Melinda J. Irvine

vending
pineapples
with urgency.

money.
exchange.
quick. before
the street-guard surge.

Walking out of the money exchange kiosk, my path was blocked by a tricycle stretched full of pineapples. A young man was urgently slicing his wares into plastic shopping bags and I could not help grinning at his skill and ingenuity.

My 50-peso order was interrupted suddenly by a huge jeepney driver — who pulled up alongside us and commanded two bags full from the driver’s seat of his open passenger vehicle. But he drove off empty-handed when a street guard surged out of the crowd.

Somehow the young vendor slipped that plastic bag of sweet fruit into my hand and secured the 50 peso note — then disappeared into the traffic before the security guard could catch him.

~ Iloilo City, Philippines.