Emily decided to shop at the Ethnic Market. She was getting tired of cooking the same old meals every day and wanted to spice things up a bit.
Emily had been married for two years but didn't have any children. She had suffered one miscarriage already and still felt the pain of that loss. She also felt dissatisfied as she and her husband had fallen into a rut.
The Ethnic Market was an open market where several venders from many different countries gathered together to sell their products. Some of the venders had buildings but some just had outdoor tables. There were Asian products, African products, Latin American products and products from every corner of the globe.
Most of what Emily bought was spices such as ginger, cumin, and tamarind. Some of the spices she bought were ones she'd never tried before such as melegueta, machalepi, anardana, and kala jeera.
Then she saw a spice that was labeled completely in a foreign language. It wasn't even Chinese or Arabic or any language she recognized at all. The writing was completely new to her. The vendor dressed like she came from a tropical island. Her skin color was half way between Asian and African. The spice was in a plain, mustard-yellow shaker.
Emily asked, "What is this spice?"
The vendor spoke in a mixture of English and her native tongue. She was very animated and it was hard to tell whether she was smiling or warning but the only words Emily could make out were, "Tat strong spice, full mana. English say Life Spice. Make playful children. Good for young mother." So Emily bought it hoping it would help her have a baby.
At home, there were some men who were installing a new tub in the bathroom. Their names were Mark and Lucas. They were in their twenties. They were fit and strong young men but they didn't have proper manners. Emily didn't like them because of how crude and rude they could be at times but she was able to ignore them for the most part. They mostly stayed on the job and didn't bother her except for occasional trips to their truck and back. As Emily walked in the door, Mark was walking out of the door and the two collided. She spilled her groceries all over the couch. Mark offered to help her clean up but Emily insisted, "No, just get back to work."
Fortunately, the mess was small. She mostly had fruits, vegetables and spices so there wasn't any liquid spill to clean up. However, the spice in the mustard-yellow shaker with the strange writing broke open and the spice inside quickly became a cloud. Emily was amazed at how far the cloud of spice spread before settling down. She found that the spice had coated everything from the couch to the dining room table. There was almost no spice left in the shaker to salvage. Emily thought, "What a waste. All that spice has to be washed down the drain."
After cleaning up the spill, Emily started preparing food. It was just the usual routine. Then she called, "Mark, Lucas, lunch is ready."
Mark came running and sat at the table. Emily asked, "Have you washed your hands, young man?"
Mark said, "Yes ma'am."
Emily asked, "Really washed them properly or just ran the water for a second."
Mark got up and said, "I'll go wash them properly."
Lucas walked slowly into the kitchen and said, "Mark, what is wrong with you. Didn't you bring a lunch? I'm sorry Mrs. Hewitt, Mark has suddenly started acting really strange. He was asking me if he could go play instead of finishing up the tub."
Emily said, "Well as soon as his chores are finished, he can go play. You can play too, once your chores are done. Now wash your hands properly and have some lunch."
Lucas sneezed a couple of times and asked, "Is there something in the air? Your living room smells of strong spice."