Golden Peacock - Collection of Short Stories, Volume One

Chapter (1)

A traveler who travels by rain

On a cold morning during the month of Nattaw, the Sagaing-Myitkyina railway is moving from Nabhar Station towards Myitkyina.

`` From the moment the train passengers passed stations such as Kaw Lin and Wun Tho, their non-Burmese appearance and the language they spoke became more and more erratic from station to station. But when they passed Napa station, passengers who spoke Shan rather than Burmese appeared in droves. When they reached stations such as Ma Lu and Maw Han, clothes and accessories such as bags, hats, loose trousers, and cotton shirts began to dominate every train carriage.

At some stations, as soon as the train arrives, it is heartwarming to see passengers, father and son, brother and sister, running around shouting and screaming, trying to get in through the windows without even thinking to open the doors, fearing that the train will leave.

When such a passenger gets on the train, he stands up, sits down, bends over, looks outside, sits on the platform, and is restless, so it seems that this is the first time he has ever traveled by train.

It was winter in the month of Nattaw, and the area was cool, with a gentle breeze blowing through the windows. However, the passengers on the long journey looked up from their sleeping blankets, looking confused by the noisy voices of the new Shan passengers.

Some, as if they were on a long journey, continued to sleep, while others, giving up on the idea of ​​falling asleep, sat up from their beds with their eyes wide open and their mouths wide open.

The Shan passengers, however, seemed to pay no attention to anyone's complaints and kept shouting and greeting their friends who had been left behind at the station.

The train, which had to travel by the light of the lamps until it reached Nabar Station, was moving unsteadily, as if it had to crawl “faintly” in the dim light caused by the snow after the lamps were taken away at Nabar Station.

In a third carriage, a group of passengers, as soon as the train arrived at Mawlu Station, bought and ate the food that was popular with the common people, such as sticky rice and fried fish, and then began to tie up their tiny little bedbugs. Judging by their poor clothes, it was clear that they were quarry workers from Mogaung.

In one corner, two policemen were shyly eating the bottled tea and biscuits they had bought at the station.

Judging by the way the miners occasionally glanced at the two of them and the way they whispered to each other, it seemed that the miners had a mixed sense of disgust and fear, as if they were looking at the police like snakes.

In another corner, there was a passenger who was traveling alone, showing no signs of wanting to mingle with anyone.

The traveler was about thirty years old, with a lively demeanor, a compact body, and a pure appearance.

His originally fair skin had become a dull, sallow brown due to the many teeth he had eaten. His eyes were very clear, bright, and sharp, with a flicker of color under their dark eyes, making him almost endearing when he was at ease, and terrifying when he was angry.

However, the large, round glasses with black buffalo horn frames often masked the intense color of his eyes, sometimes hiding his harsh, stubborn nature from onlookers.

His strong jaws and thin, firm lips, as if announcing a mind that could not be easily seduced, made it clear that those who dared to act against his will should be prepared to meet with danger like those who teased a cobra.

The passenger ate the coffee and two biscuits he had brought in a thermos, then opened the window and looked outside.

Yesterday, whenever I looked out the window, I could see fields covered with crops as far as the eye could see, but now I could see tall mountains, sometimes close to and sometimes far from the railway line, coming closer and closer.

The streams also flowed under the railway tracks every hundred yards or so, and the sounds of them gurgling and gurgling as they crossed the bridges were so annoying that they made the passengers want to sleep.

The strange traveler, unwilling to endure the sharp, cold wind coming in through the window, closed the window, reached into his coat pocket, and pulled out a small, silver-colored revolver.

The traveler quickly put the gun back in its holster, took out a cigarette from another bag, filled it with medicine, and was about to take a drink. When a young stonemason sitting opposite him saw the gun, he asked,

Quarryman: "What's the matter, friend? What are the guns?"

The traveler..(with a slightly embarrassed expression, seeing what he didn't want to see) "The place I came from is bad, I don't need a religion."

Stone.. “Where are you from, friend?”

"Hey, you've heard that the smaller the hole, the more sapphires come out, right?"

Kyauk.. “Have you heard? It’s a place where bad people gather. Besides, have you been here before?”

Ree.. "I've never been there."

Stone.. “Where are you going to get off?”

"I'll get off when the rain is good."

Stone.. "To stay longer?"

Ree.. “Yes, just to be ready. Why?”

Kyauk.. “If there are six bullets in the small hole, then in the good rain, there will be twelve bullets. You will know when you arrive. Are you on the government's side?”

"Are you asking about the revolver? It was an era when anyone could borrow money to pay for the war. I'm not from the government, I'm just a guy who works for a living."

Kyauk.. “What business have you come for now?”

"I'm just going around, I heard there are jobs in this area, so I thought I'd give it a try."

Stone.. “Haven’t you heard anything about this place?”

"Ree.. "If you don't hear anything unusual, why?"

Kyauk.. “I’ll hear you when I get there. Do you have any friends?”

Ree.. “Not yet, but I have a connection to make friends.”

Stone.. "How is it connected?"

"Hey..I'm from a rough gang, why is it so hard to make friends where we gang members are?"

As soon as he heard those words, the quarryman glanced towards the nearby travelers.

The other passengers were talking loudly, as if they were talking to each other, and the two policemen were seen walking along, their stomachs rumbling and their bodies looking sleepy.

Then the quarryman approached the traveler, turned his back to the others, stretched out his arms, and said, "Guess... guess."

Then the gunman and the passenger stretched out their arms in the same way, and then, with their left hands touching each other's right hands, they shook and shook three times.

Then the miner moved his right hand to his left eyebrow and pressed it with two fingers. The traveler raised his left hand to his right eyebrow and pressed it with two fingers.