The Market

Axel walked through the city, running through the ingredients he still had to pick up for tonight’s paella.

A couple of zucchinis, bright red peppers, some little chicken breasts, prawns, squid, clams, proper rice... and that was basically it. At home he still had enough olive oil and spices he really should use up before leaving.

Before long he reached the market, which was buzzing at that hour. Sellers were calling out their deals, families were doing the weekend shop.

Then he heard it, a melody that somehow floated above all the noise. He followed it, like his ears were tracking the trail of that sweet voice.

He walked past a few fruit and veg stalls.

“Oof, that looks so good. I have to come back and buy from here,” he told himself as he passed a super colourful stall piled with unreal-looking produce.

At the far end, next to a battered old suitcase, a girl was singing with a softness so captivating it almost felt made up.

He stepped closer to listen. It was wild that nobody was stopping. People rushed past, some on the phone, others lost in their own heads...

Up close he could focus on the song, the voice, and the fun outfit she had on. Beside her he also spotted a pretty gorgeous cat. White body, and a head splashed with a mix of brown and black patches.

A picture clicked into place in his mind. He loved taking little mental snapshots of real moments, like this one. Just soaking in the beauty of everyday scenes that usually slip by unnoticed. For a while he savoured what was in front of him, a girl and a cat, calm and still inside the nonstop, blink-and-you-miss-it river of people. A clear, gentle, magnetic melody cutting through all the shapeless noise.

The girl noticed Axel standing there, rooted to the ground like some ancient tree. A faint smile drew itself on her face, but she didn’t stop singing. It was a strange song, cryptic lines, long silences, and beautiful sounds that could carry you off, if you paid attention.

Suddenly a bark cracked through the air, then more barks, even louder. Everyone froze. The girl stopped singing. The brown-and-black-patched cat panicked. It sprang up, tail puffed with fear, staring wide-eyed at the barking dog.

A fat, drooly dog tried to lunge at the scared animal, and it would’ve eaten it if the leash hadn’t yanked it back. On the other end, a man just as fat, and almost as drooly as the dog, spat out words as nasty as the barking.

“Stupid damn cat, get out of here!” he shouted.

The girl and the cat stayed still. In a way, that was real too. Another honest little snapshot.

“I said get out of here,” the man kept raging while the dog kept barking. “Dirty hippie, get a job and stop bothering people,” he added.

Axel stepped in and spoke to the furious guy.

“Hey, man, don’t talk to her like that. She hasn’t done anything to you.”

“Tell her to move that flea-ridden cat. It’s bothering my dog.”

Axel let out a laugh. He hadn’t meant to, it just happened. Stupidity did that to him. He pulled himself together and spoke again.

“Why don’t you just keep walking and leave it?”

The furious man almost said more, but swallowed it. The dog had stopped barking, and the cat started circling around the girl’s legs.

Grumbling, the man tugged the leash and kept going.

“Come on, Duque. Forget these hippies,” he threw over his shoulder, then vanished into the crowd.

“Thank you,” Axel heard, in the same voice that had been singing seconds ago. The girl looked at him with a smile.

“It’s depressing how many miserable people are out there lately,” he said.

“Well, then you’re lucky you’re not one of them.”

Simple, but true, he thought, and didn’t say it out loud. She spoke again.

“I’m Eva.”

“Nice. I’m Axel, good to meet you.”

They shook hands. The cat came over and sniffed his shoes.

“Looks like it likes you,” she said.

“Yeah, guess so,” Axel said, pleased. “Hey, and you sing really, really well. I love it.”

“Well, you’re the only one who’s paid attention to me all afternoon.”

“What’s the song called? It’s so good.”

“I don’t know. I don’t like naming my songs.”

Axel blinked, surprised. “So... it’s yours? Wow.”

“I just like singing whatever pops into my head in the moment. I let it take me.”

“Wow, that sounds amazing. You’ve got insane talent, honestly.”

Eva stayed quiet, smiling.

The cat played with Axel’s shoelaces.

“Hey,” Axel added, “tonight I’m doing a little goodbye dinner with some friends. You can come if you want. We’re playing board games after dinner too.”

Eva went quiet. She looked at the cat, then at him.

“Only if I can bring Fay,” she said at last, in a teasing, affectionate tone.

Axel was surprised. That was a yes.

“Of course. I mean... they don’t let me bring animals into the apartment, but it’s my last day here, so I don’t really care.”

“Where are you heading?” she asked, curious.

He didn’t really know how to answer that.

“Honestly, I don’t know. I just know it’s time to change cities. I’m going north to see what I find.”

“But are you leaving for good? And where exactly?” Her curiosity was intense and genuine, she really wanted to know.

Axel couldn’t stop smiling. “For good... I mean, nothing’s forever, right? But yeah, I’m going, and I don’t know if I’ll come back. I don’t even want to know.”

“Ah... I get it. Are you going to find yourself?”

There was a pause.

“Well... not really,” he said, weighing up whether to tell her the whole story about the pizza that made him decide all this. “Let’s say I’m going to look for an adventure,” he added, lit up.

“That’s such a good plan. I love it.”

Eva chose not to ask more. She was curious about the boy’s life, but she didn’t want to push his kindness.

They kept chatting for a while about other things. Then Axel gave her his apartment address and said goodbye so he could go do the shopping he still needed.