A Dark Trade:
Synopsis.
The sun was very hot in the big market. The air was full of the smell of dried fish, new cloth, and the dust that rose from the ground. Everywhere you looked, people were moving. Some were shouting to sell their goods. Others were walking fast to find what they wanted to buy. In the middle of all this noise sat Chidi. Chidi was a young man with big dreams. He sat in his small shop where he sold leather bags. He had worked in this shop for many years. He made the bags himself. He used his hands to sew the leather. He used his feet to move the heavy machine. But today, Chidi was not thinking about his bags. He was not thinking about the work he had to do. Chidi was looking at something else.
In the corner of his eye, Chidi saw a man walking past. The man was dressed in very expensive clothes. He looked like someone who had never known hunger. But it was not the clothes that caught Chidi's eye. It was the watch on the man's wrist. It was a gold watch. It was so bright that it seemed to catch all the sunlight in the market. The gold was yellow and shiny. It looked heavy and rich. Chidi knew about things that cost money. He knew that this single watch was worth more than everything in his shop. It was worth more than all his bags. It was worth more than his shop itself. Chidi felt a sharp pain in his chest. It was the pain of envy.
Written By: A.F.P
