The Meaning Of Life
On a muggy night in the early part of the year, for one man, his life will forever change. The day was Wednesday, but what is most important, the year was 1981. In a small poverty stricken country, a man named Numo Klaung was fighting for his life as he escaped through the damp humid jungle. Escape from whom!? Escape from what? After miles of running relentlessly he finally made it to a dirt road, which leads to his deserted village. Weary and tired he stumbled onto the steps of his bamboo cottage. Before he could even open the door, a little girl comes bursting out yelling “Mother had given birth to another boy!”. He quickly jolted in. With tears in his eyes he held his baby boy. “We shall name you Mudoo” he says. Mudoo means “the truthful one” in this ancient culture. Numo gave Mudoo back to his wife and told her he loved her very much. But Hengch, his wife, already knew there was something wrong by the look in his eyes. “What’s the matter?” she asks. He started to say “They arr…”, when he stopped himself, then muttered “oh nothing dear. We should get the family together and get ready for dinner”. On a day of such celebration he dares not tell his family of what recently just happened, instead, he welcomed in the newest member to their family.
Numo was a very simple man. All he wanted in life was a family and a piece of land to raise his family on. A family of six it was, 3 boys and 1 girl. His wife, Hengch is one of the prettiest woman in the village. His oldest son, Treacht was age 9. A bright young boy but his emotion gets the best of him at times, so he was always a loose canon. Next is Masoeun, the only girl out of the 4 siblings. Even though she’s a girl, she had the heart of a lion. Not school smart at all but very respectful to others. The third child is boy named Raasy. He was a combination of the older siblings put together. Raasy is probably one of the smartest boys in the entire village with the physical strength to do any chore given to him. With his wit and strength, Raasy is a great contributor to his family. and the youngest , Mudoo. his out come has yet to be determined. Will he be humble and strong like his previous siblings? Or will he turn to the dark side and cause pain and suffering?
Numo’s cottage is part of a very small village in a remote part of the world. There are only 15 cottages in this village, each owned by one man and his family. Each man is allowed to have as many mistresses as he please. The bigger the family is, the bigger the cottage. They only lived by three rules in life, build a family, provide for the family and protect the family at all cost. This was a very strong culture that prides on honesty and respect. As day and night passes by, little did the villagers know about the evil that lies ahead. Numo has not told anyone about what happened that night hoping that one day it will just go away. Day by day, week by week , month by month Numo started to slowly see his village become a ghost town. What could be the cause? Could it be those things he saw that night? He asks himself. From 15, down to 7 cottages is now being occupied. Numo tries to see the positive side and that maybe the villagers have found a better way of life? One warm afternoon Numo runs into his long time neighbor, Neycourt. “Hey Neycourt! How have you been?” Numo says. “Great Numo. How you been?”. As Numo started to reply he was cut off by Neycourt, “you wouldn’t believe what I found out!?” “What?” replies Numo. Neycourt began to explain, wide eyed with a twinkle in his eye, “People are moving out of the village. They say there’s a new world out there where you can raise your family in peace with all the luxuries any man can ask for in life”. “And what are these luxuries?” Numo says.
Numo woke at the crack of dawn to a very peaceful morning A little too peaceful. With the rising morning son on the horizon, he sat up thinking to himself “Man this is a beautiful morning. I’m going to have a wonderful day”. As he walks gingerly around his cottage, he began to notice that he doesn’t hear any noise. No birds singing, no chickens chirping, no people talking. The everyday noise you hear when you wake up is now a deathly silence. The wind is barely blowing in as the shutters shakes lightly with an eerie sound. He frantically leaned to his window; with his heart pounding immensely through his chest, he opened up the window and saw….
