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Every morning I strolled on a quiet lane near the house I rented for
three months while I was in Taunggyi back in 2004.Taunggyi is a neat
town perched on a highland of Shan State of Burma .With its cool
climate  and friendly atmosphere, it took little time for me to feel
at home in Taunggyi .

Every morning I would walk to a stall to have Shan noodles as
breakfast and go back to my place to start working on a small project
which I cannot explain for a reason now. Everyday a boy from a restaurant brought lunch and dinner for me. So I did not need to go
out much unless I desired.

One day,at noon,I heard a voice calling my name from the gate of my
rented house . When I was at the door to go down to the gate, to my
surprise ,I discovered a girl holding a food-carrier.

I said in a high pitch,”Who the hell are you? Who opened the gate for you?”.

It was a moment I would ever regret .Her face turned red and looked
fearful and sad.She lowered her face and said,”I was asked by the
owner of the restaurant to send you lunch.I opened it by myself”.

“Ok. Next time, I will get the food at the gate, understand ?

“Yes”, replied she in sobbing voice.

In the next days, she delivered the food to me. Not the boy anymore.

She would voice my name from the gate of my rented house at noon and
again before sunset,and I would go and get the food-carrier each time.

It was the way that went on between the girl and I for about one month.
One afternoon, it was raining when she was at the gate to hand me
my lunch. She was almost wet without an umbrella.

I asked,” Would you like an umbrella ?”.

“No,thanks.It started raining when I was nearing your house”

“Are you sure you don’t need an umbrella. The restaurant is 2 streets
away .You might get cold .”

“Okay.I will give you back in the evening”.

“Okay”.

In the evening, she gave me the umbrella back, but unfortunately it
was raining heavily and she didn’t bring an extra umbrella. As the
wind became stronger ,I had no choice but to invite her into my place.
In the sitting room, she sat like a statue while her anxious eyes were
dwelling on me. I offered her a cup of coffee and chocolates.

She was not beautiful .But she did have a sincere face and bright eyes.

I said,” How old are you?”

“18”.

“You work at the restaurant?”

“No. My sister owns it .I am just helping her”.

“The power is gone .I will walk you back to your place when the rain
stops” ,I said.

Armed with a flashlight in the dark streets, I walked her back to her
sister’s house when the rained stopped.

Walking side by side, we talked of things about life .

In the next days, though we became a bit of friends, the normal routine went on.

One evening, while I was packing to go back to Yangon with the
finished project, she voiced my name from the gate.

She said,”I am sorry I am a bit late.

Sister said you were going back to Yangon tomorrow.Will you come back here?”

“No.I don’t think so”.

She stunned at my face.
Then her eyes were filled with tears.

She whispered ,nearly crying,“Yat sat lite tar (How cruel!)”.

And she gave me the food and walked away.
I never knew she had such an attachment on me.
The next morning ,for the last time ,I strolled on the quiet lane and
walked on to the restaurant to thank and goodbye its owner and the
girl who delivered food to me daily.

Her sister said,”I don’t know what is wrong with that girl.She just
went back to Kengtung by the morning bus this morning .She didn’t tell
me in advance that she would go back to Kengtung.I think she will be
back here soon”.

In the afternoon I left Taunggyi .

I went back there , two months later, in hope of seeing her again. But
she didn’t come back.
I went back to that town again and again later as a tour guide .I always went to the restaurant to find the girl .But, she never came back.
Sometimes,to this day, I wish I had never met the girl because then I could go to bed at night not thinking about her.