the trading center

Subject: the trading center Wed Apr 25, 2012 9:35 pm

you can sell things from food to gears and cogs for vehicles here

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I push through a small crowd up to a small table on which lay a small bag. I know the contents, this deal has been arranged for months. I slide the last of the 150 birds onto the table. Hard work and lots of hunting had finally led to the accumulation of enough to trade with.

"Show me it then."

The man behind the table pulled a small golden bracelet out of his bag and slid it towards me.

"And about damn time too," the man said, chuckling away to himself.
I replied, "Thanks Darryl. You've been a great help to me and my dad."
"Well, he was always a great help to me."

I know what he means. My father used to trade a lot of game with him when he was younger. Darryl is at least 80 now. His face, creased with smiling too much through his long life, is almost always lit up in joy, except when he's concentrating on making a deal. Then, his face appears devoid of all feeling, a blank slate.

I turn away and walk straight to another table. I shout to the two girls stood there, greeting them emphatically. They, too, had been expecting me. I laid out the bracelet on the table, and looked up to their faces.

"Hi Anna. Hello Evelyn," I addressed them.
"Hi Pyrite!" they replied in a jubilant tone, completely in synchronisation with each other.
"Any ideas on this then?"
"It's even more sparkly than I thought!" Anna began, before being interrupted by her sister, 4 years her senior, "I think we could give you... this and this."

Evelyn pushed forward two things, the first a silver ring, and the second a silver necklace, not unlike the golden one I had given them to start with. I took them and bid them thanks as I left them to my final stop. The butchers. Just one exchange took place here. I gave him the ring, and from under the counter he produced another two items for me to take. A turkey that could easily feed me and my father for a week, succulent and full of flavour, and a cake him and the bakery next door had prepared for me to take. I said farewell as I left to head home, knowing that this was the first time me and my father would eat heartily in months. We would eat tonight.

I opened the door and greeted my dad with the necklace. He always had a fondness for them, even more so now. My mother always used to wear silver necklaces. Before he could continue I pulled out the turkey, pre-cooked for us by the butcher, a friend of both of ours. We sat and ate heartily, not saying anything for a while. But just as we were about to start on our 4th portion of cake, I stopped.

And out of my mouth came the first words I'd said to him all evening.

"Happy Birthday, Dad."

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