Khin Hnin Yu - Late Summer Leaves Remain

Late summer leaves

( 1 )

The winter nights of the Chin Mountains are brutally cold.

The wind blowing over the mountains was too cold to the bone.

Looking out the window of the Falam Hospital, the winter night in Chin Mountain was a mere shadow. Captain Kyaw Min was tired of that cold, dry winter night. However, tomorrow he would be discharged from the hospital. The small pine leaves were shining in the moonlight. He was sick while visiting a Chin captain and was admitted to the Falam Hospital.

He longed to pass the cold winter night. He gazed longingly at the dim moonlight. Gradually, as the silence deepened, the moonlight shone brighter and brighter. He woke up from his slumber. Lovely music floated around him. The music was gentle, the melody was soothing.

"The clouds are covered with snow.. The snow is covered with snow... The wind is gentle.... Only if you can make it... Only if you can pour it back.. Only if you can make it change.."

The music was calling him. He got up from the bed and tried the window. He held the glass door and looked for the musician outside. The lines of the song drifted away.

“Women... Before menstruation, the moon rises... The dark mountains are dark... The golden flowers are blooming... The wind is gentle... I can forget about it....”

I felt sorry for the teacher who was singing the lovely spring night melody with her violin under the pine tree, looking up at the moon. The teacher was Ma Mya Khaing. She was the only one in Falam Hospital who could not speak Burmese. Ma Mya Khaing's eyes were shining in the moonlight. Her face was pale. Her voice was so heartbreaking. He didn't know anything about Ma Mya Khaing, but now it seemed as if Ma Mya Khaing's music was whispering to him about his life.

The music and the violin had stopped and gone. Ma Mya Khaing took the violin and disappeared into the shade of the pine trees. The winter night was silent again. He came to the bed and lazily went back to sleep.

"Commander Kyaw Min, get up."

"Huh?"

He pushed the attacker away with his hand and opened his eyes. The sun was shining through the snow and sliding through the window.

"What, Captain Lin Thanh, I think I'm going too high."

Captain Lin Thang smiled and said, “Yes, I think you slept very well. Both the doctor and Ma Mya Khaing said that you are doing very well. I think I will be able to go down to the hospital today, but I want to rest in the hospital. And Ma Mya Khaing said that I will go to the hospital if she allows me.” “Oh.. Ma Mya Khaing?”

Kyaw Min asked with interest and stood up. “Good, I saw Ma Mya Khaing last night.” “Where is she? Did you meet her last night?”

“No, I saw Ma Mya Khaing playing the violin under the pine tree at night. You are a Chin, so you don’t have a taste for Burmese music. I can’t forget Ma Mya Khaing’s music and Ma Mya Khaing’s image at night.”

"Well, we'll be traveling together all day today. He's ready and waiting. Come on, get your things ready too."

Kyaw Min got up from bed, got dressed, and left the hospital with Captain Lin Than. They arrived at Ma Mya Khaing's house in the hospital compound. The horses were fully loaded. They saw Ma Mya Khaing under the cherry tree. She was wearing a short, dark blue dress and a long-sleeved blue sweater. She had a light blue silk scarf tied around her head.

"Now, let's go get some coffee and go."

Ma Mya Khaing invited them into the house. Ma Mya Khaing was very polite. Captain Kyaw Min was surprised to compare Ma Mya Khaing with Ma Mya Khaing who was polite this morning and the Burmese music of the night. He was thinking about the music of the middle of the night. But Ma Mya Khaing’s steady and bright face did not have any of the childish expressions. After drinking coffee, they went out to the horses. Ma Mya Khaing quickly mounted her horse and led the way. “Oh.. Ma Mya Khaing is an expert rider.”

Kyaw Min was surprised and said, "I'm used to riding, Commander Kyaw Min. In my free time, I have a horse as my companion in these deciduous forests."

Their three horses rode out in tandem. “Are you going to shoot?” “Oh my God.. Commander Kyaw Min, no, it’s not like that. The cycle is too scary, I won’t do it.”

Kyaw Min was surprised by Ma Mya Khaing's words coming out of this picture.

They left the beautiful city of Falam, with its cherry blossoms. The further they got out of Falam, the narrower the roads became, and the three horses could no longer go abreast. Ma Mya Khaing rode steadily in front. The two of them followed behind, talking. They had to leave before the day was over. Kyaw Min did not want to leave Falam. Lin Thang was also unhappy about having to leave his homeland.

Falam is a little gem on the hills. It is a small mountain town with winding red roads. The sun has risen, but the cold has not abated. The road is even rougher. Ma Mya Khaing does not speak to them. She just drives her horse briskly and steadily. Finally, a group of Chin hillmen, pulling horses loaded with supplies, come along, humming their mountain tunes.

Sometimes Ma Mya Khaing would look up at the high mountains. Captain Lin Thang happily told her that a group of people from Falam, as well as the Chin people from Long Bam and Te Tin, loved her. Kyaw Min, at first, was intrigued by everything Ma Mya Khaing did. Sometimes Ma Mya Khaing would disappear into the winding paths of the valley.

“Captain Lin Thang here, Ma Mya Khaing seems to be quite familiar with the forest.”

“Oh, he’s been here for five years. Ko Kyaw Min, he’s from Shan State, so he’s already been around the mountains. I heard Ma Mya Khaing said he’s from Shan State. He takes a good vacation once a year. The doctors