Tatami was a perfectly ordinary elderly woman.
She was 163 years old. In her youth, she had pursued happiness and freedom, not wanting to be tied down. She’d had a few romances but never married or had children.
When she reached middle age, she dated less and threw herself wholeheartedly into her work and hobbies. By the ti she was in her one hundred and fifties, she had saved up a large sum of money, applied for retirent, and moved into a nice senior living center on the planet.
When she was younger, many people told her she would be miserable later in life without children, but Tatami didn’t find that to be the case at all.
She had money, plenty of friends at the senior living center, and more than enough nursing robots if she needed care. Everyone was incredibly happy every day.
Happiness in old age had nothing to do with whether you had children. It was all about Star Coins—the two were directly proportional.
Today, she made plans with her best friend from the next room to go to the mall.
It was winter, and it was ti to buy so scarves and fuzzy shoes.
"Co on, co on! Hurry up!" Tatami beckoned. "If we don’t leave now, we won’t make it back by noon!"
"Don’t be in such a rush, Ta-ta." Her best friend’s na was Wang Chichi, and true to her na, she was slow in everything she did and never in a hurry. "Wait for . I’m putting on my coat. It’s too... cold outside."
"I know, I know! Just get your coat on!"
Once she finally had her coat on, Tatami grabbed Wang Chichi and pulled her out the door.
She was a fast walker, and Wang Chichi tugged on her hand, a look of terror on her face. "Ta, Tata, slow down, slow down! Don’t... don’t fall! These old bones can’t take a tumble."
"It’s fine! The robots have already cleared the snow. We’ll get right on a Hovercar as soon as we’re outside. There’s no way we’ll fall."
The two walked straight toward the station, but they suddenly noticed a large crowd gathered nearby.
’The Hovercar isn’t here yet, so why are there so many people?’
They drew closer, full of curiosity, when a very enticing aroma suddenly drifted through the air. Tatami’s eyes lit up. "Chichi, do you sll that?"
"I think I do sll sothing."
"Let’s go check it out!"
Tatami’s hair was streaked with gray, but her expression was as lively as ever.
She and Wang Chichi went over for a closer look and discovered that the source of the aroma was a small stall—a square cart with a banner stretched across the top: FREE SAMPLES OF NATURAL FOOD!?
’Free samples?’
"Please form a proper line!"
"Please don’t crowd! We’ve prepared plenty of samples, so everyone will get one! Please form a line!"
"Anyone who cuts in line will be disqualified—"
RATTLE! The cart was pushed back a little, and a young man ca out to maintain order. The crowd began to form a long line.
Once the crowd parted, Tatami could finally see what the stall was selling.
It was all little white chunks of sothing. She didn’t know what it was, but they were being cut into small cubes, tossed into a pot of hot oil, and the SIZZLING sound mingled with the fragrant aroma that wafted out—
The sll of the food was utterly captivating.
Tatami suddenly didn’t want to leave. She tugged on Wang Chichi’s sleeve.
"Chichi, how about we wait here for a bit?"
"But... d-didn’t you say we were going to the mall?"
"We can go to the mall any day, but this is the first ti we’ve ever seen a free giveaway for natural food! Let’s get in line, co on! We can just go to the mall tomorrow if we have to—"
She pulled Wang Chichi into the line.
By now, there were already more than thirty people in line.
Two young n were running the stall. One was frying the food, while the other had picked up a small gaphone and was chattering away into it.
User Comments
0 comments from readers