I was selling bananas in the streets of Rocky town; a very busy town where vendors were many like ants when a white land cruiser car stood beside me. The glinding window of the white land cruiser car was slowly pushed down when I saw a man who was dressed in a white suit and wore spectacles. I couldn't understand whether the man was blind or not but that was least of my worries. At least he was going to be my first consumer after hours of waiting for someone to save my day.
" I want to buy all of your bananas" said the man as he took his wallet and immediately removed ten thousand shillings then wanted to give it to me. It was then that I realized that this man was not blind, he just loved dark spectacles.
" What! All these bananas! For ten thousand shillings! I can't accept that sir" I replied and refused to take the ten thousand shillings.
" But I want to give you ten thousand shillings for all those bananas. This won't really mean that you are stealing from me" said the man and this time his voice seemed harsh as he removed his spectacles.
The harshness of his voice did not really scare me but the looks on his face. He had a disability in one of his eyes and maybe that was the main reason why he wore his spectacles.
" I live on my own principles. I cannot take your ten thousand for twenty bananas. You can as well find another vendor to buy bananas from her at such a price" I said as I walked out of the man but then realized that his car kept following me slowly.
This made me to run as fast as I could but as soon as I increased my own speed, he also increased the speed of his car which made me to be filled with lots of tension. I felt as if my life was being threatened. This was my first time being a banana vendor but then the sight of this man made me to get scared to do this kind of job again. Yet I just had to do it. I lived with my mother who had been diagnosed with stage three acute leukemia. Since then, she was admitted at the hospital undergoing chemotherapy and her health being monitored by the doctor. I suffered during this times as my mother was the one who used to sell bananas whereas I stayed at home since the money she got as banana vendor had never been possible for me to go to school. Yet my mother's health condition worsened which forced me to work as a banana vendor which I hated the most inorder to provide for myself and pay a little of my mother's hospital bills which were not nearly quarter of the outstanding bill.
I finally decided to stop and looked at the man who had now put his spectacles on.
" What do you want from me?" I asked him filled with lots of anger.
" I want you to be my wifey. I want you to marry me. Cook for me, dance for me, sing for me and finally, be my spy" said the man in the car as he smiled at me.
" I what! I do what!" I asked a little bit astonished.
A lot of questions rang through my mind. Was it that my body seemed as sweet as honey? Was it that a banana vendor was worth anything that any rich man would want to take care of?
I could see from his dressing code to his car how rich he was.
" What is your name? How old are you?" The man asked me but telling him my name was not a problem. The problem was that if I accepted his proposal , it would mean that I am selling myself off to him since I hardly hardly possessed anything under my name.
" My name is Emma Beka I am twenty......" I said but I was suddenly interrupted by a call which I knew was from the hospital where my mother had been admitted to.
The doctor informed me that my mother's condition was worsening and the fact that my mother really wanted to have a conversation with me. Out of frustuation, I dropped my tray which had all the bananas in it and immediately boarderd a taxi to Baraka hospital. I commanded the taxi driver to drive as fast as he could not knowing that the rich man in black spectacles was following me closely.
As soon as we arrived at the hospital which was a ten minutes drive, I realized that I had no any money to pay the taxi driver since I had not yet sold any bananas. Therefore, I knew that a trick would save me from the driver's claws.
" Do you have a thousand shillings change sir?" I asked the taxi driver.
" No! Just give me the money then I will go seek for change" replied the taxi driver in a serious tone.
" I have an idea. I have a sick patient at the hospital. I am going to pay the hospital bills. Let me then go there and seek for change then come back to pay you" I said to the taxi driver in a pellucid voice.
" That will only happen if I accompany you to the hospital" said the taxi driver.
