Fruitful Day

At 4 a.m., I was already at a bazaar in a small town in West Java. Early in the morning, it was already crowded inside. There were customers haggling, vendors bargaining, loading and unloading. It was lively and noisy.

The market was vibrant, full of energy.

I walked around, looking for my subject.

The locals were friendly. When I pointed my camera at them, many laughed and shouted, "Reporter! Reporter!"

I smiled and said, "No, not a reporter, a photographer."

They all returned the smile.

After walking for a while, I noticed the vendor selling salted fish in the picture. She was particularly cheerful, so I asked if I could photograph her.

She laughed out loud. "I'm not pretty! Don't photograph me!"

"You're pretty!" I said.

I took her reply as a yes and started photographing her.

“May you have a fruitful day.”

When I showed her the photos, she covered her mouth and laughed.

"Semoga ada rezeki pagi ini." In Indonesian, the phrase means, "May you have a fruitful day."

She nodded with a genuine smile.

It was a rather productive morning. The people being photographed were delighted, the person taking the pictures was satisfied, and everyone was happy. As the saying goes, "Ada rezeki pagi ini."

Has it been a fruitful day for you?