The first thing that everyone noticed about Mama Tola when she got to her stall on that Monday afternoon was that she had gone quiet, this was strange because Mama Tola used to be the noise herself.
She always argued with customers in the market,also laughed too loudly at jokes that were not even funny in any way just to get customers to buy, and always had something to say about everybody's business, see If you passed by her stall without greeting her, she will call you back.
“Is your mouth paining you? Or greeting is now expensive?”
But for three weeks straight, Mama Tola barely spoke.
She still opened her tomato stall every morning, Still arranged her baskets neatly,She still collected money, but her mouth? Locked, No arguments, there was no laughter, Just nodding and shaking her head.
And People noticed...
One afternoon, Aunty Bose, the self-appointed gossip coordinator of the market, leaned over the stall.
“Mama Tola, what is it?” she asked, “You didn’t even shout at that girl that priced tomatoes without buying, Are you sick?”
Mama Tola didn’t answer, She kept arranging tomatoes like they might run away.
Aunty Bose clicked her tongue, “Hmm. Silence is dangerous o, Talk now before it turns to sickness.”
Still nothing...
By evening, rumors had already started walking faster than okada.
“She quarreled with her husband.” “No, it’s her son, That boy is trouble.” “I heard she lost money,” “Maybe somebody did her jazz.”
Only Tola, her seventeen year old daughter, knew the real reason.
That particular night, Tola found her mom sitting on the veranda just outside the house, she was staring into nothing.
“Mommy,” Tola said softly, sitting down beside her, “You did not eat?.”
Mama Tola shrugged.
“You haven’t been talking,” Tola added, “People are asking questions.”
Mama Tola finally spoke, her voice low and tired, “Let them ask.”
Tola hesitated, “Is it because of Uncle Kunle?”
That name hung in the air like unfinished business, Mama Tola sighed, “I have always talked all my life, ehn Tola, I talked when it did mattered, I talked when it did not, this time, I am tired.”
Uncle Kunle was her younger brother. The one she paid school fees for, The one she helped start a shop, the one who borrowed money and promised heaven and earth.
Three weeks ago, he had stood in her house and said calmly, “I don’t remember owing you anything.”
That sentence broke something.
Not loudly, not dramatically, It just....shut her up.
The next morning at the market, Sadiq, a young vendor, tried to joke with her.
“Mama Tola, you know that if silence was money, you will be very rich now o.”
Then she looked at him and smiled faintly, but then the smile did not reach her eyes, and it showed.
Later that day, Uncle Kunle himself showed up.
“Tola,” Aunty Bose whispered from behind her stall, “see who is coming.”
Kunle stood in front of Mama Tola, hands in his pockets.
“Good afternoon, sister.”
Silence.
“Are you not greeting me again?” he said with a small laugh, “Ahn Ahn , shey Is it because of that small misunderstanding that we had?”
Mama Tola looked at him, really looked at him, then she turned back to her tomatoes.
Kunle’s smile faded, “You’re really doing this?”
Still silence, People stopped pretending not to watch.
“Say something,” Kunle snapped, “You like talking too much before o.”
Mama Tola finally raised her head.
“I have said everything already,” she said quietly, “You just didn’t listen.”
Kunle scoffed, “So you will punish me with silence?”
“No,” she replied, “I am protecting myself with it.”
That shut him up...
He just stood there for a moment, he so was embarrassed, at same time angry, he got confused, then he suddenly decided to walked away.
That same evening, the market buzzed with alot of talks, everyone then had something to say about the incident.
“Did you hear what Mama Tola said?” “Silence is heavy o.” “see ehn that woman has changed.”
At home, Tola smiled a little while washing plates.
“Mommy o,” she said, “I think people are scared of your silence like this.”
Mama Tola laughed softly for the first time in many weeks “Good, maybe they will learn.”
Days passed, Mama Tola still didn’t talk much, but the silence no longer felt heavy, It felt… calm.
One night, she sat with Tola again.
“You know,” Mama Tola said, “silence doesn’t mean weakness, Sometimes it is the loudest answer.”
Tola nodded, “I like this new you.”
Mama Tola smiled, “So do I.”
And in that quiet moment, with no shouting, no explaining, and no apologies, Mama Tola found something she had never had before.
Peace....And it did not need words to exist.
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