Friday didn't take long to come. The group of friends didn't have classes from Friday to Sunday, so they were free to use their time in whichever way they pleased.
As they had made plans to go shopping, they met up at a popular snack store at around 11 o'clock in the morning, ate some cake and macchiato, then used public transportation to head to a popular jewelry and clothing store with cheap prices, especially for students.
There was a traffic jam on the way, causing Nandi to sigh in frustration.
"Accra jam is the worst," Nandi commented.
"Right, prices are normally cheaper in the morning hours. The more we delay, the higher the prices," Ewe commented.
Ewe looked at them in confusion and interest. Although the shops hiked the prices due to her accent, she didn't know about this rule.
"Morning customers are the very first customers of the day, so the prices are always cheaper. Same as evening customers; it's a common practice among store owners here," Edi explained.
"Oh," Renny nodded in understanding. Jam let go, and the bus proceeded with its journey. After 20 minutes, they arrived at their destination.
Renny was dazzled by the large crowd and the sounds of store owners calling customers to come and buy. People were going through one path and coming out of another.
"Madam, bread," a rough male voice pulled Renny's mind out of her absentmindedness. It was close to her ear, so she pulled her head slightly back.
"We are not buying," Edi said to the man.
"Follow me, Renny. Ignore everyone that calls you to buy. Ewe and Nandi know where the female jewelry and cloth stores are located. No need to worry; it's okay to look around if you see anything that interests you," Edi elaborated. Renny nodded in understanding.
"Okay! Queen of Bargaining, here I come!" Ewe cheered as she charged in. Nandi nodded in amusement. Renny also smiled; she knew about bargaining; prices depended on your tone in Ghana.
The group entered the marketplace and turned west; a row of jewelry stores lined up before them.
"I am going to customize my leather shoes, Ewe. You know Eba's shoe store? After you are done shopping, come and find me," Edi suddenly said. He really didn't want to walk around in circles with the girls again; he had learned his lesson.
Ewe saw through his intentions but chose to ignore him. Anyway, he had come with them; that's all that mattered.
"Alright," Ewe replied.
Edi nodded and headed east. Nandi chuckled at his hurried departure. "You traumatized him last time," Nandi said to Ewe. Ewe pretended not to understand as they headed to a bangle and earring store.
"Sir, is this real gold? We don't need fake," Ewe asked the store attendant.
Renny was surprised; authentic gold must be expensive. Could the jewelry be real? She doubted it; she just wanted to follow the girls around; she had no interest in jewelry.
"Madam, Ghana is known as the Gold Coast. Of course, the gold is real; my family's great-grandfather had relations with Mansa Musa! Rest assured, we sell first-class," the store attendant said with a smooth tongue, but Ewe just snorted.
"Don't you know that Mansa Musa was from the Mali Empire? How is he now connected to your great-grandfather?" Ewe questioned.
The man was shocked that someone knew the history of Mansa Musa. He normally lied to others and waited for them to ask who Mansa Musa was before diving deep into his identity. In the end, they would be convinced and immediately buy.
"Haa, my great-grandfather met with him on his tour to Mali back in the day," the attendant hurriedly answered.
"Mansa Musa is older than your great-grandfather. Find another lie to convince your customers. Also, so what if they met? He couldn't have possibly stored the gold from back then up to now," Ewe said as she looked at the shop attendant.
"The gold is real, just check and see," the store attendant said with impatience, but his voice was now lower than before.
Ewe turned away from him and started checking the bangles and necklaces.
She put on one necklace that she had stretched and checked.
"It looks good on you," Renny genuinely commented.
Nandi and Ewe both turned and looked at her blankly.
"What?" Renny asked doubtfully. The necklace really looked good against Ewe's skin; her judgment wasn't wrong.
"Of course, gold looks good on every daughter and son of the African soil. The sun loves us, and so does gold," Ewe smiled as she said, picking up another necklace and placing it against Renny's neck as though to back up her claim.
"See?" Ewe said as she forcibly turned Renny to face the mirror.
"Ewe is right; gold makes the skin stand out. I have never seen a Ghanaian look bad in gold," Nandi smiled as she said, proceeding to select a few necklaces.
In the end, Renny bought two gold necklaces and a bracelet.
"You really don't like shopping, just like Edi. Let's go to the next store," Nandi commented.
The next store was a clothing store, featuring Kente crop tops, skirts, Ankara shorts, and many other items.
"I have never seen you in any Kente cloth. Come and buy at least a shirt," Ewe said, pulling Renny towards the shop.
They ended up buying shirts, skirts, and dresses. They walked around and bought other items that they needed. As time went on, they ran out of energy.
"My hands are killing me. Let's go and find Edi. I am so tired; I need a break," Nandi commented. Renny was also tired from running around, but her mind was surprisingly stable and cool.
The trio then went towards Eba's shop, which specialized in making custom shoes. Edi spotted them in the distance and ran to help them carry their bags.
The girls sat down on the nearby chairs and sighed in relief.
Edi bought the water from a nearby shop and served each one of them.
"Thank you, Edi," the girls said at once, making Edi chuckle.
"Nothing much, I saw how tired you are," Edi said.
"Still, thank you," Renny said as she opened the cap of the water bottle.
"You're welcome," Edi said.
"They finished making my shoes; they have designs for ladies too. Don't you guys want a pair?" Edi inquired.
"Need!" Ewe said; it seemed her shopping spree hadn't ended.
The girls ended up getting two pairs each and picked out the designs they wanted, then sat back down.
"My pocket is now empty. Friends, I will be depending on you now that I am a peasant," Ewe said in an aggrieved tone.
"Ahh!" Suddenly, Nandi shouted as she ran outside the store. The rest didn't have time to think and followed after her.
An elderly woman with a head full of white afro hair had fallen down on the street. The group now had a clear picture; they headed straight towards her.
"Grandmother? Are you okay? What happened? Why are you alone on this street?" Nandi slowly inquired, as people passed by them as though they didn't care about the life and death of the elderly woman, making the group frustrated.
"Omwiri is back. Don't let him win again; remember my words," the elderly woman said, her voice strong and stable. She suddenly lifted her head, and the entire pupil and iris of her eyes were pure white like a cloud.
The group was stunned for a second and lost their concentration. When they turned their focus back on the elderly woman, she was long gone.
The group looked around in confusion and worry. "Where could she have gone? Her eyes seem to have a problem; she might be blind," Ewe commented.
"There," Renny slowly said as she pointed into the distance.
The group turned in that direction and saw a big white head of afro in the far distance.
"That fast, maybe she knows her way, but her words were really not well connected; she might have a problem with her head," Edi said, shaking his head in pity.
"These problems are prevalent in Ghana; mental health isn't taken seriously. We can only hope that something changes," Nandi said, shaking her head in understanding. The group returned to the shop.
"Why did you run in an empty street and start talking to yourselves? Are you making videos? Young people nowadays, you have ways to enjoy your time," Eba, the shop owner, said in amusement, while the other shop attendants laughed along with him.
The group looked at him blankly. "You didn't see the grandmother on the street? We just helped her; she had lost her way," Edi inquired and explained.
"Which grandmother? The street was empty; I have clear eyesight," Eba said as he turned to supervise the final touches on the shoes.
The group looked at each other in doubt.
"Strange, who was that grandmother we just saw then?" Ewe rhetorically asked as the group fell silent in thought.
Eba looked at them as they continued to pretend with their act and shook his head. Young people in this generation really had tricks up their sleeves, trying to trick people.