10 March 2026 @marinnewest's Freewrite Writing Prompt Day 3038: He Ate What?
This is my post on #freewriters3038 #dailyprompt he ate what hosted by @marinnewest's.
The humidity in Calabar usually felt like a warm hug, but today, as Adia stood in the middle of Watt Market, it felt like it was choking her. One moment, five-year-old Ekene was tugging at her wrapper, pointing at a pyramid of yellow garri; the next, he was gone, swallowed by the rhythmic surge of the crowd.
"Ekene!" she screamed, her voice cracking against the cacophony of honking kekes and the rhythmic shouting of "Fine cloth, buy your own!"
Panic, cold and sharp, pierced her chest. She pushed through the throng, ignoring the indignant grunts of shoppers she jostled. Every small head in a striped shirt looked like his, but every turn brought a stranger’s face. She ran toward the stall where the ukodo—yam and goat meat pepper soup—was steaming, the scent usually his favorite. He wasn't there.
She spiraled through the meat section, her breath coming in ragged gasps. The vibrant colors of the market—the red of fresh peppers, the green of fluted pumpkin leaves—blurred into a terrifying smear. She reached the fountain at the center, her heart hammering a frantic rhythm against her ribs.
Then, she heard it. A small, high-pitched giggle.
Tucked behind a massive stack of plastic basins was Ekene. He wasn't crying. He was sitting on a low stool next to an elderly woman selling roasted plantain. He had a piece of boli in one hand and a blackened fish tail in the other.
"Mummy, see!" he chirped, mouth smeared with soot and joy.
Adia collapsed to her knees, pulling him into a crushing embrace. The terror didn't vanish instantly, but as she smelled the woodsmoke on his hair, the world finally stopped spinning.
Would you like me to expand this into a longer story or perhaps write a scene from the perspective of the woman who found him?