Only when the visitor's back was
out of sight did Khin Khin Phyu
finally steal a glance at the
things on the table. One guest
had arrived before she could put
away the gifts the first had
left, so the small table was
nearly overflowing with stuff.
"Mom, what's that?"
The two boys well-trained in the
protocol of staying away from
guests now scampered into the
room.
"Now wait, now wait, you'll get
some, just be quiet and don't
grab."
At
this definite promise of
something to eat, the boys
calmed down. She took up the
blue plastic bag which the first
guest had left "for the
children": out came a large
cake.
"Hurray! It's cake!" the younger
cried out in glee.
"Ko,
can you cut this up and give ~<ime
to the boys?" she called out
foia!.sis- tance to her husband
Ko Thant Zin, who came in after
seeing off the
visitors to the gate. He threw a
side- wise glare at her and
scooping up the empty cups of
coffee, headed towards the
kitchen with the kids in tow,
muttering, "All right! All
right!"
Another package... butter cook-
ies. ..another one, more
cookies.
"Oh dear, why do they give so
much?"
Even as she whispered the words,
she calculated that this lot
would last the children for
three days, at least.
"Now, wait a minute. ..how dare
you ac- cuse me like that? Don't
you dare say a word against my
character." Ko Thant Zin would
get angry.
"No, no. ..J didn't mean I like
that. ..it's just for your sake.
I'm clear of all this nonsense,
there's nothing underhand about
my work but you, since you were
moved to this
position "I never expect
anything in return when I help
people, you know that and I
didn't give them any help that I
shouldn't.1 do only what I can,
and fairly. They're grateful
enough for that. Why, others
would drag out their work slowly
just so as to make it look
complicated, and some even ask
quite openly for bribes...I'm
not that kind."
"Well, it's alright that you
help all you can, but I still
don't think you should take
these things."
"Hey, what makes you think I
want to take them? Now you're
going too far how dare you say
this about me? As if one little
longyi was a bag of diamonds.
...All this darn fuss."
"Yes, I do fuss, so what, I earn
my own way. I never stoop to
bribes, there's never been
anything like that in my family.
...we don't live on handouts."
"You bitch! What d'you think my
family is like? Remember this
we're more honest
than the whole lot of you put
together you're getting worse
with every word."
When Ko Thant Zin started to
roar she knew she had been too
zealous in her attempt to clean
him up and quietly slipped away
from his sight. Actually, she
did so want this man, her man,
to be a character of such
blameless integrity and honour
that she could revere him but in
truth, this man of hers was not
all that bad.
He
supports his family without any
extra income from the side or
from down, up or above, for that
matter. He would hand over his
pay without a penny missing,
every month. He did not go to
the cinema or soccer matches,
did not frequent tea-shops, and
the poor man smokes the cheaper
cheroots instead of cigarettes.
When she finally realized that
there was no way to stem the
flow of fortune, she quietened
her conscience by determining
not to take too great joy or
greed from the things and in
turn would pass on most of the
presents to other people. But
during the past year, as handler
of the family finances, she was,
in spite of herself, able to
calculate that the gifts helped
in one way or the other with the
rigidly controlled bud- get of a
two-person income for a family
of four.
8bbI"
ang... ang... ang. This was Khin
Khin Phyu pounding Tayaw vines
to mix a shampoo. The other
ingredi- ent, a large bowl
offreshly boiled Kinpun fruit,
stood beside her with fragrant
steam rising from the surface.
She hoped no one would come
calling today. Last weekend had
been hectic with people coming
and going so they did not have
any time to wash their hair.
Today is a Wednesday, but being
a public holiday, she thought it
would be convenient for a
leisurely shampoo.
As
she added more water to the
Kinpun mixture she thought
gratefully of her mother- in-Iaw
who regularly sends the Tayaw
vines and Kinpun fruit for the
bag of ready-mixed Tayaw shampoo
she could buy from the market
would hardly wet her own hair.
She thought with pleasure of her
husband's dark, thick, unruly
hair curling down over his wide
brow as she pounded the vines.
."Hei,
Phyu Phyu, d'you mean to wash
your hair on a Wednesday?"
At
the sound of the shrill voice
she turned around to see her
landlady Daw Thaung peer- ing
across the wire netting that
separated the rooms.
"Yes, why? Why not on a
Wednesday?" "Shampoo on a
Wednesday, no luck comes your
way," Daw Thaung quoted a
proverb.
"Rubbish!" she muttered to
herself, as she thought that not
being in trade like Daw Thaung,
why ever should she bother about
luck coming her way or not?
Neverthe- less, considering the
fact that the old lady had meant
it kindly she replied easily
enough.
"We didn't get a chance last
week and our heads are getting
really filthy."
"Well, I suppose you office
people have to make the most of
your holidays." With that remark
Daw Thaung fortunately turned
away.
As
there had not been a peep out of
the two boys or her husband for
some time, Khin Khin Phyu went
out to the front room to check
on them. She saw Ko Thant Zin
sitting with a book in hand,
staring into space.
"Ko,
where are the kids? You'd better
take a look. ..I'm going to have
a bath. 1'1 I leave your shampoo
in the basin."
Ko
Thant Zin started as if from a
dream, and looked up at her.
"I
don't think I'll wash my hair
today and why don't you wait
until Saturday, too?"
"Why? Your hair's starting to
stink,and only this morning you
told me to make the
shampoo...now what on earth..."
Phyu seemed to hear Daw Thaung's
shrill voice in her ear. With
sudden realization, she gave him
a piercing look. ..as the words
July-September
2007
"No luck! No luck!" echoed
loudly inside her head, she
stared in consternation at this
man, her man, as with lowered
eyes he puffed away furiously on
a dead cheroot. O
Translated
by
MTG
Tin Win Yee
Born in
1954. She is a librarian from
Universities Central Library and
her busy career allowed her to
write only a few short stories.
She made a series on the Index
of Moe Wai poems (1983 to
1984) in Moe Wai
Magazines published be- tween
1984 and 1985. She
has presented some papers on
Library and Information Studies
in national and international
seminars and cpn-
ferences. Her short story I/Haw
di ka thant thant layl/ in Moe
Wai Magazine (April 1987)
is the one translated here.
