As we traipsed hand in hand in the cool evening breeze along what I had to assume was an open mad house. It seemed everyone here knew where they were going and had some sort of code to navigate all the chaos.
And as I trailed alongside grandma, she seemed to also understand this unspoken code as we stopped frequently to survey the goods in some stalls and the next second we were on the move sometimes having bought nothing.
It seemed if you wanted something here you had to haggle like your life depended on it. It was kind of a dance where you sometimes had to feign disinterest and interest at the proper times to get the seller to lower their prices.
Unlike where I was from where everything already had it's price tag, this was my first time at the Open-Sea market and I was loving every bit of this mad experience.
Two Days Earlier
I was perhaps the most shocked when I'd just returned from school after the last day of exams and announced that I was going to spend the holidays with Grandma and surprisingly my parents had agreed.
Grandma lived close to the sea and although I'd heard numerous stories whenever she visited us, I'd never visited her before.
"You mean I can actually go visit her?" I asked again, still in shock
'Yes dear, I believe it would be a lovely idea" my dad replied.
I was soon howling as I ran to my room to call and inform grandma of the news. I heard my mum mutter your daughter is raving mad from the living room.
That was only two days ago and I'd only arrived at Grandma's place this morning.
We were now at the market to get something for dinner. Moving from stall to stall, sometimes buying and sometimes only stopping as grandma exchanged pleasantries with some of her friends.
At one stall in particular a man was necklaces made of seashells all in different designs. Grandma stopped to talk to him and as I looked around, I noticed one box with the words mystery written on it.
Apparently you had to take a risk buying it and whatever you found whether cheap or expensive was your luck.
I didn't have any money to buy it so my gaze was soon drawn towards the sea spread before us in the distance as some fishing vessels were coming ashore with their nets filled with fishes and seagulls circling round in the air, perhaps hoping for a quick steal.
What caught my attention in particular were the children playing, swimming and running in a carefree manner. I'd been to Disneyland with my parents once, but this seemed like an actual fairytale.
It was almost dark by the time we got back to Grandma's cottage, but I was somehow still brimming with energy at the new experience.
Grandma was going to make fish stew and rice for dinner and as we worked alongside each other in the kitchen, I asked for one of her stories.
'I noticed how you gazed at the sea earlier Zelly, I once had that same look the first time I found myself here" she replied.
Only grandma called me Zel, to everyone else I was Zelda.
'Long time ago, I was once a city girl like you. But I loved traveling and seeing new places, so one day I ended up visiting here. What I thought would be a weeks visit ended up being most of my whole life. " she smiled at my surprised look.
"I was gazing at the beauty of the sea when a man walked towards me. Apparently he'd already deduced that I wasn't from here and offered to be my tour guide for as long as I wanted to stay.
At the end of the week, I knew I couldn't leave anymore not after I was already in love with the people, the culture and most importantly with him.
That was how I met your grandpa and we eventually got married, I've lived here ever since. Perhaps you'll find your treasure here as well"
As we finished dinner and she tucked me into bed, I felt a bump under my pillow. A quick look and it was the mystery box from earlier. Grandma must've gotten it when my attention was somewhere else.
As I opened the box and beheld what was inside, I knew I was going to enjoy every moment of this holiday. Somewhere far out at sea, I heard the call of a seagull and I smiled remembering the memory from earlier.