A Long Way Gone

That night we were temporarily happy that we had some money, and were hoping to buy some cooked rice with cassava or potato leaves for dinner. We high-fived each other as we approached the village market, and our stomachs growled as the smell of palm oil wafted from cooking huts. But when we got back to the cooked-food stalls, we were disappointed to find that those who had been selling cassava leaves, okra soup, and potato leaves, all cooked with dried fish and rich palm oil served with rice, had ceased to do so. Some of them were saving their food in case things got worse, and others simply didn’t want to sell any more for unexplained reasons.

The boys thought the money they'd acquired would ease their hunger.... make food available to them. The happiness, however, was short lived, as there was no food to buy. Their money was worthless, and they ended up having to steal in order to feed themselves.