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.

U subotu ujutro, Ana je prvi put otišla na tržnicu. Htjela je kupiti voće i povrće za cijeli tjedan. Tržnica je bila puna ljudi, glasova i jarkih boja.

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.

Zaustavila se kod malog štanda s rajčicama. "Koliko košta, molim?" upitala je. Stariji čovjek iza stola pogledao ju je. "Za salatu ili za umak?" rekao je. Ana nije znala što odgovoriti.

"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."

"Za salatu," rekla je konačno. Čovjek je odmahao glavom. Pokazao je na jednu kutiju. "Ove su za salatu. Čvrste. Lijepe boje." Pokazao je na drugu kutiju. "Ove su za umak. Meke, vrlo crvene, slatke." Nasmiješio se. "Različite rajčice, različita namjena."

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.

Ana je kupila po kilu iz svake kutije. Čovjek ih je pažljivo zavrnuo u papir. Dao joj je mali limun na poklon. "Za vašu salatu," rekao je.

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

Kad je stigla kući, sjela je za kuhinjski stol i pogledala svoju vrećicu. Osjećala je kao da je kupila nešto više od rajčica.