When Broken Glass Floats

For a brief time, Athy’s life is somewhat stable, though they are still starving. Soon, however, her sisters Chea and Ra are sent to another camp, and her sister Ry stays at the hospital, pretending to be ill and sharing her rations with the family. Her brother Than, only 13, returns from a labor camp, and for a while he supplements their meals by fishing. However, her sister Avy’s edema gets worse, and Ry takes Avy to the hospital with her.

Avy dies at the hospital, and her “death cements [Athy’s] determination to live” to “search for edible leaves, toads, mice, crickets, whatever” she needs “to stay alive” (179). Avy’s death devastates Ry, who turns to Buddhism for spiritual comfort, hoping that Avy will be reincarnated as her child.

Mak and Athy grow increasingly ill with edema and then with malaria. Ra returns to care for them, bringing malaria tablets. Mak and Athy improve, and then Chea returns as well. She brings food, having finally figured out how to compliment and humor her supervisor. She is allowed to rest with them because she has injured her foot.

In 1977 the family is moved to a new hut with more space. However, there are no more food rations. They are expected to grow food and send it the communal kitchen, where it will be prepared and shared by all. Mak tends the garden, but a chhlop reprimands her for not working the fields. The chhlop tells Mak she must either work or go to the hospital. She chooses to go to the hospital, even though she knows there is no real medicine or care there.

In the hospital Mak catches mice and rats to eat, but her condition continues to worsen. Ry takes her to a different hospital in Choup, which supposedly has modern medicine. Athy and her sisters try their best to care for each other and for Map, their three-year-old brother. When the garden blooms, Chea tells Athy to take Map and some food to Mak in Choup.

Athy doesn’t recognize Mak because she is so swollen from the edema. She also has dysentery. She tells Athy that no one cares for her and she has not even had any water for four days; she wants Athy to get permission for her to return to Choup permanently, so her children can care for her. Athy tries, but the village leader tells her that Athy can only go if Mak will live; if she does not, Athy will be punished. Chea decides that she and Map will return to Mak during one of their rare days off, which are meant to be spent at various meetings.

Although no one enjoys these meetings, they do enjoy the food that is served and the respite from constant physical labor. During these meetings, they are lectured about the Khmer Rouge’s goals. After one meeting, a young girl calls to Athy and tells her that the Khmer Rouge threw Mak in a well with the dead, even though Mak was still alive.