Staff

A staff is given to Tin Win by U May while Tin Win studies at the Buddhist monastery. The staff is what Tin Win uses to help him feel his way around while he walks. It allows him a degree of independence without his eyesight. He later ceases using the staff when he begins to carry Mi Mi on his back. She serves as his eyes and his guide.

Heartbeats

Heartbeats are especially apparent to Tin Win when he learns to use his other senses in lieu of the loss of his eyesight. It is the sound of Mi Mi’s heartbeat that first attracts Tin Win’s attention, causing him to fall for her instantly. Her heartbeat is a beautiful and comforting sound to Tin Win. When Tin Win returns half a century later to Mi Mi, he can hear the sound of her heartbeat...