In The Dark Of The Night✓

4. The Market

Our laughter could be heard by passers-by as we strolled through the market. This was our third day in the village since we arrived. It was also the last day of being forbidden from going outside. At least, we could stop leaving in fear.

Today being Friday, work had closed earlier than other days. Which gave Chichi and I the opportunity to visit the market and buy a few groceries.

"The teacher was like Chichi you're blessed and endowed with such a beautiful shape. I want you to be my baby, let me take care of you," Chichi explained while mimicking the teacher in question. She was in denim shorts and a black t-shirt.

The market was quite vast. There were stalls and little buildings littered around, within market. Cars and tricycles couldn't maneuver their way through the market because the spaces between stalls were too narrow.

"The same Onyeka that can hardly take care of himself!" I chimed in before laughing again. I had on a fitted sleeveless dress that stopped above my knees. It was red in color.

"Seriously! I wanted to cry! See my life! Na malnutrition person dey toast me! The guy is obviously falling apart! Yet he dares to woo me! Chichi Igwe! Daughter of Moses Igwe! Expensive babe like me!" She complained.

We passed stalls with traders selling different kinds of groceries. From stalls of big red tomatoes to stalls of different spices and herbs

"Sorry eh? A person with a balanced diet will woo you next. Don't be angry," I teased while trying to hold laughter.

"Balanced diet kill you there!" She spat and the laughter we were both holding in exploded from our mouths.

People kept staring at us. Partly because we were pretty ladies and because we were being very noisy. We had only managed to buy a bottle of palm oil of about one and half litre so far.

"Before I forget, I want to buy goat meat o," Chichi announced.

I made a disgusted expression. "Eeeew! I wonder why you like that thing," I complained.

"I don't know what planet you came from. I want it and I'm buying it. I can smell it already from here," she said before placing her free hand on her hip. The other hand carried the polythene bag that contained our oil.

"I can't stand that smell. I'm not following you there madam!" I argued.

"I don't feel like arguing with you today. You can wait here while I go get the goat meat. Hold this," she said while handing me the polythene bag.

I reluctantly took the bag, "so you're going to leave me here with all these weird people staring at me?" I asked.

"Of course I am!" She laughed mockingly before strolling towards the stalls where she would find her meat.

To think I have a friend.

As I stood, I felt every eyes on me. It made me nervous. I hated being alone in an unknown territory. The many smells in the market was beginning to get to me, as well as the heat from the sun.

I closed my eyes and it only made things worst. The smells even got stronger. I could smell dried fish, the disgusting goat meat, thyme, ginger, dried pepper, curry leaves, bay lea-

"I have never seen beauty like the one you possess," a voice heavy with the Igbo accent broke me away from my thoughts.

I slowly opened my eyes and was met with that of an elderly man's. There were greying hairs at the sides of his head and a vast continent of baldness at the top of his head. His face was wrinkled and he had grey eyes. He wore a long shirt that covered his pot belly, all the way down his knees. The shirt had slits on the sides. A dark pair of pants was below the shirt and he carried a long black staff for support, not that he needed it anyway. He seemed agile enough to run a short distance without having a heart attack midway.