Banani and his family move to the city. Their house is small, but it’s all they can afford.
One weekend, his youngest daughter complains to her mother.
Youngest Daughter
Mum, I want a new dress.
Her mother checks the prices online.
Mother
Not right now, sweetheart. Your current dress still fits you.
Time passes, and another weekend, Banani’s wife speaks to him.
Wife
I heard there’s a shop selling cheap clothes at the shopping centre.
Banani
Okay. We can go and have a look.
When they get there, it’s all true. The clothes cost next to nothing.
His wife and daughters start buying dress after dress.
Banani follows them with the twins’ pushchair and a huge pile of clothes to pay for.
He tries to protest, but his wife ignores him.
Banani
Honey, the girls already have plenty of clothes.
Wife
No, the ones they have don’t fit anymore.
When they get home, the clothes they’ve bought take up almost the entire wardrobe.
The following weekend, the same scene plays out again. Back to the shopping centre.
Back to the cheap clothes shop. More bags upon bags of clothes to squeeze into the wardrobe.
One day, Banani sees his wife setting aside one of the dresses they bought recently.
Banani
That one was new!
Wife
Yes, but it’s already worn out.
Banani
Then throw it away.
Wife
No, I’m putting it aside to donate to charity.
Banani
We should stop buying clothes from that shop.
Wife
The girls need them.
That same weekend, Banani finds himself back in the crowded shop, pushing the twins and carrying bags.
The clothes keep piling up until they no longer fit in the wardrobe.
Wife
We should buy another wardrobe.
Banani
The problem is, we don’t have room for another wardrobe.
The consumerism continues, and Banani decides to dedicate an area of the house to storing the clothes.
He calls it “The Mountain”.
Rather than searching through it, the girls simply ask for new clothes. Anything that survives two or three washes gets ruined and remains buried under the rest.
One day, his wife walks into the kitchen and finds Banani sitting at the table with a calculator and a notepad.
Wife
What are you doing?
Banani
We need to talk.
Wife
Please, don’t start again!
Banani
I’ve done the maths. The average price of a dress is three pounds. One wash costs us one pound twenty. After two washes, we’ve already spent two pounds forty. By the third wash, the washing costs more than the dress! And since these clothes are ready for the bin after two and three-quarter washes, we’re basically paying to destroy the merchandise!
His wife, who lost him at the third calculation, walks away.
Banani
The figures speak for themselves, but by the time you realise it, it’ll be too late!
Once an item of clothing enters “The Mountain”, it disappears forever.
So Banani is forced to keep his two pairs of trousers and two undershirts, which are all he owns apart from his lab coat, hidden in a separate suitcase so they don’t get lost in there.
Unfortunately, one day he forgets to take his clothes out of the tumble dryer, and they end up in The Mountain.
Banani spends the rest of the afternoon trying to recover his belongings.
Along with the things he was looking for, Banani finds ten pairs of socks that have been missing for months, a ceramic plate given as a wedding present by his mother-in-law’s uncles, and a stereo system that still sort of works.
He also discovers that the house has a sofa, whose very existence the family had forgotten.
His wife decides to put an end to the mess by paying a woman to fold all the clothes in The Mountain.
The woman works full-time for three days, but she finally gets the job done.
His wife pays her and sends her on her way, then shows Banani the result.
Wife
See?
Banani looks at the result. The same mountain. Only now, all the clothes are folded.
Banani
Now it looks like a brick wall. I’ll call it “The Wall”.
Wife
From now on, we’ll have to teach the girls to be tidy.
His wife calls the girls over.
Wife
There you go! From now on, whenever you put your clothes away, you have to fold them.
The girls go back to playing, but one of the twins has spotted a blue dress.
Twin
Bluuue!
The twins head towards “The Wall”, fascinated by the new architectural structure.
Just then, his wife’s phone rings. It’s an important client.
His wife concentrates on the call while Banani tries to stop the twins.
Banani
Hey! Stop!
Banani tries to hold them back, but they get upset and start crying loudly.
His wife, who can no longer hear a thing on the phone, gestures for him to let them go.
Banani obeys. The twins reach the blue dress and, within seconds, “The Wall” collapses.
Banani puts his hands on his head.
Banani
Look at this mess! You two are a natural disaster!
Igor, who has been spying through the window, delivers his punchline.
Igor
Nice wall. Shame it didn’t meet earthquake safety standards.
Next time, instead of hiring a cleaner, call a builder.