TEMPTED SOUL

I was furious. I could feel my heart beating like a drum. It was like a volcano that wanted to explode. The guy started smiling at me like the being on the pack of a cabin biscuit. I didn’t smile back at him. I know of a lot of things happening here in the city. The rumors were obvious.

My brother had warned me to always stay alert due to scammers. What usually scared me more is that most of these people used black magic (juju) to outsmart people in their workplaces. When they use juju, their tongue becomes a silver tongue, and whatever they tell you to do is exactly what you will do.

“What do you want to buy, sir?” I asked as I pushed the money back into my sales bag. This time around, I kept my eyes on him as he walked around the shop, looking up at the goods on the counter one after the other. He didn’t talk to me; he just kept walking around the shop like he was looking for something.

“What do you need so I can help you find it?” I asked again, and he ignored my question. He hissed and looked at me from head to toe.

“Where is the owner of this shop?” In my mind, I was like, why would he be asking after the owner of the shop? Did he come to look for the owner of the shop or did he come to buy something? This guy must have something at the back of his mind.

“I own the store, so what do you want?” I replied, still looking at him carefully.

“Well, I can’t seem to find exactly what I am looking for. I think you don’t have it and I need to move to the next shop.” He said and was about to head out of the shop.

“What do you mean? Did you mention the name of what you want?” I blurted. And he turned his face towards me and smiled. To me, that was a fake smile.

“I don’t really know the name of the product, but I can identify it if I see it with my eyes,” he said, trying to play smart on me. Me, I knew this guy was a thief and wanted to test me. But seeing that I was smart made him change his pervaded mind.

“That is not how to do things, sir. When you go to the market, you should know what you’re looking for. You should write down the name of the item. What if you go around the market and you don’t see it, so you turn around and go home?” I said, trying to engage him in a conversation.

“You must be a stubborn girl to ask me that litany question. I hate it when people talk at me anyhow.” He was angry at me and started ringing out his boisterous voice.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you with my words. I was just trying to let you know in case of next time.” I whispered audibly.

“Keep shut, are you okay?” He fired at me. “See, if you don’t know the way to talk to your elders, better keep your dirty mouth closed.” I was confused because I didn’t see where I went wrong in my statement. The way he was shouting at me made my heart beat in fear. But, I didn’t keep my cool. I let my anger get loose while I rained words on him.

“You must be the one with a dirty mouth.” I fired back at him. He raised his right hand to give me a resounding slap, and quickly, I moved backward while he followed me. I was scared of him because he seemed like a lion about to eat me raw.

Just then, Bro Emma walked into the shop to see what was going on. I was sure he had heard our rants and decided to come. Emma was a good neighbour in the market who didn’t take me for granted. He said I was the most beautiful girl on earth. He was a married man and always said he would marry me for his eight-year-old son. Well, that was fun.

“Nkem, what is the problem?” He asked in his usual gentle voice. I explained everything to him, though according to him, he said he didn’t find any fault with any of us. I knew he was lying to me. He just wanted to dismiss the case so that everyone could go back to their normal business.

“Young man, please don’t be angry at her. She is your younger sister,” he pleaded with the guy.

“Nkem, don’t feel bad about what just happened. That is the way these guys move about in the market looking for whom to attack. If you are not careful, they may make away with your hard-earned money. Next time if you see these kinds of people, just let them go with their problem before they impose it on you.” Bro Emma advised just the moment the guy left the shop.

I totally agreed with him and promised him I’d be watchful and careful about these kinds of people.

“That’s why I love you; always be a good girl for me and my son.” He thanked me and left when he noticed that there was a customer standing at the front of his shop.

In the evening, the weather had changed. There is no doubt, looking at the cloud, I knew it was going to fall. So, I quickly arranged my things in the shop and closed for the day. But just the moment I was about to leave, the rain started falling cat and dog.

I stayed in my shop till it was getting dark since the majority of people had started going out of the market with an umbrella, and some of them used black nylon to cover their hair, while some just swam into the rain, and they didn’t care at all. In order not to stay here too long. I tried reaching out to my elder brother on the phone, but the network seemed too poor due to the weather.

I carried my bag that contained all my sales and went to stand at the roadside to look for a tricycle that would take me home. Everywhere was getting dark. While I was standing alone at the roadside, I turned my face to my right-hand side and noticed a fair guy walking towards me. When I looked very closely, it was the same guy that came to my shop that afternoon. I was scared and started to panic.

My heart started pumping out in fear. So I started thinking, “Why is he walking towards me? Did he want to rob me? Oh, I am finished escaped from my mind because there was no one close to the place.