about?" Ma Kul asked.

“Ma Aung Yin is not just another person, hey... she is a housemaid at our machine tycoon's house in U Myo, Daw Khin Ma. But we love her very much. We respect her very much. She is only 36 years old, and when she is here, she comes here about two days a week, and she cleans the tycoon's office...*

He explained.

"Wait. Where did that Ma Aung Yingyi of yours go?"

Myat Hla asked again, and Khin Thein replied,

          "Don't talk too much... Kalama, Myat Hla is not a working woman like us. She is also the niece of the rich man U Myo. Don't forget that."

Myat Hla warned...

"Even though Ma Win Thein says she is the cousin of the rich man, she can't even call him a niece because she was born to the younger sister of Bagyi Myo, and she doesn't live in the house, she lives in the servants' quarters," Ma Ku La replied...

          "It doesn't matter whether she's a cousin or a real niece, I'll say what I have to say. I'll just tell the truth," he replied. Then Ma Khin Thein

          "Now... tell me what you want to say..." he replied. Then the camel licked her lips with her tongue and

          "Ma Aung Yin Gyi works at the rich man's house for 50 cents a month, after completing a year's training and signing a contract. I have been working on a contract for three years, year after year. The rich man's eldest daughter

"Because my father doesn't like it, I don't keep it at home, so Mawbi is going to be a gardener in the yard..."

If you say so, Myat Hla

          "I've never heard of a woman guarding a yard. Isn't that what men do, sister?" he replied.

          "Yes, Ma Aung Yin Gyi was alone in the compound. It's called a mahout, but it's not in the city, it's in the forest, there's no fire. There's no water. It's called a compound, but it's not fenced. It's a real forest. Even a decent man wouldn't dare to sleep in that compound. It's just a mean and cruel thing to do," Ma Kala said. Then Than Maung, the driver,

          “The farm is about three acres, covered with mango trees and cashew trees. I don’t even dare to stay here during the day. I feel like I can’t stay here, so I run away. But Ma Aung Yin Gyi didn’t run away. He was really brave, he was there. After about four months of leaving him, I went to that farm in Thathi U Myo. We cut bamboo and built a fence, and we put up a small hut, and it was very noisy. The hut was beautiful, and I have to say that the well was also built. We have made a bed and planted yams, cabbages, and onions. When they left Ma Aung Yin Gyi, they didn’t make any arrangements for her to eat. Ma Aung Yin Gyi had to try to find it herself.

"I even served him rice with kyats, and I made him a six-course meal of fish rings with cashew nuts. Don't tell me it's so good. And Ma Aung-rin, what's so special about the fish paste pots?"

          He said enthusiastically.

          "Wait a minute... U Than Maung, I didn't give that Ma Aung Yin anything to eat or drink, so how did that Ma Aung Yin live in the first few days?" Myat Hla asked.

          “That’s what I want to know. I asked Ma Aung Yin Gyi about it. Not far from Ma Aung Yin’s farm, there is a small mountain range, and there is an old pagoda. There is a small monastery near the pagoda. There is an old monk living in the forest. I went to the old monk and asked for alms and asked for the leftover rice and ate it. I borrowed knives and shovels from that old monk, and then I started cleaning the farm. That monk, Ko Gyi, told a poor old lady named Daw Phyu, who was from Kala Gyi Kone, where he received alms, to go with Ma Aung Yin Gyi. That old lady went and stayed with Ma Aung Yin Gyi. Some of the monks’ followers who lived near the village also helped Ma Aung Yin Gyi. Later, when Ma Aung Yin Gyi’s farm produced vegetables, Ma Aung Yin Gyi went to sell them at the Mawbi market in the morning. With the money she earned, she bought four bags of rice and lived with Daw Dwe Phyu and two of them. "They ate and drank, and besides eating, they could even offer alms to that old monk. At first, they had to go and fetch water from the monastery in a pot and use it. Then they dug the well themselves. It took about a thousand hands to dig it, and then the monk's disciples helped them dig it because they knew it."

          "The driver, Than Maung, said enthusiastically."

          "My dear...Uncle Than Maung, if I were to live alone like that Ma Aung Yin, I would die of fear of ghosts," Myat Hla said.

          "Ghosts are scary, snakes are very dangerous, and it's not easy for a woman to hide. That's why my uncle

          “Ma Aung Rin Gyi.., aren’t you afraid that a bad guy will come and do you harm?” he asked. He pulled out a dagger from his belt and showed it to me. “Ma Aung Rin Gyi is very brave.”

          "Myat Hla, who was listening with interest, opened her eyes wide.

Then Than Maung Gyi

          “Mr. U Myo was also very surprised at Ma Aung Yin Gyi. U Myo thought Ma Aung Yin Gyi would say something negative. I don’t think Ma Aung Yin Gyi was even trying to torture him by sending him like that. I can’t tell if he remembered that he was sending him for recreation. When he returned, he loaded a banana, fifty mangoes, five cabbages, and a bag of roasted cashew nuts onto the car. Then U Myo asked, “Hey Ma Aung Yin, why are you working so hard to plant and harvest?” Ma Aung Yin Gyi replied, “It’s for people to eat…” “And the bananas are good too. What will we do if a thief comes and steals those bananas at night?” said Ma Aung Yin Gyi from U Myo. “If a thief comes and steals, the thief gets to eat the bananas, the thief’s wife gets to eat them. His children get to eat them too. The words I said earlier, ‘people get to eat them,’ refer to the thief who comes and steals them and his family.”

          "Hey," he replied. U Myo was speechless and was about to return. When they got to the car, he said one word: "She's very special, she's not an ordinary woman..." He continued for a long time. At that time, the girl

          "Ha... I will live long. Speaking of him, there is Ma Aung Yin, right..." he said, and the rest of the people looked towards the factory entrance and saw a tall, handsome, and handsome driver. When they saw Ma Aung Yin, dressed in a black cotton suit and a red cotton shirt, walking calmly (or without any reason), with a small cloth on her shoulder, the driver Than Maung, Ma Kula Ma, Than Than, and Ma Khin Thein went to Ma Aung Yin. Myat Hla ran after him. When Ma Kula Ma, Than Than, and Ma Khin Thein got close to Ma Aung Yin, they hugged her. They kissed her. Then they pulled Ma Aung Yin to the shade of the factory where they had been. Ma Aung Yin also asked her about her family's health and living conditions. Then, Ma Kala introduced Ma Aung Yin to Myat Hla.

"The driver looked at Ma Aung Rin from head to toe,

          "I feel sorry for Ma Aung, who is alone in the dark forest..."

          When I said that, Ma Aung Yin

          "Loneliness means not having anyone else around you or not having a companion. That is not loneliness. So you cannot use the word loneliness. If you really want to say that I am alone, I am never alone in my life. If I am, I will be alone. Loneliness is a state of weakness. Being alone is not weakness. Being strong. I think the result of being alone is that you can truly see how your life is. That is why saints who seek the Dhamma often live alone..."

          I said.//