The Cabbage Merchant

Mission Info:

A skinny tanned old man with a tuft of grey fluff for a goatee stood beside his vegetable cart. He was a merchant wearing a green cap and a green vest with gold colored lining. It looked like he had done quite well for himself but recently he had been suffering from repeated examples of savage mischief. His cart had been consistently tampered with he claimed and so Kannagi was here beside him now as protection detail for the day. The old man went on and on for hours, starting mid morning and going until mid afternoon. “Ever since I moved here, this group of kids has been a real menace. Then there was this one time… it was only my third week open out here in the market. He ran right past me and I thought he was going to flip my cart over again! The rest of his friends dashed right after and I held my breath I was so scared!” The old man through his hands up in the air and gasped, running in front of his cart.

“Just then…” “Excuse me, I would like to buy some cabbages,” interrupted a young woman. The old man stopped in his tracks and dropped his arms. “Oh, well, sorry about that. Sometimes I do get into my stories. I don’t have cabbages today, only lettuce heads. Call it trouble in transport.” The young woman adjusted her hat, a large straw one, and looked up at the sun above. “It is pretty last minute, I suppose I will just purchase one then. It will have to do until tomorrow. You will have some tomorrow won’t you?” The old man looked sincerely embarrassed. Kannagi looked on with pity in her blue eyes. It sounded like the group of hooligans who had been messing with this merchant really had impacted his business. This whole time with the old man, it was the first that she decided perhaps the man wasn’t exaggerating. After the sale completed with some extra apologies on the old merchant’s part, he returned to her side. He tapped at his chin, stroking his fluffy goatee, “Now where was I..?”

Kannagi let out a sigh and stood straighter, deciding to let the old man at least have his tale. “The delinquents had run past your cart instead of knocking it over. I somehow think that isn’t the end of your record.” He nodded eagerly and then cleared his throat, positioning his arms up again. He swung them around and jogged in place, the man’s voice coming out in bursts of gasps, “Just when… I thought… they were… really gone...one of them… turned around and… hurled a gust of wind straight at me!” He stopped and spun on his heel, aiming his hands towards his own cart with wide eyes. She had to admit the old man’s animations made his story more interesting to hear. She lifted her brows at the end of his story. “My entire cart flew backwards and down the path, all of my cabbages rolling away! My green babies! Flying through the air! Raining down on the ground for scavengers!” His eyes almost watered up, Kannagi could tell by the way his voice cracked upon the word ‘babies’.

“I am sorry for loss,” Kannagi said simply, unsure of what else could be said. To lose one’s business must be hard but it was a difficult challenge for her to understand his connection to his vegetables. He sniffed once and looked away. The old merchant looked around, noticing his cap had fallen. He retrieved the green hat and dusted it with a hand before placing it back on his head. “You’ve done well today. None of those little brats have shown up. I think it is about time for dinner. I am just going to stroll home. Maybe I shall see you again another day.” Kannagi nodded and bowed, leaving the man to take his cart back home.

WC: 660