Another election was close by. Miriam watched with grim expression as two white campaign vans with speakers tied to their roofs drove into the market square. Children raced after them in excitement with hopes of getting something to fill their bellies with.
She shook her head, muttering while fanning away dust from settling on her tomatoes with her chiffon scarf. All day, she'd barely made much sale because food items were expensive and people barely got by in the tough economy.
Lips turned up in a frown, she rearranged her tomatoes on the tables as voices boomed from the campaign vans. “Pump it up! Better days are here! Vote wisely!”
Cracked walls of the market, flooded gutters, dry borehole and dilapidated stalls contradicted the slogan of the campaign party. How were “better days here” when these issues had not been sorted?
“Pump what up? The price of vegetables?” She asked quietly. A few market women watching the vans snickered. One of them turned to her and asked, “Will you vote for them?”
Miriam shrugged seeing young men in crisp shirts jump out of the vans and began handing out branded t-shirts and face caps to people. “I'll wear the cap. Shade is more reliable than their empty promises.”
Soon the loudspeakers faded as evening settled and the vans drove away from the market. Miriam rearranged her tomatoes back into a basket. The children kicked a plastic bottle around themselves like football, laughing.
Though the government urged them to pump up their faith while letting the air out of their lives, she admired that in the midst of the hardship, her people would keep rebuilding hope from the scraps left behind.
I hope you enjoyed reading this short piece. It's inspired by the Freewrite #dailyprompt phrase "pump it up".
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