Corpus Civilization

Benin

The market sits right in front of them.

The bustling people and the noise, the occasional shout of prices of merchandise is a welcome sight. The twelve boys of various ages stay hidden in the crowd, together, yet nothing out of the ordinary.

"Let's go? Everyone ready?" Dizolo asks. He's the oldest, not by age, but by experience on the streets.

"Yup. Let's go, let's go!" Efe and Ese, the second youngest and the only twins in the group bounce excitedly, shaking their hands in a hybrid of a traditional Benin dance.

After a final headcount, the boys step into the boundaries of the market, senses overloaded with noise and scents that had their mouths watering. Making their way through the first few stalls, everyone's mouth dropping open as they see the variety of treats that lay before them. Trinkets of different origins, magazines layered with colourful pictures that begged for people's attention, cloth made from material that felt like silk against calloused hands.

But most of all...

It was the food.

The hunger that lay in all their bellies came alive at the scents and the youngest ones giggled at their rumbling bellies, rubbing the area like their older brothers had taught them.

"Can we get something to eat? Please, Joromi?" Suyi, the youngest of the twelve begs quietly, pulling at Joromi's dirty tee.

The older boy looks at Amadin, the one who handles all their money, a look in his eyes that begs to fulfill the youngest's spoken wishes and also the older boys' unspoken ones. Five seconds wasted, but Amadin sighs, pulling out the wallet from his waistband. He rifles through as the rest of the group watches, hopes risen, eyes wide open, the grumblings of their bellies lessened to an almost soundless noise.

The youngest three cheer when Amadin brings out two notes and hands them over to Dizolo.

"This is all we can use. It's enough for us to share some drinks and food. Spend wisely, your cute faces aren't getting anymore out of me." Amadin holds his frown for a total of seven seconds before he slips and allows the smile he hid to take over. He ruffles Suyi's rusty hair and pats the boy along to join in with the dancing twins.

Idah, the oldest, watches the group with a fond expression. "Let's get some stomach filling food. And if we have extra, we can get a couple treats for the younger ones." He whispers to Dizolo, knowing that despite the younger being the leader, Idah being the oldest gives him the rights to control some situations. Dizolo nods in agreement. The older ones will survive, but the youngest three need happy moments, little surprises to keep them joyous.

The group walks past the stalls, older men in their thirties yelling out deal after deal to try and convince passersby that their products are worth buying regardless of the prices being so high.

"Oo! Oo! Look at that!" Efe exclaims, pointing at a tub of water two stalls ahead of where the rest were. Ese reached him first and he, too began pointing excitedly. Ewaen reaches the twins first, Suyi right beside him, the rest just two paces behind. They all lean towards the tub to see a floating toy, a man made of plastic that thrashed in the water. Droplets of water on their faces had the boys giggling as the seller twisted the key on another copy of the toy and submerged it in the water, allowing it to run wild.

"Alright kiddos, let's get food first, then we can look at toys later, 'kay?" Oyuki calls, sending a wink to Idah. It seems everyone knows the plan by now.

"Okay. Dizolo, Idah! What should we get?" Suyi calls and the Idha rushes to attend, Dizolo a few paces behind.

"Buy one for each of the little ones." He whispers quickly to Zusi, throwing him some spare change he'd saved in his pocket. Zusi nods and moves to the side to let the others pass by.

Meanwhile, up front, "Can we get ago glain, Idah? I'm really craving some."

"Me too!"

"And some ablo too!"

"Dizolo, we've got to get some ablo!" Bosa and Nosa, the second pair of twins whine, which in turn causes the little ones to copy them.

"Ablo! Ablo!" they chant together.

The bigger boys laugh at them, Ewaen ruffling their hair in affection.

"Let's get some punch to wash down the food. You know how cranky they get when they're thirsty." Ewaen advises and the others nod to show their agreement.

"Alright then. We know what we're getting. How about we separate and we can each get one of the things we need? We'll meet up at the end of the market and then we can eat. Agree?"

"Yes, sir!" They all salute to Dizolo and he rolls his eyes but smiles nonetheless. They're his family. How can he not enjoy their sense of humor?

"Okay. Ewaen and Idah, you're with Ese and Efe. You guys can get ablo." Dizolo says, nodding to Amadin to hand them a note. "Idah knows the best quality of things, so stick with him. And for goodness' sake, don't annoy him. Or you might come back empty handed." Dizolo warns the twins with a serious look. They stare at Idah with fear in their eyes and casually slip behind Ewaen. They know how hard Idah can be. He's done it before. Dizolo stares at the twins until they give him a nod in confirmation. Ewaen leads them away.

"Okay. Joromi, Suyi, Oyuki andddd...is Zusi here? Oh, there he is. Well, Zusi, you're with them. You guys can get ago glain. Oyuki, see if you can barter for extra." The second group takes the money from Amadin and heads off in another direction. "Amadin, Bosa, Nosa, you're with me. We'll get the punch."

The other three nod and then they're off too, heading to where they can hear salesmen calling out for people to come and get a refreshing drink.

---

It's not long before the rest have gathered up at the end of the market, sitting in wait for Dizolo to show up. He'd sent Amadin and the twins ahead, claiming he had to use the bathroom. For now, the youngest ones are quiet, but they'll start getting grumpy soon if not fed food.

"When will Dizolo come? Why is he taking so long? Dizolo, if you don't come right now, I will hate you forever and ever." Suyi threatens, standing up in a sudden move that startles everyone.

"Hey, don't hate me. I don't think I could live if you did." Someone replies and they all turn to see Dizolo standing behind them, hand in his pockets but seeming a little out of breath. "I'm sorry, Suyi. Let's eat now, shall we?"

"Thank god." Oyuki mutters under his breath, earning a laugh from Dizolo.

"What took you so long?" Amadin asks Dizolo after everyone's too busy in their munching to notice.

"This." Dizolo whispers back, holding out his hand that holds a bunch of candies. Amadin's gasp draws everyone to them.

"Candy?"

"Candy!"

"Woah!"

Dizolo chuckles and hands out one to each of them. He gestures to Zusi to hand out the plastic men that swam in water. Once they're out in the open, screams pierce the air.

"No! Way!"

"Yes! Way!"

"Yay! Thank you!" 

---

By Jem