By Theophilus Keme
“God, abeg bring customers oo. Anywhere them they make them come buy from us so that me and my children no go beg anybody of wetin we go chop this Christmas. God Abeg!”
This did I hear mama pray as we sat hopefully by our vegetable and spice kiosk in the market. Unlike other days; today we have barely had any sales since morning as It’s almost like people no longer want to buy things in their homes in this festive season. Even when they show interest to buy they bargain on prices that’s way lesser than the amount and end up buying lesser than expected.
This plight also does other big vendors who sell wears and beverages in the market seem to share, as they allege the low turnout of sales is as a result of the economy recession in the country. (This I don’t clearly understand why each year, people call recession as the reason for low sales. By the way, who or what is even that economy recession that continue to treat us like this? Haba!)
Mama’s vegetable and spice business has been our sole livelihood. Even before my big sister who has also now become a pillar of support in contributing to the house in her little way since she began working in a bar after are secondary school to support mama from not running the expenses alone. Nonetheless, mama has always managed to use this her business to sending us to school and buying us cloths like other kids from rich home during the Christmas season over the years.
Though we didn’t have much, but we didn’t lack any basic thing either, as since papa choose to run away with his other suppose wife, accusing mama of bewitching him to being poor, mama has made sure she worked hard to provide all we’d need, so that we wouldn’t have to think of our fathers absent. This in her capacity she has been doing well.
“Tio nor worry you hear, I don already pay half of the money to Mama Umassy for that shirt wey you say you like. I promise say I go see her with the balance later, you sef go wear your new cloths like other children this Christmas, you hear?”
This mama reassures me, even though I could see the worry in her face, that she doesn’t know where the money would come from for her to fulfill the promise but in hope that a miracle would happen somehow.
Just as I was praying in my heart that customers would come to buy from us. A small football bashed me hard on my face, as I suddenly became pained and same time confused as who could be this unserious to be playing football at this hammatan period, in the market. Before I could raise my head up to find who it was, mama rushed up to me to console me, using the tip of her wrapper to stop the tears from rolling down my eyes and bringing me close to her that I may not cry, as she angrily yells who had just done that, searching through the crowd of the possible suspect; then a boy ran towards us, whom I think is almost my age or within. Unassumingly the boy was asking for his ball without any sort of remorse of what has happened. Mama became so furious as she yells even more on what type of parents would leave their son to carelessly roam about in the market with a football, as she continued to yell to get the attention of the parent of the boy, a woman ran towards us, apologizing to mama almost to the point of kneeling down and mama considering her disposition and knowing it wasn’t actually her fault, told the woman it was fine, even as she told the woman that the market was too busy for her to let her son out of her sight, talk less of playing with football.
The woman suddenly approached me to check if I may have sustained any injury as she continued apologizing on her sons behalf. From her appearance she appear to me as that type of women who live comfortably and who wants the best in everything she does.
“So sorry ma, junior apologize to aunty and tell the boy you are sorry, now” she ordered. The boy who at this moment was sad knowing that what he did was wrong and it’s implications, apologized to me and also to mama.
“Ma, I’m so sorry about this that has happened, I had actually brought him to the market as instructed by his father to return the Christmas items I had got for him earlier and for him to also pick the Spider-man and Bat-Man costume he had cried and disturbed his father about”
Mama surprised, that a little boy could have so much choice and demand on his choice of Christmas cloth to the extend of making his parents gift him whatever he wants. This she has never heard of before.
“Na small pikin nau, no mind them na so them they do” This she responded as she don’t know what exactly to say about this child’s behavior.
Whilst she was there, the woman began patronizing mama. It happens that the list of what she needed to buy, mama sells them. She continued asking them in large quantities and mama was surprise that she was neither negotiating price with her, as everything she kept saying ‘add it’ ‘add it’ ‘alright, that’s good’.
It was later she told mama she is having a large gathering in her house and she wants to cook a large variety of food for her guest.
She bought a lot from mama and paid without any negotiation. Mama thanked her as she became so happy that what had seem as accident has brought customer to her.
The woman laughing to mamas sense of humor. As it now seem they have becomes friends already. She looked at me and asked how old I was. I told her 6, then she said her son is two years older than me. Then she looked to mama that she has a gift for me; she brought out two pair of shirts and a Jean and offered them to me.
Mama forgetting she was in the market burst out in joy to begin dancing and Praising God, she thanked the woman even her son unreservedly with a loud voice.
“My pikin don finally get wetin em go wear for Christmas o! God I thank you oo! Na Angel you don send to me o!”
“Madam na Angel you be, nothing anybody fit tell me, na Angel you be”
“Na here I sitdon they think how I go take pay the #2500 balance for shirt wey I wan buy, but now na korrect bootiqu cloths my pikin wan wear for Christmas o. God I thank you o!”
This did all vendors that surrounds mama thanked the woman for her kind gesture. As the woman offered mama an extra cash token for us to celebrate the Christmas.
Mama never stopped singing praises to God.
As it was an incident that i, myself felt was like a dream that was so good to be true.
Ps. It’s the season of love, and there is no love without caring and sharing. Merry Christmas and a happy new year to you all.
