Uttaralamin - Magazine short stories that are popular with the public

Twenty-four miles from Magway, twelve miles from Natmauk, is Kyarkan village. It is the end of Magway Township, a large village. The villages of Tamalangpin and Takwan in Natmauk Township, as well as the villages of Laytaingsin, Phogyi and Natya in Myothit Township, make the Kyarkan bus terminal on the Magway-Natmauk road busy both day and night. The bus terminal has a variety of restaurants, bars, cold and tea shops, snack shops, noodle shops and betel nut shops. It is not as grand as the shops on the Yangon-Mandalay highway, but it is quite complete in its size.

At the bus station, there are always cart drivers and carts waiting for Magway and Natmauk, so sales are not bad. The shops at the bus station sell cold drinks and tea, and if you want, they also sell alcohol. The person who usually sits at that shop every evening is Sayar Beda. Kyarkan village is a large village with seven villages in the group, so there is a high school. There is also a hospital. Sayar Beda is a teacher at Kyarkan school. What is special is that when he was a primary school teacher, he was a middle school teacher, and now he is a high school teacher.

It is a fashion in Kyarkan Seik to see Sayar Beda, who is enjoying a cup of cold tea at the “Ko Naing” shop mentioned earlier after school in the evening. He is a dark-skinned man with a strong face and a good height, so people do not think that he is a teacher.

The character is like a villain in a forest play. The character is also bad. Let's talk. Is it really a good thing? Being hit on the back with a whole palm tree will make you feel better. Talking to him is not easy if you are not ready. Well.. The class is pretty good. The students, the other teachers. The teachers also say that. The students call him Sein Veda Gyi in secret. When he gives a lecture, his voice is harsh.

So think about it. The principal and teachers of Kyaukkan School, one after another, no teacher or teacher was more afraid of the students than he was. When he walked past, everything from kindergarten to grade ten was quiet, completely silent. Not to mention, even the barking dog in the school stopped barking. Really... Really, Teacher Beda is over forty years old. He is still a bachelor. His parents are no longer around. He lives with a sister. He has already influenced his brother-in-law, nephews, and nieces. And he is not a person who is prone to any strange things, so it is okay. His job is to teach, to sit at Ko Naing's shop in the evening, to do whatever is necessary at school, that's all. You could say that he is not worried, not worried, and not worried.

But Teacher Beda's face is not good these days. Ko Naing thinks that he is more unhappy than happy. He doesn't dare to ask. He is afraid of the teacher. He and his wife, Naw Kyi Htwe, were both students of Teacher Beda. He even left the money for tea and cigarettes on the table before he dared to take it.

I remember asking for it because it was cheap. Sometimes, even when the teacher was there, the guests who didn't know the reason would drink it in the cup, but they would show their faces and faces and then sell it. Don't be rude, don't talk, drink it and go back. They still pretended not to sell it because it was milk. Even then, if the teacher turned around with a bad face, both the husband and wife would be scared. That kind of thing.

"Are you okay, teacher?"

Ko Naing didn't dare ask the question until he was in front of the teacup and had taken a sip. He had taken a sip. Teacher Veda had adjusted his favorite teapot and was about to ask, "What's the point?" If he asked, Teacher Veda would turn around and say, "Okay." He would nod his head once or twice. Then he would walk towards the road and stare. This was the custom.

That evening, when I saw Mama Mama and Teacher Veda coming, I already poured the tea and turned to leave. I was watching from a distance to see if Teacher had taken a sip or not. Teacher usually drank the first sip while it was still hot. The rest was cold and only the juice was left in the cup. Now, he swallowed it whole. Ko Naing was still opening his mouth to ask. Teacher Veda called out to him.

"Come on, Nga Naing."

"Yes, sir, I don't know why."

The teacher didn't say anything to Ko Naing, just looking at the scene in front of him. Not knowing what he was looking at, Ko Naing didn't know what to say. He just stared blankly at his teacher.

"Did you see it?"

Look... it's hard to see. I don't know what to look for. People were walking here and there at the bus stop. There were two cars parked, so there was a big crowd of people getting on and off. Ko Naing scratched his head, not knowing what to say, so he asked again.

"See you, man?"

"Yes, sir... what is it?"

Teacher Beda frowned and looked back at Ko Naing.

“There’s a wind blowing, that guy... that guy”

"Aw... you're beautiful, sir."

"Well..."

Sayar Beda, as if he had just gotten the answer he wanted, sighed and straightened his cigarette. Hla Min was wearing long pants and a short cloth on top. I don't know which driver gave him this. A large, round necktie hung loosely around his neck. He also had two children's revolvers on his waist. He walked up and down the street. When he came near someone he couldn't find, he pulled out the revolver from his waist and shot him with a shotgun. If some old women were startled, he would scream. Those who saw this were all gathered around. This was now a common sight at the bus station, so the people at the shop didn't think it was unusual.

“Hla Min is the same, sir. He comes to the bus station in the morning and returns in the evening. I don’t know where he eats. Sometimes he comes to our shop to ask for a cigarette or something. It’s not dangerous, sir. He’s a calm person, so I give him some. The guy who’s been a bit rough lately, sir. Zaw Min lives in the house behind my shop. He’s been breaking into my house. Even the other day, he came and scolded me with a knife in front of my house.”

"Yes, but don't they take care of his house?"

"I'll take care of it, sir. But the old man and the old woman are old people. How can they overcome that resistance? It's not bad, because his brother from the betel nut shop in the east came to pick him up."

As Teacher Beda was thinking, something suddenly occurred to him.

"Why are you coming to scold me?"

“This teacher. This guy thinks that when he hears a cough or a sneeze, he is being challenged. His mother says that he is quietly dozing at home. He says that he is seeing fairies in his imagination. He hears a cough or a sneeze and he is startled and wakes up. That is why he is angry.”

"Well... it's hard, it's hard. Cool... it's possible."

“That day, a customer at my shop was coughing because he was feeling unwell. I challenged him and came out of the shop with a knife in my hand. The customer also said that he had a cold and cough that could not be cured with English medicine or Burmese medicine. Zaw Min, I can’t hear a sound. It’s gone in one go.”

Even the very polite teacher, Beida, smiled. Both Zaw Min and Hla Min were his students. Coincidentally, they both reached the tenth grade. They passed the exams one year apart and for some reason, they both lost their minds. Hla Min used to be a very cold person. He would ask questions and talk. Now he was happy in public. Zaw Min used to be a lively, school-level soccer player. Now he never leaves the house. Oh... unless he hears a cough. Their parents also treat them with teachers from that village and this one, and with magic and other things. They can't get proper treatment from doctors in the city. The poor people are also poor.

"I'm thinking about what to do with it,"

Saya Beda took another sip of his cold tea and said to Ko Naing. Ko Naing listened quietly, wondering what Saya would say next.

“Last week, I met Zaw Min’s father and Hla Min’s mother. They said they would go to Magway or Yangon for treatment. I said I would support them as much as I could. It was as if their sons were being abused, or what their previous lives had done to them, I don’t know. They said it would heal on its own in time. In such a progressive era, Tauk ...........

As Teacher Beda spoke, he became angry and hit him hard. Only then did Ko Naing begin to understand the meaning of the teacher's rather unpleasant expression.

“Just think, Nga Naing. There are many doctors, engineers, and soldiers among my students. There are also many graduates like you who are selling at markets, working as farmers, and growing palm oil. In any case, they are all contributing to themselves, their families, and, more broadly, to the country and humanity in their own way. Now, with these two guys...that's what I feel sorry for.”

Ko Naing stared at Sayar Beda in surprise, who had never spoken to him at length. He also understood Sayar Saetra's sincerity. The teacher didn't seem to want to continue talking about it. He put the tea money in his pocket on the table and lit his cigarette, which was dying. Ko Naing understood. He finished the remaining tea cup and said that his teacher was going to return. At that moment, a car from Nat Mauk arrived. It was a blue sedan. Passengers got off and got on. Some passengers came into the shop and had coffee and milk mixed with water. Some also went out lightly. There were people in the shop next door who were eating snacks, buying betel nuts, and cigarettes. Someone who got out of the car seemed to know Sayar Beda. He saw Sayar Beda standing and talking. After a while, the driver honked his horn, indicating that the car was about to leave. I saw Sayar Beda leaving with a sigh.

(3)

At that moment, I heard a series of panicked screams.

"Do it. With a big stick, with a big stick."

"Hey, man... step aside, step aside"

People were running, people were jumping on the car, and chaos was breaking out. As Ko Naing looked on, Saya Beda, who had just left the shop, stopped and looked at the car.

I don't know where it came from or how it came out. Zaw Min... Zaw Min, I had a big wooden stick in my hand. When I got to the car, I hit the car window with three bangs, bangs. Oh... what can I say, the screams were like the world was ending. The car window seemed to be cracked. The children came out at first, but it didn't shatter like an ordinary window. I think it was the original window. The two monks sitting in the car couldn't tell if they were scared or if they were just too strong. They stared at me with their mouths hanging open and their big eyes wide, not moving their stick.

The people in the shops and the people on the street were the same. No one dared to enter. Sayar Beda quickly took a step towards the car, and then he stopped abruptly. Yes. A disciple is a disciple. Now, if he says something, he will get it. That's not a good feeling. And he has a big stick in his hand. If he says something, it will be trouble. The driver, who had come to his senses, opened the car door and started to run out. Zaw Min, who was banging on the car window, thought he had come out to fight him. He pointed his stick at the driver who got out of the car, trying not to hit him. Some of the women, not daring to look, covered their eyes with their hands. At that moment, a cold, harsh voice came out.

"Hey, man... put down the stick."

Zaw Min's stick suddenly stopped and I looked back. He was standing with his legs crossed like a cowboy in a Western movie, his two hands pointing straight ahead with a revolver. Who's there, Hla Min? I said it again.

"If you put the stick down, put it down. If you don't, I'll really shoot you."

Zaw Min's eyes widened and he reluctantly dropped the stick. The driver didn't know where he was going. He ran away. When Zaw Min dropped the stick, Hla Min put the gun she was holding in her left hand back into her waist. The gun in her right hand was still pointed. Then she walked towards Zaw Min, one step at a time.