The Market

[Jamilla Chong]

Jamilla had Aisha on one hip while she carried a poorly made bag carrying painted wooden animal statues. She walked over the local sales merchant she gave her statues to. She would come back at the end of the market day to get her money for the statues. In return for selling the statues she made furniture for the merchant. It added up to equal deal in the end. Sometimes the store doesn’t quite make an enough money.

“Puppy!” called Aisha pointing to a cage of small puppies at one of the stands. Jamilla sighed softy. It didn’t seem fair to keep telling Aisha ‘no’. Jamilla had a dog growing up so should Aisha, in Jamilla’s mind that is. She pulled out her small money bag. She looked in and frowned. “Aisha you have to wait until later when I get money for the statues, I don’t have enough money,” stated Jamilla. Aisha pouted at Jamilla. For a one year old she had a very convincing pout. Jamilla ruffled Aisha’s black hair.

Jamilla sat Aisha down as she paid for some fresh fruit. Aisha started to waddle towards the puppies. Of course the little girl wasn’t watching where she was going. She just walking paying no mind to the other people in the market. When Jamilla went to pick Aisha up she was gone. Jamilla looked around the market. There were a lot of people today. It seemed like half of District 7 was here. “AISHA! AISHA!” called Jamilla trying to stay calm. She didn’t leave her spot though in case Aisha were to walk back. “AISHA! AISHA! AISHA!” called Jamilla her voice straining more and more each time she called her name. Jamilla was starting to panic.

[uwu]

Today is my first day off in a while.

Hmm...

I'm not sure what to do today. Might as well visit the market, even though I don't have any money with me.

Today, the market's crowded. I suddenly see a little kid run by me.

I wonder what's happening today?

Suddenly, I hear a woman screaming “AISHA! AISHA!”

I move my wheelchair towards her voice, and I tried to find that woman.

“AISHA! AISHA! AISHA!” Found her.

"Hi, mam. What happened? Is there anything I can do to help?"

[Jamilla Chong]

Jamilla was trembling with fear. She couldn’t lose Aisha. Who knows what type of people were here? She didn’t trust anyone with her daughter, no matter what. She didn’t even trust her own father to watch Aisha. She knew she had to calm down. She certainly wouldn’t find Aisha if she was blinded with fear.

A young girl in a wheelchair came up to her. She didn’t know the girl’s name. She didn’t know a lot of people. Her life was working and taking care of Aisha. She had never been very social. People judged her after her mom killed herself. She didn’t blame them. She would have done the same thing if it was to someone else. Everyone knew that she had killed herself even though the reports say it was an accident.

“My one year daughter wondered off. She’s about this big. She has black hair and dark brown eyes. She’s wearing all pink,” explained Jamilla. She made an estimate to up to her knee for height wise for Aisha. She had never lost Aisha before, but then again Aisha hadn’t been walking the last time they were at the market.

[uwu]

The lady tells me that her child ran away.

Small... black hair... dark brown eyes...

It was that girl that ran past me a few moments ago!

"Mam, I think I know where your daughter is. I saw her run past me not to long ago."

I turn around and motion her to follow me.

"If my hunch is correct, your daughter might be heading towards the animal shop."

As I go through the market, I scan the crowed for the little girl, but also checking on the mother. We then arrive at the shelter.

I look around. Nothing.

I could have sworn that the kid was mumbling about dogs.

[Jamilla Chong]

Jamilla listened intently. Of course? Why hadn’t she thought about that? Aisha went back to the puppies. She sighed, she had told Aisha to wait but she was one years old. She doesn’t understand that. She pulled more money out of jeans and inside packet that she had made for spare emergency money. She’d put the money back in soon as had the money.

Jamilla fallowed the girl to the animal shop but she knew it wasn’t the shop they stopped by. It was a stand. “She won’t be here. It’s the stand not the shop. It was a vender not an official shop,” stated Jamilla.

[uwu]

I was still searching for the girl, confused.

“She won’t be here. It’s the stand not the shop. It was a vendor not an official shop.”

The stand?

"Which sta... ohhh OK." I say.

Oh! She meant the dog stand vendor! I remember passing it on the way into the market square.

"I'll help find it."


As we head over to the dog stand, I overhear someone yelling at someone else. I try to move there as fast as I can, but there are to many people in the way!

I really hope the girl isn't getting yelled at for petting the pups...

[Jamilla Chong]

Jamilla could get through the crowd a lot quicker than the person helping her. She had no problem pushing people if she needed to get through. She glared at anyone who got in her way or looked at her weirdly. People were plain rude sometimes. She didn’t care what they thought though as she pushed her way through the crowd. She had no problems cursing back if someone cursed her.

She wasn’t sure where the stand was but she was fallowing her gut. She somehow ended up in the right directions. She knew Aisha’s crying anywhere. She nearly hissed at a man who nearly stepped on her foot. She was tempted to stop on his foot and see how much he liked that but she had more control than that.

She scooped up Aisha right away. She instantly glared at the vender. The only time Aisha really cried anymore unless she needed a diaper change. She could say a few words and Jamilla could translate it into what Aisha needed. The only other reason she knew for Aisha to cry if someone would yell at her. “Why would you yell at a one year old child? She doesn’t know any better. I could have bought a dog for her here but I’d rather pay more at the shop now!” yelled Jamilla her voice filled with rage.

[uwu]

As I get to the stand, the vendor was yelling at the ladies daughter.

Why do you yell at a one year old?

The woman picked up, then started yelling at the vendor.

"Why would you yell at a one year old child? She doesn't know any better. I could have bought a dog for her here but I’d rather pay more at the shop now!”

Shoot! I need to stop this!

"Mam... It's OK. He was probably just protecting the pups. He doesn't want your daughter accidentally hurting them. And your daughter, she probably didn't mean to do anything. It's nobodies fault."

I hate it when people yell. It pains me because yelling normally results into violence, which I hate.

[Jamilla Chong]

Aisha played with Jamilla’s ears. She had instantly stopped crying soon as her mother picked her up. She had only been scared. “Puppy,” said Aisha pointing at the cage. Jamilla had to take a second to realize it wasn’t worth it.

Jamilla really didn’t hear a thing she was more focused on Aisha, as bare usual she ignored other people when she was with her daughter. She found other people outside of her two person family to be annoying for the most part. No one had any respect in this world. That wasn’t really a true statement but she didn’t care, it was true in her mind.

[uwu]

The lady seems calm now, but I don't think she heard me. She and her kid seem to be better off now.

I wonder if they're gonna get the dog from here or not?

That question is probably going to remain unanswered for now. The good thing is now they're united again. No more fear. No more separation.

I love it when people are happy.

"May the best be with you mam, and hopefully you'll get the dog best for you."

[uwu]

The lady seems calm now, but I don't think she heard me. She and her kid seem to be better off now.

I wonder if they're gonna get the dog from here or not?

That question is probably going to remain unanswered for now. The good thing is now they're united again. No more fear. No more separation.

I love it when people are happy.

"May the best be with you mam, and hopefully you'll get the dog best for you."

Hopefully they won't get separated again.

[Jack Lexington]

From a distance I watch the argument between the guy selling a few puppies and the woman with the child and another one.
I find it a little amusing and obviously have nothing better to do.
With a bag full of food on my back I lean heavily on the crutches, that have become a constant unwanted companion, to get by 180 pounds off my casted leg. I guess I shouldn't complain because I've only been out of the hospital for two days but I'm already terribly annoyed and bored because I can't work.
So watching a fight over puppies seems like the most interesting thing to do. Cheap amusement.

Once they've stepped away from the vendor I snicker a little as they pass me. "You're be better off not to buy any of those dogs. They're full of fleas and worms. Not the best thing for a little kid to play with."

To the second girl I add. "That was nice of you."

I guess I'm in conversational mood today. "I know where you can get a healthy dog though."

[Jamilla Chong]

Aisha cried when Jamilla walked away from the puppies. “Hush dear, I’ll get you a puppy just not from that ass,” said Jamilla. She had never censored her language even around her own child. She didn’t protect her child as much as some mothers. The less children are sheltered the better chance they will survive if reaped. Like her father Jamilla was going to do whatever she had to keep her daughter alive in the long run. Once she was five years old she’d teach her daughter how to use an axe. Younger than her father had started her, younger the better.

“Lovely,” said Jamilla rolling her eyes. Aisha rubbed her eyes irritated from crying. Jamilla whipped Aisha’s face. She still hated when Aisha cried but she couldn’t protect her from crying. She looked at Aisha when he mention another place to find a dog. She turned around to face the guy. She noticed the cast and crutches, she had seen all sorts of injuries it in District 7. Axes are dangerous weapons.

“Where?” asked Jamilla. She had promised Aisha a dog and she’d get one.

[uwu]

I see a boy as we walk by. He snickers, at us I think. He tells the lady:

"You're be better off not to buy any of those dogs. They're full of fleas and worms. Not the best thing for a little kid to play with."

Now that I think about it, those dogs at the vendor didn't look to well.

"That was nice of you."

Oh! That was for me!

I start to blush.

Then he tells the lady that he knows where there are healthier puppies or something. I wasn't paying attention. To busy thinking about the guy and the dogs.

Then it hits me:

Can we trust this guy?

Well the lady trusted me, so I might as well trust him.

"Goodbye, mam. Goodbye, sir. Good luck finding a dog!

[Jack Lexington]

Now that I have the ladies attention I offer them a smile. It's really none of my business what they are doing but seeing a little girl cry makes me a little weak. So I tell her.
"A friend owns a junk yard. He has two dogs to watch it and one of them just had puppies. He's looking for good homes for them." I explain before I wrap my hands around the wood of the crutches and turn around.
"I'll show you the way, if you want to. I'm going that way anyway. If you don't mind walking slowly."

The second girl says goodbye to us before we leave the market square.

I'm not really sure that giving in to a crying kid is a good reason to buy a dog so I look at her out of the corner of my eye and ask.
"Can you afford to feed a dog? I emen they need meat..." Not many people here have a steady diet of meat themselves and even less people, who don't need one for work, own a dog.