Not Out of Hate by Ma Ma Lay

Author:Ma Ma Lay
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ohio University Press
Published: 2019-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

46. A special kind of spicy bean sauce from the Shan hills.

47. Another sort of pungent fish sauce.

48. That is, the British-owned Burmah Oil Company, or BOC.

49. Dr. Ba Maw (1892-1962?), a lawyer and separationist activist, was education minister during the 1936 university strike and in 1937 formed a coalition of parties and individuals which became Burma’s first government after separation from India. This goverment continued, somewhat reorganized, under Japanese rule.

50. Police batons.

13

The wind was strong and gusty; the hot sun shone down, burning the skin. Trees flashed past on the riverbanks and the prow of the little motorboat stuck up out of the water, making one wonder whether the boat even touched the surface of the river. The noise made one’s ears ring.

U Saw Han placed his pith helmet on Way Way’s head. To keep it from flying off, she had to hold on to the strap. U Saw Han had his arm around Way Way, and every so often he would smooth down the wisps of hair that flew loose on her forehead. They were forced to gaze silently at the scenery, for it was impossible to speak above the noise of the engine. The sunlight looked green through their sunglasses and even the sky took on a greenish cast.

Groves of trees, open fields, and rows of small thatched huts came into view as the engines droned on. Every now and then they passed people standing and gaping at them. The water at the side of the boat formed whirling spirals and sprayed out in an arc. Way Way was enchanted by the sight of the sunlight glittering on the spray through her blue-green sunglasses. U Saw Han worried that Way Way’s little finger would tire from hanging onto her pith helmet’s strap, so he held it for her with the same hand he placed around her shoulders.

Now that her father was in Rangoon, Way Way did not know what to do with herself. She felt a great emptiness inside her and accompanied U Saw Han on his trips out of town. At the beginning she was in quite a state and cried every time she looked at her father’s house. Since he51 had stipulated that she visit her father only once a day, she had gone over to be near him the moment U Saw Han left for the office, and remained all day until just before he returned. Before her father left for Rangoon, he would wait for Way Way every day in his chair. At times he would gaze at his daughter, his eyes full of unspoken words. They could not bear to look at each other directly and avoided eye contact. He gave her her mother’s jewelry, which she received with feigned cheerfulness.

It seemed impossible that four or five months had passed since her father had left, and all that remained for her now was to wait for letters about him from Hta Hta. It was said that he appeared fuller in the face and looked good, but that he tired easily and had to stay in bed on doctor’s orders.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.