Melancholy...

Chapter 16

I looked around carefully as my tired eyes scanned the busy rank for potential costumers. Africa's dashing sun had left me tired and dizzy,but it was only 3pm and I knew I had more work to do. Life had been difficult in the past few days considering the fact that my only source of income was now street hawking .

Though I was tired,I was grateful to God for the amount of money I had been able to make so far. It was a market day in Accra, and to be able to make money, I woke up as early as 4am and got here around 5:15am. The struggle had paid off as I had sold over 12 bags of water that day alone and it wasn't even evening yet.

I let a little smile rest on my lips in satisfaction as I looked around the taxi rank more. Today instead of selling at the traffic light,I decided to switch it up a bit and come here like I sometimes did on market days. The day had began with me selling water in the market and around 1pm,I moved here to the rank.

Usually on market days,I stayed away from the market because there were so many hawkers there who sold exactly what I sold and this made the competition tough. You could go a whole day without selling even one bag of water.

From my place under the small shed where hawkers usually rested when tired,I saw some 3 women bargaining over the price of pepper and made a mental note to buy some before I go home. The rank was so busy but everyone went about the business quietly and hurriedly and that impressed me.

One thing that made me proud to be Ghanaian was how most people minded their business most of the time but were at the same time hospitable and welcoming. There were however a few people who never seemed to mind their own business, and the two girls I was sitting next to were the perfect examples.

Chewing their tasteless gum noisily, they gossiped about other hawkers and even customers and I had to bite my sharp tongue to prevent me from telling them to mind their business. Having had enough rest, I got up, gave them a disapproving look and went on with my business.

Soon it was 6pm which meant I had to go home. Happy with what I had been able to sell that day,I walked home peacefully, thankful to God for everything. I got home about 45 minutes later and dropped the basin on the veranda loudly. The door was not locked which meant that my mother had come home from selling in front of Aunty Owusuwaa's shop.

"Crystal" I called from outside, sitting on the stool tiredly. With an annoyed expression on her face, she opened the door slightly and popped her head out.
"What?" She replied,drumming her fingers on the door.
I gave her a look as I leaned my head on the wall. 

These little siblings felt like they are grown once they start to learn about reproductive system.

"Is food at home?"
"Yeah" she replied, closing the door. I rolled my eyes and entered the room, greeting my mother. After taking a bath,I ate some food and sat on the terrace, looking in the skies.

"I'm really starting to get old because I just find peace in looking in the skies and minding my business" I thought,chuckling quietly. The wooden door opened and closed, interrupting me from the funny date I was having with myself. I looked back and saw my mother sitting on the wooden stool.

I turned slightly so part of my face was facing her and stared at my beautiful mother. "Have you taken your drugs?" I asked, playing with the broomstick I picked on the floor.

She nodded to show she had and massaged her legs slowly.
"Selinam, you know I don't like putting pressure on you but the bills are piling up. Water bills are unpaid, your sister's fees unpaid, a majority of my drugs have not been bought either..." she said drifting off.

In silence,I put my head in my dress and sat quietly for sometime. In times like this, I just prayed to God for guidance and Grace.
"Okay Ma, I've heard you. Tomorrow we will see how much money we have and how much we can pay off. It's late now, let's go to bed. " I said, sounding as convincing as I could.

After making sure that my sisters had brushed their teeth and were all sleeping, I gave my mother a small kiss on her cheek and squeezed myself on the small mat that I shared with Crystal.

"Dear Lord, just as we discussed" I thought as my eyes met darkness.

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Q:If you were to make money from Wattpad what would you use it for?
A: it has always been my desire to help the needy so if I get money from it, I'll save like 50% for my self and use the remaining 50% for benevolent programmes.

Hi loves. I hope everyone is fine. Thank you for reading this chapter..y'all don't even know how grateful I am. 🙈❤️ Please continue to comment,like and share. Please follow me if you are not doing so already. You can also follow me on my Instagram (ta.arianna)