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. Sheād 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 time she was in her one hundred and fifties, she had saved up a large sum of money, applied for retirement, 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 didnāt 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 Coinsāthe 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 time to buy some scarves and fuzzy shoes.
"Come on, come on! Hurry up!" Tatami beckoned. "If we donāt leave now, we wonāt make it back by noon!"
"Donāt be in such a rush, Ta-ta." Her best friendās name was Wang Chichi, and true to her name, she was slow in everything she did and never in a hurry. "Wait for me. Iām putting on my coat. Itās 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! Donāt... donāt fall! These old bones canāt take a tumble."
"Itās fine! The robots have already cleared the snow. Weāll get right on a Hovercar as soon as weāre outside. Thereās no way weāll fall."
The two walked straight toward the station, but they suddenly noticed a large crowd gathered nearby.
āThe Hovercar isnāt here yet, so why are there so many people?ā
They drew closer, full of curiosity, when a very enticing aroma suddenly drifted through the air. Tatamiās eyes lit up. "Chichi, do you smell that?"
"I think I do smell something."
"Letās go check it out!"
Tatamiās 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 stallāa square cart with a banner stretched across the top: FREE SAMPLES OF NATURAL FOOD!?
āFree samples?ā
"Please form a proper line!"
"Please donāt crowd! Weāve prepared plenty of samples, so everyone will get one! Please form a line!"
"Anyone who cuts in line will be disqualifiedā"
RATTLE! The cart was pushed back a little, and a young man came 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 something. She didnāt 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 outā
The smell of the food was utterly captivating.
Tatami suddenly didnāt want to leave. She tugged on Wang Chichiās sleeve.
"Chichi, how about we wait here for a bit?"
"But... d-didnāt you say we were going to the mall?"
"We can go to the mall any day, but this is the first time weāve ever seen a free giveaway for natural food! Letās get in line, come on! We can just go to the mall tomorrow if we have toā"
She pulled Wang Chichi into the line.
By now, there were already more than thirty people in line.
Two young men were running the stall. One was frying the food, while the other had picked up a small megaphone and was chattering away into it.