Books & Beyond

Now the mother moves out from the main room to the straw mat where the old mother used to sleep. The main room is now for her elder son and daughter-in-law. Though she is busy as usual and in charge during the day, she feels old at night while sleeping on the old mat. The young wife does her tasks well and the elder son really likes her. But carefully the daughter-in-law attends to the daily chores in her own ways and the habits in the house are changed gradually, which brings discomfort to the mother's heart.

The day comes when the maid arrives at the mother's hamlet to be wed to her elder son. It evokes a strange feeling in the mother's heart that she must welcome into her house a new and younger woman, and it reminds her of that day when she herself was wed into this hamlet.

This day, the mother goes to her cousin's wife to ask if she knows of any young maid nearby. The good cousin's wife offers to go back to her home village to find one. Eventually, she does find one sharp and clever young woman who's good with sewing. The mother is satisfied to hear this, and without much hesitation she decides to settle with this young maid.

At the end of summer when it's time for rice harvest, all this hatred that has welled up in the elder son explodes. He beats his younger brother mercilessly, hearing about the mother's wonderful promises to talk the young lad into working in the field while he has asked for nothing for all his own hard work. To pacify the elder son, the mother discloses her plan to find him a wife and has him take the man's place in the house.

Her oldest son seems so perfect as a child, who shows filial obedience to his mother and never spends time or money on things other than his work. But it's the strangest thing how he bears such strong grudges against his younger brother and would unleash anger at the boy if he slacks off from working in the field. He can see that no matter how hard he works to keep the family safe and together, the mother loves the younger son the best.

At the age of 43, the mother is still thin but strong like when she was young. She loves to work in the field, even though her elder son, who is already a grown young man, often asks her to rest and allow him to take over the hard work instead. He comforts his mother by offering to take care of his younger sister, who now has full knowledge of her blindness and walks with her little gong and a stick.

It is hard for the mother to accept that her daughter is blind. She fears that it’s her own sin that has come upon the child. She goes to a temple far away to pray before a goddess and to atone for her sins. That day, the mother is healed of all desires and longing as a woman, and she is young no more.

Without letting the girl know, the mother buys a small brass gong for the girl in secret. The gong comes with a wooden hammer tied to it, so that blind people can strike the gong to warn others that they're blind when they walk on the street. The young girl is content to go home after her first day in town, not knowing that her mother is grieving in silence.

In a gloomy morning, the mother rises early and takes her daughter to a pharmacy in town for some balm on the young girl's troubled eyes. Those eyes have never been properly treated all these years. Though the mother has sought help in all the ways she can, she’s told that her girl is blind.

When she has wept her heart out, the mother goes home with her daughter, who comes out to find her. With the young girl's loving comfort, the mother feels her maternal instincts stirring again and tends to the needs of her children. Her voice is once again full and peaceful. She is finally herself again.