The Woman With the Heavy Basin

She was all skin and veins, and a lot of bones. Her complexion was the colour of parched earth, painted by the tropical sun. Her throat trembled as she sucked desperately on her spit. Her head, expertly balanced a large basin full of cut pieces of pineapple, mango and fried cassava, all sprinkled with uncouth chunks of dried chillies and salt. It was a gastronomical cocktail that was bound to roast the insides of the delicate. A much smaller version of herself clung on to her hand. He looked unwashed and followed her aimlessly. His little ear received a vicious tug whenever his little feet intermingled with hers causing her to almost lose her balance. But he never cried, and she never fully tripped. Both were immune to their routine and each other. The green and turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean lapped at their feet greedily. They never seemed to notice.
The beach was full, it was the weekend. Kids who had travelled from the city screamed and chased each other, some built sand castles, they obsessed with the delicious cool of the waters and above all soaked up the divine blend of intense heat overhead and the delicious cool swirling around their feet. A few flew kites sold by the hawkers. Some of their older siblings and adults frolicked in the waters. The unending piles of clothing and towels on the sand hid bottles of liquor and cheap hooch that the adults had brought with them. Some of the stray dogs sniffed and chose these very islands to lift their hind legs at. Most of the kids were sucking desperately on iced lollies purchased from the may ice cream vans parked next to the sand. This was big, this was their weekend outing, monthly for some, and much rarer for yet others.
The little boy looked at them and sucked his spit just like his mother. He was imagining the lollies flooding his tastebuds and unrelenting thirst. They were seated in the stingy shade from two fruitless coconut palms.
Their screams were unanimous, there was absolute fear in them. The wave came from nowhere. It stormed forward and stormed back, sucking them all in, all except the woman with the basin and her child. The woman looked forlornly at the sea and cursed it under her breath. And with a loud sigh she got up and pulled her son by his hand with more anger than before.

Copyright @ Jude Perera 2025