Corpus Civilization

Cameroon

"There, over there, Taiwo. Those bananas are ripe. To your left!"

The sweet scent of bananas carried thickly through the air, wafting towards the two siblings. Clouds of fruity fragrance rose and fell around them, as if a fruit storm were brewing in the air. It was so intense that flies flocked around the stalls in curious groups, landing on fruit skins and people's heads. For people at the marketplace, it was irritating. People swatted at their ears, their arms, and the fruits to protect them.

"Ugh." Taiwo slapped at a fly tangled in her hair. "There are so many people over there. Not to mention flies. It's just...ugh! Why don't you go over there for once, Paki. You can buy stuff this round. Please?"

"Patience, sister." Paki adjusted his shorts, yanking them up. They were always falling down, since they were hand-me-downs from one of his elder classmates. "We're going to get the bananas together. I'll go with you this time, since the crowds are bad today."

"Finally! He actually agreed!" Taiwo grabbed her brother's hand and tugged him down a dusty path leading to the banana stand. "Mom said we have to try to barter today. Get the prices down. Since her allowance isn't coming until two days later than normal."
A loud groan came out of Paki's mouth. It was prolonged, a drag of ugh that revealed he really wasn't looking forward to haggling for price changes. The stand operators at the Sandga marketplace weren't ones to cave easily. They always pretended they were giving customers fantastic deals with the cheapest prices and the best quality foods. Their acting skills were refined, situationally utilized with extra flourishes if they needed to convince more than one person.

All of this Paki and Taiwo knew; they'd grown up around the salespeople and knew their fancy tricks. They were seasoned veterans to the lying words and exaggerated statements of the sellers. Fruit was fruit. One apple could not be worth that much more francs than another apple. Especially since the apple orchards were all located in the same region. There was nothing that differentiated them, other than the lies attached to their skins.

This one is redder!

This fruit is juicer!

This one was blessed by the pastor in the village!

Taiwo knew that even if those things were true, she shouldn't be paying exorbitant amounts for the fruit. The current pricing system was akin to robbery. She understood the stand owners needed to support their own families, but her and her brother had to support their grandparents at home aside from their immediate family. For this reason, they bought produce in bulk. They needed a lot of food to feed their family, and recently, they were struggling to satisfy everyone after each meal. There were always hungry mouths left to fill and rumbling stomachs to assuage at the dinner table. They would need to be mindful at the market not to waste extra money if they could help it.

"Come on. Let's go." Taiwo pushed her brother along. "Now's the time--look, there's an open space. Go, go!"

Taiwo crammed her younger brother in between groups of people. Someone gave her a dirty look and scoffed, but she ignored it. The adults here were serious about their purchases, but she was too. Others seemed to think money matters were only left up to adults. But she held basically the entire household's allowance in her pocket, and she wasn't yet 15.

"Alright. Now just wait until it gets quiet, and yell to that man that we want four bundles. Okay?" She nudged his side. "I'll let you know when to go, Paki."

The younger boy nodded, accepting his role in their food-collecting. Typically, Paki lingered on the outskirts of the stands, waiting for her to push her way through the masses and complete the transaction for the family on her own. Today, he was coming with her to experience the troubleshooting she had to go through every time they went to the market. It was frustrating to get the prices down when the store owners weren't cooperating. Or when they refused to listen. Stubborn people!