Life!!!

เนื้อเรื่อง

Life

    At dinner time, Duangjai, a middle-aged woman, carried Nei, her two year old daughter, to the table, and called Nam, her first daughter, who studied in the ninth grade, to come to have dinner.

    Nam was fourteen year old. Her eyes and her hair were black like other Thai people, and because her parents were Isan people who had dark skin, Nam had inherited this quality.

    Everything about Nam’s body was like her mother, except her eyes; Duangjai’s eyes were always sad, but Nam’s eyes were always full with hope, even at this time.

    Nam looked at Duangjai anxiously while she was blowing a bowl of hot boiled rice for her little daughter.

    “Nam…why don’t you quickly eat that boiled rice before it gets cold?” uttered Duangjai, looking down at her bowls. Her eyes were filled with tears.

    “Yes, mother,” Nam answered, trying to make her voice normal.

    Now Nam’s eyes were filled with tears, but she tried to conceal it from her mother. While Nam was dipping her spoon in the boiled rice, some memories appeared in her mind…

    Ring……..… The sound of Satri Rachinuthit School’s bell blared out to tell everybody that the last class of this day was finished. A lot of students walked out of the school; some of them walked to a minibus; some of them stopped and bought some snacks in front of the school.

    Nam was one of this school’s students, however, she didn’t walk to the minibus, or buy some snacks like other students. In addition, the place that Nam had to go after finishing school was her mother’s soda water pushcart, which was parked across from the school.

    “Mother.” Nam ran to the pushcart.

    “Oh! You came,” Duangjai said. “Help me dig three glasses of ice,” she immediately ordered her daughter while pouring Coca-Cola into a glass, and giving it to a woman. “Five baht, madam,” she said, receiving five baht from that woman.

    Both of them worked until the evening, but they got only 230 baht.

    “230 baht,” Nam heard Duangjai mutter downheartedly. “Let’s go home, I think you want time to do your homework,” said Duangjai to Nam, putting the bottle into a box.

    “O.k. mother,” replied Nam, hurriedly helping Duangjai carry a box.

    They helped each other trundle the pushcart. On the way home, Duangjai always bought two packs of boiled rice from “Nai Hiang’s boiled rice”, which was located on Srisuk Road.

    After that, they stopped in front of a wooden house to pick up Nei, Duangjai’s second daughter, from her neighbor.

    When they arrived home, Duangjai put the boiled rice into the bowls. She gave one to Nam, and another one to her and Nei. Anyways, Nam wanted her mother to eat enough food, so she offered her food to her mother.

    “No, thanks,” refused Duangjai. “You’re at school age; you must eat enough food to nourish your brain. Moreover, your sister is too small to eat more food, so don’t worry about me,” she explained, and shared the boiled rice with Nei like she did every day.

    While they were eating, Somchai, Duangjai’s husband, came into the house. He was a tricycle rider who was always drunk. Today, as usual, he was drunk.

    “Oh! You’re drunk,” complained Duangjai sarcastically.

    Somchai denied that he was drunk, and staggeringly walked to the table.

    “Father! Watch your step, you’re very drunk.” Nam ran to him, but he pushed her away.

    “Shut up! I didn’t drink!”

    “Don’t bully your daughter!” Duangjai shouted.

    “Why can’t I? I’m her father,” he bawled.

    Suddenly, he saw something peer out of Duangjai’s pocket…It was the money which Duangjai had earned from the day’s work.

    Duangjai noticed his covetous eyes, so she swiftly pushed her money back into her pocket because she knew that Somchai had no money, and wanted it. Anyway, Somchai ran to her and tried to snatch the money.

    “Give it to me, now!” he ordered.

    “No! It’s my money,” argued Duangjai, blocking his hand from entering her pocket.

    Consequently, Somchai slapped her face hard, took the money away from her, and rapidly left home.

    “Mother! Are you all right?” cried Nam.

    “I’m o.k.,” replied Duangjai, looking down to the floor. “I think you should start doing your homework now.” Then she walked to Nei, who was now crying.

    Nam didn’t want her mother to worry, so she followed her orders.

    The next day, Nam went to school. In the home-room, teacher Vichai, the class master of 3/12, carried a letter into the classroom.

    “Sujittra,” he called Nam’s name before sitting on a chair.

    “Yes, teacher,” replied Nam, walking to him.

    “This is a letter for you. Teacher Sayswat, our school’s director, thought that you’re a good and studious student. Therefore, she decided to give a scholarship to you,” he explained.

     “Really!” Nam asked joyfully.

    “Yes, tomorrow morning we’ll give the scholarships to you and other four students, so don’t be late,” he added smilingly. Nam thanked him.

    After the school finished, Nam quickly went to her mother’s pushcart to tell her the good news.

    “Mother, tomorrow I’ll get a scholarship from my school,” she said excitedly.

    “Really? That’s great.” Duangjai smiled; her hand was pouring Coca-Cola.

    Nam hurriedly helped her mother dig ice into a glass.

    In the evening at their home, everything was so peaceful because that day, Somchai didn’t come home. Anyway, nobody paid attention to this, because they knew that he always drinking with his friends all day and all night.

    Though Nam loved her father as much as her mother, she felt good when he didn’t come back home because whenever he came back, he’d hit mother, and take the money away.

    Nam did her homework, and went to bed early. She was looking forward to the next day.

    The next morning came, and Nam went to school happily. After the students finished singing the Thai national anthem, teacher Sayswat came out on the school’s stage to give a speech to them. After that, she gave the scholarships to five students.

    Nam was so glad; she kept her scholarship envelope with her cautiously until the time she went back home with Duangjai and Nei.

    “This is from me,” said Nam, pushing the envelope into Duangjai’s hand.

    “What’s this?” she asked, opening it. Then she was surprised, for there was three thousand baht inside it.

    “It’s my scholarship. I give it to you.”

    “Thanks, but I want you to keep it. It’s your money. Plus, I still have more money,” refused Duangjai, taking 200 baht out of her pocket, and looking at it.

    “Mother,” uttered Nam, “I know you want it because 200 baht is not enough to pay for our house’s rent. You are my mother, so why can’t I give this money to you?” she added, embracing Duangjai.

    Duangjai was very impressed. Unfortunately, when she looked up, she was in a state of shock because Somchai, her drunken husband, stood in front of her.

    “What’s that?” He snatched the envelope from her hand.

    “N…Nothing, it just…” Duangjai stammered.

    “Three thousand baht…where did you get this money?” he intervened.

    Duangjai stare at his face fearfully. “It’s Nam’s scholarship; please give it back to me.”

    “Why?” he uttered, “Why must I give it back to you? No way!”

    Then Somchai ran away, leaving the poor mother and daughters together in the house.

    “Nam…I’m so sorry, I can’t protect your money,” cried Duangjai.

    “Don’t cry…I’ll help you earn more money, please don’t cry.” Nam tried to comfort her mother, but now she also cried, “Forget it, and tomorrow everything will be better…I hope.”

    The day after that, Duangjai and Nam still helped each other sell water until one day…

    When Nam finished her class, she went to her mother’s pushcart. However, she didn’t see either her mother or the pushcart. Nam was so surprised; thus, she quickly went home.

    When Nam arrived home, she saw her mother sitting beside her sister; she looked so sad.

    “Mother! What’s the matter?” asked Nam worriedly.

    “The landlord took the pushcart away from us,” cried Duangjai, “and told us to leave this house before this Friday.”

    “This Friday! We have only four days left,” cried Nam.

    “We have no choice! We don’t have more money to pay for the rent for this month and for the last two months. She said she won’t make concessions for us again,” moaned Duangjai hopelessly.

    Nam didn’t know what to do; she could only look at her distressed mother, and hope that everything would be better. However, life was not easy, and after Duangjai had been sitting sadly in her house for three days, she decided to do something woebegone.

    “Nam…if I must go somewhere very far away from this place, would you like to come with me?” asked Duangjai impassively.

    “Of course, I’ll go with you anywhere. I love you so much. I don’t want you to leave me alone,” answered Nam. Then, Duangjai didn’t say anything.

    On Thursday, when Nam arrived home, Duangjai put poison into the boiled rice, and called Nam to have dinner at the table.

    Nam saw everything, but she pretended like she didn’t know. She looked at her distressed mother and her sister for the last time before she dipped the boiled rice into her mouth. A few minutes later everyone was in agony; Nam’s eyes were blurred, and then she didn’t feel any pain again.

    While Nam was standing alone in a cold darkness, she saw her mother and sister walking to her. Her mother looked happier than Nam had ever seen before. She touched Nam’s hand tenderly, and then they walked together from the cold darkness towards a warm light.

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[L.W.Wizard]