Today's prompt is stinky fish and it reminds me of something that happened at Onitsha main market.
Last month I went to buy fish with my mother. We entered the fish section and the smell was too much. Different types of fish everywhere - dry fish, fresh fish, stockfish. My mother wanted to buy fresh catfish for soup.
We saw one woman selling big fresh fish. The fish looked fine from outside but when we came closer, the smell hit me. It was a stinky fish. I told my mother "mummy this one is smelling too much, maybe it has spoilt". But the woman said "no, na so fresh fish dey smell, na normal thing".
My mother is a strong market woman, she knows fish well. She touched the fish and pressed its stomach. The water that came out was dark and the smell became worse. She told the woman "this your fish don spoil, you keep am since yesterday without ice". The woman started shouting that we want to spoil her market.
My mother just laughed and pulled me away. We went to another woman whose fish was inside a cooler with ice. That one was fresh and not stinky. We bought from her and went home.
When we got home and my mother cooked the fresh fish soup, the aroma filled the whole house. My younger brother who was sleeping woke up and said "mummy what are you cooking, it smells nice".
That day I learned a lesson. Not every fish in the market is fresh. Some sellers will try to sell stinky fish as fresh fish just to make money. You have to be wise and know how to check.
So when I saw today's prompt stinky fish, I just remembered that market day. If you don't shine your eye, they will sell stinky fish for you and you will carry the smell back to your house.
Image source AI