A few weeks ago a ten year old girl showed up at our door one night. It was already dark, but I could see that the figure on the other side of the door was a child. I opened the door and asked her what she wanted. She had a large basket on her head wrapped in banana leaves and tied with rope.
She came in, took the basket off her head and opened up the package. She was selling bananas. I asked her how old she was. She told me she was ten. I bought some bananas since I figured any little girl out after dark selling bananas needed the money. She only charged three hundred shillings for a bunch of maybe ten bananas, that's about 15 cents. They're the little bananas which are the best tasting ones.
I've since found out that her name is Marie and she's in P. 5 (Primary 5 or 5th grade) at St. Patrick School. She sells the bananas and sometimes avocados or mangoes. She comes by a couple of times a week. I always buy something. Her prices are better than the trading center and I figure if I buy her stuff, she'll get home sooner. I don't like a ten year old girl being out after dark.
Today Bry'Chell and I went out walking, back to the hill with the great view. As we were walking along who should we see but Marie. She was pushing a bicycle with a large stalk of bananas tied to the back. She positively lit up when she saw us. Of course, she's usually smiling when we see her. I don't know if she finds us entertaining or if she's just a happy kid.
Tonight she came by again selling bananas, even though I just bought some from her last night. I bought some more, of course. This time she had the courage to ask us our names. I told her both our names. She had trouble with Bry'Chell's name. Actually, I think she's way more curious about Bry'Chell than about me. I'm just another Muzungu, but Bry'Chell doesn't fit any clear category. Besides, Bry'Chell is a kid. Even better, these days Bry'Chell is a kid who understands quite a bit of Luganda.
Well, I have to get the cake out of the oven. The last chocolate cake turned out so well I'm baking another one. I can't even take credit for baking this cake. Bry'Chell did the mixing while I dumped in the ingredients.
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