It's Monday again! A day filled with it's characteristic hustle and bustle. Being the first working day of the week, everyone is eager to start off right and make a good first impression. But in all the busyness of the day, at whatever time you come across this post. Here's a light humour story for your entertainment, enjoyment and relaxation!
Ochi lay on his bed one Friday afternoon after returning from lectures and feeling hungry. He ignored all the appeals from the snack vendors that came into the Albert Einstein's Lodge to market their wares–the okpa woman, the boy with the plantain chips, the cakes and pastries seller, the boli.....all of those didn't interest him. He craved something more homely and appetizing–vegetable soup from Food Paradise restaurant.
After checking his account balance and seeing the pathetic figure, he waved off sadly the idea of going to enjoy a plate of vegetable soup paired with fufu at Food Paradise restaurant. But he was determined, he would prepare it himself. Although he had no knowledge of how to prepare the soup, he picked up his phone and searched "how to prepare vegetable soup".
The "Wedeycook" blog post caught his attention with their mouthwatering vegetable soup on display. He quickly scribbled down some necessary requirements for the soup that he didn't have in his cupboard including crayfish, scotch bonnet, onions, cowskin and fluted pumpkin!
Cowskin, he knew as ponmo, but for the fluted pumpkin....Anyways, "I'll ask them at the market" he said, sparing no thought, grabbed a sack and rushed out. He got to the market in no time, got all the cordiments he needed except scotch bonnet and fluted pumpkin.
Ochi searched vainlessly for scotch bonnet and fluted pumpkin. All the market women he asked told him they had never heard of such things in their life. He walked about the market like a lost begger asking for scotch bonnet and fluted pumpkin. One woman chased him away from her stall suspicious of his intentions after he unknowingly walked to her stall again to ask for the same thing.
He became frustrated. "Is it possible that in this whole market, nobody has vegetable soup ingredient? What have they been using?" He asked aloud.
But he decided to ask for the last time at a stall nearby. It was Mama Obioma's stall, she sold everything anyone would need to make a great pot of soup. Ochi met her and told her his predicament. Mama Obioma looked at him pathetically.
"They don't exist in this part of the world. You've just been stressing yourself unnecessarily". She said.
"Here, let me tell you what you need to prepare a delicious pot of vegetable soup. You need some ugwu leaves, water leaf, pepper, red oil, crayfish, onions, e.t.c and that's all, nothing much" she said confidently.
"Have you bought water leaf?"
"Yes" Ochi replied tiredly.
"Then you need ugwu leaves too".
She gave him ugwu leaves of #200. "This one should do", she said. She checked his sack.
"You also need pepper o, there's no pepper in what you bought" she said and gave him some fresh peppers.
Before he left, she explained the procedure to him very well on how to prepare vegetable soup. When he got home, he followed the steps religiously and got the desired result. He was so proud of himself. His efforts were not in vain afterall.
When Ochi narrated his ordeal to his female friend, Chiamaka, she laughed out loud.
"Ochi" she called. "The fluted pumpkin you were looking for were ugwu leaves and the scotch bonnet was exactly the fresh pepper the woman gave you"
Ochi looked amazed.
"So, I was looking for something that was right there but didn't know it was it, chai..Wedeycook" he lamented. Chiamak laughed so hard.
"The more you looked, the less you saw" she said amidst laughter.
Thanks for reading through. I hope it made your day. See you in my next post. Bye.
