Let me interest you in an orange.
"Let me interest you in an orange?" a girl would always tell me when I passed her by the market place. "no," I would reply everyday. I had nothing better to do where I was going, had no use for the coins in my pocket, some of them would get lost in my room. I am not a bad person, just human, just didn't have time to stand and buy an orange in these parts of town. I didn't even look her in the face, never knew how she looked, or what outfits she wore, just new the sound of her voice, a soft squiggly, tiny voice, that always uttered these words, " let me interest you in an orange."
The first time I stood there, it was in the evening. I was making my trip back from campus library, i was quit tired and weary. Two male voices shouted behind me. Calling me vulgar names while asking me to wait for them. feeling gripped by fear, I ran, then they started chasing me. I ran as fast as my heavy body could. Hoping to god, I can make it home safely. When I reached the market place a woman stopped me, and shuvved me inside. She stood by the door, with her hands on her hips.
When the boys came, they greeted her as they passed, respectifully. She asked them to stand and after a while of talking they left quietly. In the shop where i hid sat a little girl around ten years old, she was playing with dolls, wearing a cute little dress, with messy hair. I looked at her but she didn't seem to notice me. When the woman entered, I tried hard to thank her, she offered me water to drink. "my husband we'll be coming to pick us up soon, if you dont mind we can wait and we will take you home," she said.
"no I leave close by, i'll walk, but thank you for your help," I replied.
"I guess you are the reason we couldn't find the lock today, fate must have wanted us to save you." I giggled, feeling very honoured to be favored by fate. "it is better if I stand out and watch you leave, so those boys dont attack you,"
"again thank you," I said as I stood. "did she greet you? she barely looks up when she is playing with those things, cecialia!" she shouted at the kid. " did you say hi to the guest?! what did i tell you about being rude to people, do you even realiase that you are the one who lost the lock, why aint you looking for it, I will take those things and throw them away," she scolded. The little girl gave her a warning look, as if she had a lot to say but valued ger life too much to say it. " hi," she said to me. "hi," I replied to her, smiling. "are you mad I didnt talk to you?' she said, as if to shame her mother. "not at all," I giggled. And with that she gave her mother a look, as in see?
"lets go," the woman petted my back. We turned to leave, but i stood as the little girl said to me, " here, do you like oranges?" And something hit me, like a wave of emotions I never knew i had, like a hiden guilt, or broken pride. And I turned around slowly, just to look this little girl in the face, to see what I haven't taken time to look at. To see if she recognised me, the girl who has never spared her a second of her useless time, the one with too many coins but has never gave her one.
Me, a human being with my human flaw of ignorance, Karma played a fair game this time, teaching me a lesson I never thought I needed to learn. So i smiled back at this girl, reaching her hand to offer me a huge orange, I felt enlightened as i reached my hand to take it. And with a warm smilen I replied," thank you, I love oranges."
Comments