Hein Min resents the protagonist’s mother’s constant calls; now she nags her husband but learned to understand through a late-night wait and a funny laugh, exclusively for Different Truths.
When I was young, mother would phone me, again and again, every after fifteen minutes, to come back home when I had been outside long enough with my friends. The same went for when I went to watch zat pwe(s) when Thadingyut came that would curtain down only at the rise of dawn. I told her off on the phone. Mother was always holding me in shackles. She never understood me. I was upset with mother when I was young. Now, when I am in my 26, I am with my little hubby. Last Saturday, he attended a late-night puja, at the temple in the next street from where he lives. I called him. “He has left his phone at home,” my mother-in-law answered. The time was 11, slowly half an hour went by, then came 12. Inside, my belly was churning. I was tossing and turning in bed. I nagged her with intermittent phone queries. Every time, she reassured me of his safe return. At last, at 1 a.m, my little hubby helloed me on the phone. I scolded him half weeping. He only laughed at me; his cursory laughter rippled through. That night, I dozed off, after sweats, pains and dropping tears.
Note:
Thadingyut: The seventh month of the Myanmar calendar.
Zat pwe: A kind of dramatic performance which includes singing and dancing.
Picture design by Anumita Roy
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