Masandar - Five short stories

The Sabbath he observes

Her real name, which her mother gave her, was Malay Khin. Thinking about the name for the small fried food shop in the city market, she added a little more. Not much. Just one little girl. Adding a little girl next to the letter “Ma” made the name ‘ Mya Lay Khin ’ seem cute. Her two nieces were worried, “I wonder if it’s too similar to the name of the group An Eint.” “If An Eint comes to hire me, the leading lady is Daw Lay,” they laughed. However, I don’t know how the name Mya Lay Khin and mango tea and fried food came together. It’s true that the number of customers and sales are increasing day by day.

And the good news is that her real name, Malay Khin, has disappeared and everyone calls her Mya Lay Khin. What's even better is that the word " Mya Lay Khin " in front of the name "Mya Lay Khin" does not include the suffix "Daw" or "Ma" to indicate age. Therefore, adults, young people, and children all call her "Mya Lay Khin". They themselves do not seem to distinguish whether it is a shop name or a person's name. They seem to remember it together with the shop and the person.

Now, my two nieces and nephews have both graduated and are approaching thirty. He... well, he's also in his late forties, approaching fifty. His hair is graying and he has to dye it. His eyes are getting blurry and he has to wear glasses.

With the combined efforts of two young nieces and an elderly aunt, their tea shop is still doing well.

"Well... I'm lost in the tea, tea, and tea forest, thinking of tea as God, thinking of tea as Dharma... How long have you been waiting?"

When reading the obituaries in the newspaper, Mya Lay Khin was somewhat shaken by the sight of people younger than her in line. She remembered that although she had forgotten Death, Death would not forget her.

"God... God"

"Tomorrow is the Sabbath."

He said, “The market is closed.” The two nieces added, “Yes.” Their market has been closed every Sabbath since he started running the market about twenty years ago. In the past, when the market closed on Sabbath, the three of them would run to the cinema together. Then they would rent a video. The video was even more enjoyable because you could skip the scenes you didn’t like, rewind the scenes you liked, and do whatever you wanted. .

“I rented a house of love, I have eight movies, I have to watch them all day long.”

The eldest sister said. The younger sister said, “I’ve been missing my brother for a long time.” The Korean movie had already ended, but their sister still wanted to watch it again without interruption. Their sister didn’t like it either. She also loved Ji-in. She also liked my brother. But she wasn’t my favorite. Her only crush was the director.

"Auntie will observe the fast tomorrow,"

"Hmm.. really"

The two nieces were surprised. Well... they were surprised. He had forgotten God and the Dhamma for a long time.

"Yes... I will observe the Sabbath every Sabbath from now on."

As I promised myself that I would fast, the first thing I thought to myself was, “What will I cook tomorrow?” Since I have to cut down on two meals, isn’t it important that the one meal I eat is tasty?

"Early in the morning, I'll buy some bread and eat it, or I'll eat some fried rice. If the rice is big, the chicken is also good. Would it be good to cook pork with a lot of broth? Would it be good to stir-fry fish? Would it be good to cook fish with gourd and eggplant? Or if I cook sweet eggplant and sour pork and eat dried fish, it would be delicious. Dishes... just thinking about it makes me hungry for rice." Mya Lay Khin unconsciously swallowed his saliva.

"When it's time to go to Ko Sampra, I'll run to the fish market for a week."

Ko Sampra is a market keeper with a very ugly face. Not only is he ugly, but he also has a very bad temper, so all the marketers unanimously give him the title of Sampra. The market is supposed to close at six o'clock, so at half past five Ko Sampra is already at the market, circling the market.

When Ko Sampraa and Mya Lay Khin were asked to buy their groceries in a calm manner, the five-year-old mother, Ame Pu, Daw Daw Aye, and the Chinese women were all in a frenzy. If they had to buy them for the next day, they would have to spend the money on ice, so they would have to sell the remaining meat and fish on the market stalls and sell them by the pound. Mya Lay Khin and her family were also waiting for that moment.

"Hey.. Mya Lay Khin has arrived. I'm going to take both halves of the chicken, right?"

The chicken peeed and said goodbye. Every time, I just cut up the chicken and took it away. At home, I just washed it thoroughly and boiled it. It was already boring to eat just boiled chicken.

"There are only fifty pieces of pork left. I'll give you a discount."

"There are a few shrimp left, take them all and give me one thousand two hundred."

"I have five tons of pork belly. If there are buyers, I will sell it. If there are no buyers, I will cook it and feed it to the children at home."

After chickens, pigs, and shrimps, Mya Lay Khin's attention was drawn to catfish. Catfish is hard to eat. It's rotten. It's so delicious that you have to wash it with tamarind and Nana paste to remove the rottenness, so it's been a long time since I bought it or ate it.

"I thought I would get more because I wore a lot of big gold bracelets, but I hit them hard, sister. When I took them, I only got four. These four are the only ones left..."

Mya Lay Khin looked down at the catfish, their heads shaking and twitching, and remembered the saying, “The catfish always loses.” She wondered when the catfish would change their minds, and she said, “Hmm… you’re the big guys,” and turned her face away. She glanced at the shrimp hooks on the other side and prepared to take a step. At that moment, the fisher raised the knife in his hand and slashed it with the knife for a split second. Then, she said, “I’m not alive, sister. Here,” in unison. She picked up the dead fish and threw them into the scale. “Fifty-five kyats, five kyats removed, only fifty kyats. At the price of two thousand six hundred, fifty is one thousand three hundred, one hundred less. One thousand two hundred,” he said quickly and loudly. Mya Lay Khin said, “Hey... wait, who said that I would buy it, but it’s so expensive,” and as he turned to leave, another two hundred kyats fell. “Well... I didn’t say that the catfish is worth losing money to the fish. I think the buyer said it,” Mya Lay Khin smiled as he thought about it. Since the price was also reduced, the buyer’s price was already quite high.

"Well.. would it be better if I fried the catfish with a sauce? Would it be better if I made it thin? Would it be better if I cooked it in oil and covered it with a few leaves of coconut milk? Would it be better if I cooked the catfish with tamarind juice?"

Mya Lay Khin imagined frying four catfish, filleting them, cutting them into pieces, and then slicing them into pieces. When she saw the leaves of the fish and the pickled cucumbers in the vegetable section, she decided to make the fish. She would slice the meat and cover it with a little bit of green leaf. She would make a pickled cucumber and the leaves of the pickled cucumbers. The taste of the pickled cucumbers and the pickled cucumbers was extraordinary. She thought that the sweetness of the fish, the sourness of the pickled cucumbers, and the sweet smell of the pickled cucumbers were in perfect harmony. She bought three small watermelons and five small eggplants from a girl who was selling them on the ground. The unripe watermelons were even sweeter than the canned ones, and all three of them liked them.

"Well... there's one important thing left, the Yeyo leaf... Well, it's incomplete without the Yeyo leaf."

Yeyo leaves are a rare commodity. You can sometimes find them for sale in the market, but not always. If you can find them with large, flat leaves, they are perfect for his catfish curry.

On the way home in the evening, Mya Lay Khin did not take the bus home as usual, but got off in the middle of the road. She put the shopping bag into the hands of her younger niece, who was looking at her in surprise, and said, “When you get home, hold the fish. Auntie, I have to come here for a while.”

The roadside garden is U Hla Maung Win’s. It doesn’t look like he planted it deliberately. Yeyo, dogwood, and thorny plants grow there. He has poor eyesight, poor hearing, and a bad speech. I once asked him for dogwood leaves. He picked about five leaves and said, “If you planted them yourself, how can you ask for them?” Mya Lay Khin thought to himself, “I didn’t plant them myself,

"I won't beg you anymore," he replied shortly.

"It's not that I don't ask for it, I don't take it, I can't eat it all by myself, I'm not selling these leaves at a high price. I'm just picking them for free, and I don't even know if I'm going to pick them from outside the yard."

Mya Lay Khin had already reached out and picked the leaves of the yeyo and dogwood trees that were lying outside the yard three or four times. Now, he found some large, thin yeyo leaves. He reached out and grabbed them.

He also reached the yard and the old man went back into the house, so he was quite ready. He approached the yard without hesitation and pulled it with force, but not only the leaves but also the branches broke. The sound of the branches breaking was quite loud. U Hla Maung Win could only hear him.

"Well... the branches are bare, how could I possibly do that? I didn't ask for it out of a desire to break it, I didn't... I didn't pick it myself."

Mya Lay Khin immediately released him.

Yes. If you don't forgive yourself, who will come along and forgive you? Just take the small branches you want and throw them in the ditch, and you won't have to think about it again.

“Hey, the leaves are so clean, so good

“I found it ready at the top of the road, and I remembered buying catfish.”

Mya Lay Khin said calmly. It was true that he found me ready at the top of the road. It was true that he remembered the little catfish, so I was satisfied that there was not a single mistake in his words.

"If it rains tomorrow, you must take a shower early in the morning, apply Thanaka, and then take the vows. You can't live with a pale face. It's not good to take the vows and then apply Thanaka."

He not only needs to apply Thanaka but also needs to draw eyebrows. His eyebrows are thin and sparse, so if he doesn't apply some makeup or help with it, his face without eyebrows will look dull. ... He also needs not only eyebrows, but also lipstick. He doesn't use bright red colors like children, but he usually wears a light pink. His lips are pale and pale, and he looks like he has anemia, so I think he looks like a fool if he doesn't apply lipstick at home or outside.

So the next day, with Thanaka from head to toe, eyebrows drawn, and lipstick on, Mya Lay Khin, carrying a small Yogi bag on her shoulder, sat down and took the precepts. All three of them were market traders, so they did not stay at home. They did not have alms-giver at home. So it was even more satisfying to sit down in front of the temple and take the precepts in the presence of the Buddha himself. However, when she could not memorize the eight precepts and had to read them from a book, she begged in her heart, “Please forgive me, Venerable.”

In reality, it was the seven precepts that were causing him trouble.

“Nissa, Gita, Vadaita, Visuka, Dasana, Malagandha, Vilepana, Dharana, Mandana, Vibhutsanadhana, Veeramani Sikhpadam Samadhiyami”.. is the verse. Not only do they not recite the precepts in order, but they also do not know what meaning each Pali word refers to. In general, they understand that they should not apply Thanaka, do not spread flowers, do not sing songs, and do not watch movies.

After taking the eight precepts, Mya Lay Khin felt safe, as if she were protected by the blanket of virtue.

After taking the vows, he went into the kitchen. He took out the salted fish from the refrigerator and cooked it himself. His two nieces, apart from the fried chicken, were not very reliable.

The two nieces, while eating pickled vegetables, talk about the movie stars. There are also many actors and actresses from Myanmar. Their current obsession is the young prince from the house of love. His real name is “Rain So”.

"Hey..he's a really good singer too. I even borrowed his album."

"The place is very tall."

"Boy is also strong."

"Well, how good Rain is, Mya Lay Khin is a good director," he thought, smiling faintly. He couldn't help but remember the good director who knew his beloved's preferences and was so kind.

"Director Yin is the best."

"The guy is good too"

"Okay... that's fine, but I'm just talking about what's good for you."