Madam Tasty
The market woman that never slept.
The gutters of sura market ran with blood that was, for the first time…not the blood of chickens that had been gutted or goats that were beheaded at sunrise.
Students of Finbars have always had one place to congregate, a constant in their lives that never disappointed. But after the 64th annual inter house sports…they now have two tales to tell, two tales that will forever be a constant.
Sura market was a place of scattered joy. The vendors would set up their kiosks as early as they could, most of them being side by side with people who sold the exact same thing as them, down to the same bottle of bleach. You grow to hate these people because they steal your customers, or they have cheaper prices than you that appease everyone. But Madam tasty was different.
In a sea of provision vendors and furniture sellers, madam tasty would get up at 4am to make different types of dough for her puff puff pastries, her agege bread and her sought after meat pies.
“That kind of market will not sell here” Madam tasty was told on different occasions.
“Go to egungun market if its food you want to sell” she was told. By people who probably wanted to help her, because it was odd… who comes to a provision and furniture sector to set up shop for pastries?
“people will want to eat when they are shopping for their houses, don’t you worry” madam tasty said confidently.
“ok o! ” they would spit back at her “that’s your problem”.
And so madam tasty would be ready at 7am, steaming buckets of puff puff, sacks of meat pie and trays of agege bread. And she indeed was right.
At 10am every day she would be bombarded by mothers and professional shoppers who would want snacks during the market day. By 3pm she would be closing up shop because everything had been bought and she can go home, rest and prepare for another day.
But, on this friday, after setting up shop, sitting under the hot sun, the gutters around the market flowed with fish bones and left over rice. Chickens and guinea fowls ran amok, in search of sustenance as they pecked on anything they could find.
10 am came and went, so did 11 and then 12. Madam tasty sat at her shop, using a card-baord cut out to fan herself. She had started to worry that it would be a bad day, there was a hold up, cars blaring their horns, no one stopping to buy any food. But these cars were not the usual suspects that one would see in sura market. No, they were not the camrys, highlanders and yellow buses that the drivers and housemaids would highlight from.
They were escalades, mercedes benz’s, cars that you would not even be able to see through if you tried. But none of them wanted anything from madam tasty.
“who are all these people” she asked, talking to the provision seller next door.
“its like they are using this road to avoid the bridge” she responded with a frown on her face. She as well was not enjoying the lagos afternoon heat, wiping the sweat from the middle of her breasts and flinging the droplets wherever they chose.
“na wa” madam tasty exclaimed “they are blocking all our customers today”
“no o” another seller yelled from across the road “my son is in that school across the court, they are having sports day, thats where all these cars are going”
“eheh” the frowning lady beside madam tasty said still not happy with the blaring cars.
1pm had come and was starting to pass the market by. In all her days Madam tasty had never had leftovers to take home, her pastries were always fresh. But as she started to contemplate giving away her pastries for free, wondering if she could maybe reheat some in the morning. A swarm of students with painted faces, sands on their feet and sports wear had started to storm madam tasty.
Oh, was she delighted.
Agege bread was the first to go. They grabbed the loaves in batches, paying madam tasty and leaving immediately, not even worrying to collect whatever amount their change was. Next were the meatpies, though they had been sweating in the bowls they were being kept, the students did not seem to care. They rushed the meat pies whilst going to the next shop to buy cold soft drinks and leaving with haste as well.
“ah ah” madam tasty said under her breath. Market was starting to sell out at the last hour, just when she was getting ready to give up.
All that was left were the balls of puff puff, even if she was not able to sell those, she would still call it a good day. But as she started to clean up the empty trays and bowls, students came yet agai n and swarmed her for what she had left.
“market don finish” she smiled as more students started to come. “Come back tomorrow” she laughed as she started cleaning the shop for closing.
“i don’t think they’ll allow that” the market seller beside madam tasty said, sitting down looking at her untouched provisions.
“they’ll be alright” madam tasty said, turning her back.
“no im serious, look” the market seller said, starting to get up.
In front of madam tasty’s shop, more students in their sports uniforms and jerseys were standing in front of the shop, with no signs of moving at all.
“my children-” madam tasty started, but she gasped as she noticed something she had never seen before. The eyes of the students were hollow and black. Their lips ashy and necks almost starting break from how dry they had suddenly become.
“jesus” madam tasty jumped back, falling backwards on her empty containers. She had looked so far down their eyes that she had felt their hunger, they were ravenous and did not plan on moving on from the shop.
“Market don close!” she shouted, struggling to stand up. But the students did not care. Together they started to take down madam tasty’s shop. In search of food, but with careless abandon. They shook down the wood that held the roof together, thrashed all the containers to the ground. Until all that was left was madam tasty.
“HELP ME O, THESE CHILDREN HAVE RUN MAD” She pleaded, but no other market sellers came to her aid. In fact, they had all closed up and the once loud and filthy street was now empty and silent.
The only business that took place for the rest of the day in the sura market happened in the gutters. The waters in the gutters were now busy with washing the guts and blood of madam tasty.