Yesterday at the market, I was buying smoked fish when one small girl carrying okro passed.I was standing close to a woman who was also buying fish. The market was closing just a few stragglers remaining.
The woman called on the girl selling the okro and asked 'how much?'. The small girl told her 200 each. The woman told her, 'you no see say night don reach?, if I no buy am you go carry am go house. I go buy am 100 naira each.'
The girl was begging her to buy the 3 left for 500 she told her "abeg go, you no want sell, when you ready, come back come meet me." The girl told her to bring 450 and the woman told her she should collect 300 or she carry her okro go house.
The girl started walking away reluctantly.
I was already contemplating on what to use my fish to cook and eat that night. Then, I started feeling the desire to take okro soup.
So I decided to call the girl back and told her to pack the okro for me. She told me 'aunty abeg buy am 400. If I sell am 300, my mama money no go comot(she won't have profit)E suppose be 450, but I no wan carry am go house'. I told her to pack them.
The woman was looking at me 👀, She asked the girl. 'Make I pay 350?' This is someone that said she had only 300 to pay before o. This woman bought fish of over 2k so it's not like she didn't have 100 to add then.😒😒
I told the girl "if I buy the okro 450, your money go commot?' She said yes.Tor! Abeg pack okro make I dey go house. She packed them, I gave her 500 and told her well done and she should use the 50 naira and buy something on her way home.
She jumped up in joy, tossed her tray up and down and ran with so much excitement. By now, market have closed. Okro has finished. The woman was just staring at me. Small girl has gone home. I have seen Okro that I will cook and eat. Life goes on.
There are two lessons from this my encounter:
Firstly, sometimes when it seems all hope is lost, hold on a little, your destiny is not in the hands of anyone. God can raise a helper for you in the least expected places and you won't need the person who constantly yells at your face "you're nothing without me".
Secondly, let's try and be considerate especially to the hawkers and market roadside sellers. If this woman had gone to a supermarket to buy that okro with a price tag of 1500, she will happily buy it with pride that she bought quality okro which might not even be as fresh as the little girl's own.
Life is hard already, let's try to make it bearable for each other because you don't know what your little act of kindness can do for someone in dire need of it ☺️