Two Kilos of Patience

On Saturday morning, Ana walked to the market for the first time. She wanted to buy fruit and vegetables for the week. The market was full of people, voices, and bright colors.

She stopped at a small stand with tomatoes. "How much, please?" she asked. The old man behind the table looked at her. "For salad or for sauce?" he said. Ana did not know what to answer.

"For salad," she said finally. The man shook his head. He pointed at one box. "These for salad. Firm. Good color." He pointed at another box. "These for sauce. Soft, very red, sweet." He smiled. "Different tomato, different work."

Ana bought one kilo from each box. The man wrapped them carefully in paper. He gave her a small lemon as a gift. "For your salad," he said.

When she got home, she sat at the kitchen table and looked at her bag. She felt like she had bought more than tomatoes.