Market saga

In the business world, especially when marketing is involved, there are places where one's smartness and extreme carefulness can be the only way to avoid getting duped of the person's hard-earned money. The irony of places like this is that they seem to be the best you can find, and they are so good at getting their prey comfortable before they proceed to deceive and play the person.

In the city of Aba, such a place existed. It was the 'St Michaels GSM market'; this market was located on the street where the general shopping mall was located too. Naturally, the GSM market was what people feared the most, as a lot of atrocious activities went on there, but the poison was soon to spread to every shop on that street, making it hard for a person without prior knowledge of the place to be able to get the items they need in a good way.

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Mrs Judith loved to dress in the most beautiful fashionable way. She was a pretty woman, and having gotten married to a rich man who gave her everything she wanted, Mrs Judith chose to spend on her dressing. One could rightly assume that she cared about her dressing style more than she cared about her stomach.

"Mom, I saw a gown that I think you'd love." Her first daughter Anabel, showed a picture of a dress to her from her phone.

"It's beautiful, but it's too expensive. With all the projects that I have at hand, I do not think I can afford to spend this much for now." Mrs Judith replied to her daughter.

"We could recreate it at a cheaper price." The second daughter, Rose chipped in.

"How so?" Their mother asked.

"There's a shopping mall in the city of Aba. It's very popular for its fabrics and fashion designers. Rumor has it that if you could show a picture of what you want to someone there, you'd have your clothes in less than a week, and it'll be exactly what you ordered." Rose explained.

"How possible is it that a person can make clothes within a week no matter the kind of clothes they're to make?" Mrs Judith asked, doubtful of her daughter's information.

"They are that good Mom. We should probably check them out with something different and see if this is true." Rose replied.

"Ana, what do you think?" Their mother asked Anabel.

"I think she may have a point. We could go there and get a lesser fabric and test them; if they turn out to be what we have heard, then they'll have to recreate this piece of wonder for us." Anabel replied.

Two days later, the three ladies traveled to the city of Aba to see for themselves if the rumors were true. Mrs Judith was awed at the sight of the beautiful fabrics she saw. It seemed like everything anyone could ever want was sold at that place, and their prices were surprisingly lower than she had imagined.

They stopped a woman to ask for directions, and with one look at them, the woman knew they were new to the market. She took them into her shop and they were amazed at the sight of the beautiful fabrics that she had.

"Do you see anyone that might suit your taste?" The woman asked them.

"Everything here is quite beautiful. But how come these beautiful fabrics have such a low price tag?" Mrs Judith asked.

"Well, you could say that we have our sources, and since these fabrics are not too hard to find, despite being original, we prefer to give our customers the best comfort we can offer them." The shop owner replied.

"Whoa, this is wonderful. We have a particular fabric in mind actually, and I don't know if you'd have it." Mrs Judith said to the shop owner. She showed the gown Anabel had suggested to her, and the woman smiled and asked them to wait a bit for her.

Immediately they were left alone, Rose complained.
"Mom, I thought we agreed to confirm if they were true to themselves first before getting this." She asked her mother.

"Yes, we did, but what other confirmation do you need to believe that the rumors you spoke about are true? Look at these fabrics; I might end up getting more before we leave." Mrs Judith replied.

A few minutes later, the shop owner returned with another woman, carrying the fabric with her. Mrs Judith stared at the gown in her phone, and back at the fabric. She noticed that they shared similarities, except that the one on the phone seemed a little bit different from the one they had brought with them.

"I don't think they're the same." She said to the woman.

"This is the real material for the dress here. The one on your phone seemed a little different because of its darker color, but if you look closely, you'd see that they are actually the same." The woman replied, and Mrs Judith stared at her phone again. Somehow, she became convinced that the fabrics were the same.

"So how much would it cost? I need enough to make this dress for me and my daughters." Mrs Judith asked.

"Well, without considering the scarcity of this fabric, I would take thirty thousand naira per three yards of the fabric, and that's what each of you will need to get this dress done in a grand style. Mind you, I'm only doing this for you to be comfortable as this would be sold at a higher price in other places." The woman replied.

"Where can we make this dress?" Mrs Judith asked them.

The shop owner replied immediately.
"Worry less about that, you're in safe hands. I am a fashion designer too, and I'll recreate this beauty for you." She said to them.

"How much would it cost then?" Mrs Judith asked again.

"Fifty thousand for each, and your dress would be ready within two weeks." The shop owner replied, and Mrs Judith paid everything in full and returned home with her daughters.

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"Mom, why would you pay everything in full? You're supposed to pay in a little amount, then pay the rest when you must've gotten the clothes back." Rose scolded.

"That woman had no reason to lie. She's a mother, and I trust that wouldn't afford to lose a worthy customer like myself." Mrs Judith replied.

Two weeks passed, and they got no call from the woman, so Mrs Judith decided to call her by herself.

"I'm sorry Mrs Judith, I would've called tomorrow but since you're calling now, your dresses are ready to be delivered." The woman said.

"Whoa, when can I get them?" Mrs Judith asked with joy.

"Tomorrow would be perfect for that." The shop owner replied.

The next day, Mrs Judith and her daughters anxiously waited for their delivery, and when it came through, they happily took the boxes and rushed to open the dresses.
Rose was the first to open hers, but a scream left her mouth as she pulled out the weird-looking dress from the box. Mrs Judith was furious at the sight of the dresses they had been sent. The dresses were in no way similar to what they had asked for. She dialed the woman's number but it was out of reach, and when she went back to the market, the woman denied ever meeting her.

Mrs Judith was angry that she had spent so much on rubbish.
"I could've just ordered the real dress." She kept on lamenting and blaming Rose for suggesting the market.

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