This was not the mother he remembered

        LONG AGO in Sabah, there was a village near the sea called Kampong Nasip, or the Village of Good Luck.  The village was so named because there was so much fish in the sea near the kampong.  Thus, all the villagers were fishermen.
        In this village, there lived a rich widow and her only son, whose name was Ebin.  Ebin loved the sea and had always wanted to know more about it.  When he grew up, he begged his mother for ship, but his mother refused.  Again and again he pleaded for ship and finally, the rich widow agreed.
        Ebin was thrilled.  He knelt before his mother and swore that when he became rich he would return and make her ten times richer and queen of the village.  The widow just smiled.
        The next morning, Ebin set sail.  All the villagers came to wish him success and a good journey.  Ebin was very excited.  It was the first time he had been on a ship.
        The years passed.  There was no news from Ebin.  He had been away from his village for twenty years.
The rich widow began to worry.  What had happened to Ebin?  At last she decided she must find him.
        The widow built two fine ships and told the captains of the ships to search for Ebin and bring him back.  Meanwhile, she offered to give half her fortune to anyone who knew where her son was.  The rich woman was so worried that she built four more ships and sent them off to search for her son.
        Two of the ships came back without any news of Ebin.  One of the captains said that her son must be dead by now.  She would not believe it, but in her heart she knew that it could be true.  So, using all the money she had, she built fifteen ships and sent them across the sea to find her son and bring him home.
        The once-rich widow was now a poor woman, all because of a mother`s love for her son.  The ships she sent never came back.  No one knew what happened to them.  The mother became very poor.  Her friends left her and she had to sell her house.
        Now she had no friends.  Even her relatives left her because she was not rich any more.  She was so sad that she fled into the forest to escape from the villagers who despised her.  She grew thin and weak, and only managed to stay alive by eating wild berries and fruit that grew in the forest.
        Then one day, a fine big ship sailed towards the village.  It was the finest ship the villagers had ever seen.  Some of the fishermen came back with the news that there was a rich prince and his wife on the ship.
        Very soon, everyone knew that the prince was planning to built a palace near the village.  The prince`s Istana was to be built on the hill overlooking the sea.  At last the Istana was completed.  It was the most beautiful palace anyone in the village had seen.
        The old widow had seen the ship arrive and watched the Istana being built, but she was not interested.  Her only interest was Ebin.  Even though she was poor, now, she still prayed and hoped that her son would come back one day.
        Soon the villagers began saying that the prince looked like Ebin, the widow`s son.
        The widow heard the news but she would not believe it.  At the same time she could not help thinking that it might be true, and so she decided to go and see the prince.
        The widow was tired when she arrived at the Istana after walking up the hill.  As she came near the garden, she heard voices.  One of the voices was familiar.  Could it be Ebin`s voice?
        The old woman was shaking as she looked over the bushes into the garden.  The prince and his wife were there, but the prince`s back was turned towards the widow.  Very softly she called "Ebin".
        The prince turned round surprised.  The widow was so excited.  Here was her son!  She pushed through the bushes, into the garden, not caring about the thorns that cut and scratched her.  She ran over the grass and fell at her son`s feet.
        The prince just stared.  This was not the mother he remembered.  This woman was now dressed in rags.  She was thin, dirty, and had very untidy hair.  Ebin still looked amazed at the weeping woman.  Suddenly his wife laughed unkindly.
        "So, this is the rich mother you so often talked of."  The prince looked at his wife and then turned towards his mother.  He did not know what to do.  Again the princess laughed.
        "What are you going to do now?"  Said the princess and pointed to the old woman.  "She must go, or I will go back to my father.  There are no beggars like her living in my father`s palace."
        The word "beggar" hurt Ebin very much.  He tried to pull his legs away from his mother`s hands.  But she had only just found her son.  She would not let him go so quickly.
        "Well?"  Said the princess.
        The prince looked at his wife.  He did not know what to do.  Suddenly he kicked his mother away and ran into the palace followed by the unkind laughter of the princess.
        The old woman left in the garden, wept bitterly.  Was it really Ebin?  How could he be so unkind.  She had used all her money to try and find again and to bring him home to her.  And now at last he was here but he had kicked her away.

Two palace guards dragged her along the ground

        Then two palace guards dragged her along the ground and threw the old woman out of the palace.
        She fell painfully on the road.  She was very weak now and could not bear such rough treatment.  Dragging herself up, she moaned, "My son, you are so ungrateful.  I fed you, I clothed you.  I gave you everything.  May Kinoringan have mercy on you."  Then she fell back on to the road and cried herself to sleep.
        The next morning, when the old woman woke up, she looked at the palace and saw a face at one of the windows.  It was her son.  She cried out to him, but he quickly went away from the window.
        The widow ran to the palace gate, but the guards stopped her and pushed her roughly to one side.
        "Your son is not here," said one of the guards.
        "I have seen him twice.  The prince is my son.  Let me in, please. "
        "The prince, your son !" laughed a guard.  "The prince says you are a mad woman.  Go away.  You are mad.  Go!"
        She crept away from the guards.  She thought of her son telling the guards she was mad.
        The poor old widow was so unhappy that she wanted to die.  But first, she must see her son!  She must plan carefully, to get into the palace without being seen by the guards.
        Once again, she pushed her away through the thorny hedge.  The widow crept into the palace.  The guards had not seen her.  She came to a big door and heard voices.  The voices belonged to her son and the unkind princess.
        The widow could not hear what they were saying.  She opened the door, and went in.  The prince and the princess were surprised.
        Ebin would not look at his mother.  As soon as the old woman came in,  he quickly turned away to look out of the window.
        The princess laughed.  The old woman walked slowly towards her son and fell to her knees and cried.  Ebin stood very still.
        "My son, my son," she cried, "remember when you said you would make me rich if you came home?  I don`t want money Ebin, for I have given away all that for your sake.  Tell me you are my son.  That is all I want to hear you say."
        "Well," said the princess.  "What are you waiting for?  Say the words.  I too would like to hear them."
        Ebin clenched his fist tightly, then pushing his mother away, he said roughly, "You are not my mother.  My mother is dead.  Go away.  You are not mad."
        The poor unhappy woman dragged herself up off the floor.  "Ebin, oh Ebin!" she cried, "Don`t be so unkind to me." she cried.  She moved unsteadily towards her son.  The princess laughed.
        "Stop!" cried Ebin, "you are not my mother.  Don`t come near me or I will killyou."  Ebin pulled out his kris and pointed it at his mother, "Go away.  You are not my mother."
        The old woman was still moving towards her son.  Ebin shook with fear.  Suddenly there was a scream.  Ebin came to his senses.  Then he looked at the kris and saw blood.  Blood!
        Ebin looked down and saw the thin body sprawled on the floor.  He suddenly cried, he cried and cried like a child.
        "Oh, mother!  Mother!" shouted Ebin, "I am sorry.  Mother speak to me.  Mother....! Mother!"
        There was no sound at all from the old woman, because she was dead, lying in the pool of blood.
        Ebin cried until he had no more tears.  Then he looked at the body kris, and at his mother`s body.
        Then he took the kris in both hands, turned towards his frightened wife and stabbed her.  The princess fell to the floor, dead.
        Ebin felt dazed.  He stared at his mother`s quiet body and remembered how good she had been to him when
he was a boy.  Then he looked at his wife, pale and still, lying on the floor.  He had loved her very much.  Oh why had she made him choose between her and his mother?  Now they were both dead.  Why should he live?  Ebin plunged the kris into his heart.