{"id":2587,"date":"2023-12-09T16:25:29","date_gmt":"2023-12-09T23:25:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/?p=2587"},"modified":"2023-12-09T16:32:27","modified_gmt":"2023-12-09T23:32:27","slug":"hawkers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/2023\/12\/09\/hawkers\/","title":{"rendered":"Hawkers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

prompt: Start or end your story in a bustling street food market.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

available at Reedsy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The din of conversations in dozens of languages and hawkers, the scents of seared meat, vegetables, grains, and unknowable ingredients, together with the vibrant colors and varied body-plans of the multitude of species washed over Mara in a tsunami of sensory overload.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell?\u201d Kintari asked. He was a munerin, a small, fuzzy creature with a segmented body, twelve compound eyes, a soft, beak-like mouth, and a pair of expressive anntenae. He stretched to move his head up to her waist level, antennae in a questioning pose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou were right, K.\u201d Mara was average height at 165 centimeters, with the kind of long, thin build that came from a childhood spent in dance and gymnastics. Her orangish-red hair was pulled back into a wavy ponytail. She keyed a transaction into her comm device and sent it to his. \u201cI love this. Worth losing a bet over, that\u2019s for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t fulfilled it yet,\u201d he said, his antennae waving. \u201cI promised the most memorable meal, and you haven\u2019t even eaten.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDon\u2019t have to. This is already it.\u201d Mara scanned the stalls. She didn\u2019t recognize a single item. \u201cHow do I know what\u2019s safe to eat?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFollow me.\u201d Kintari wove through the crowd with a grace that didn\u2019t match his stubby legs and round abdomen. Mara found it hard to keep up with him in the crowd where bodies ranged from the size of Kintari up to behemoths that reminded her of feathered dragons, nearly three meters tall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After working her way through the crowd, she found Kintari standing at one of the stalls. His antennae were swishing about in anticipation. \u201cMara! Look at these.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The stall was serving what looked like a white carrot with an orange sea anemone where the greens should be. \u201cUh, what is it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRiiki-tano. It\u2019s a delicacy from my home world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnimal, plant or fungus?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKind of animal, kind of plant,\u201d Kintari said. \u201cIt grows from a seed, sets down the big taproot in the arsenic-rich, hot volcanic mud. The top part is meaty, and what it uses to pull nutrients it can\u2019t get from the mud in, including small creatures.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt grows in arsenic, and you eat it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe do. We have an organ specific to filtering out heavy metals. But that\u2019s not why I wanted you to see this. Put your ident chip close to the box there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She did as he\u2019d said and the box displayed the menu, consisting of the one item prepared three ways. All three flashed deep red.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe shorter the wavelength, the safer it is for your physiology. That way you know what\u2019s safe based on the amount of risk you wish to take. This is\u2026possibly fatally toxic for you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s too bad,\u201d she lied, \u201cI wanted to try your home world delicacy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you still want to try something from my home world, I\u2019m getting some tano-lokaro. It\u2019s a plant, and no heavy metals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mara followed Kintari to another stand where he picked up one of the dishes they offered. When the box responded in violet, she ordered two, one with a whitish sauce and the other with a green sauce. From there it was a weaving journey between the stalls, buying things that looked promising, until she realized she already had too much food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They sat at one of the communal tables. Kintari had even more food than she did. She started with the tano-lokaro. The taste reminded her of kohlrabi and mushrooms with a hint of a peppery aftertaste. The whitish sauce was bland, but the green sauce had an astringent tang to it. \u201cThis is really good, but why didn\u2019t you get the other thing?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe riiki-tano?\u201d He shuddered. \u201cI ate it once, and I never have to do it again. I think people eat it just for bragging rights or something. I refuse to believe any munerin actually likes<\/em> it, but they\u2019ll keep buying it and eating it forever.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mara noticed a fair bit of attention on her as she tried each dish. As perhaps the first human they\u2019d seen, she was an obvious target of curiosity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI noticed that every stand makes only one thing. Is that just a traditional thing or\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRegulations. Limiting each stall to one item spreads sales across more vendors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMakes sense, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much to Mara\u2019s surprise, Kintari finished every bite of his pile of food. They dropped the disposables in the recycler and Kintari moved as if to leave, but Mara stopped him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI want to wander the entire thing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They did, taking their time. Mara made a mental map of the market as they went, taking note of things she wanted to try. When they\u2019d explored the market, they walked back out to the main station, where the quiet felt both comforting and overwhelming after the hubbub.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThanks for taking the time, K. You don\u2019t mind me calling you K, do you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNot at all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNot many cargo pilots would take the time to lead a stranger around a station. Not to mention make good on a bet to a species you\u2019ve never seen before about an unforgettable meal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe most<\/em> unforgettable meal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou delivered.\u201d Mara sighed. \u201cI guess I should get my bags from the bay lockers and find a place to stay.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve decided to stay on the station? I thought you said you were exploring \u2014 station hopping.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was, but I think I found my new home.\u201d Mara smiled. \u201cI saw some empty stalls in the food market, and I want to set up a chippy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what that is, but I wish you luck.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you come back to this station, look for me in the food market. If I\u2019m set up by then, I\u2019ll give you something truly memorable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

By the time Kintari had returned to the station, Mara\u2019s chip stand was in full swing. With every species that had come by \u2014 so far \u2014 the box showed anywhere from greenish blue to violet. As such, there were people of every known species stopping by for what had become famous by word-of-mouth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mara saw him waiting in the line, his antennae fluttering. She turned to the be-tentacled creature behind her that was operating three fryers and stuffing paper wrappers for two other orders at the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHey, Lindl, do you think you can handle the crowd by yourself for a bit?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah, boss.\u201d One of her twelve eyestalks turned to look directly at Mara. \u201cI\u2019m in a rhythm now. Is that your pilot friend you were talking about?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSure enough. I\u2019m pulling two orders, one mayo, one red and one green chutney. I\u2019ll be back after we eat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She took the paper cones and walked down the line to where Kintari waited. \u201cCome on, let\u2019s get a seat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut I haven\u2019t checked my ident for\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have munerin customers every day. You have any unusual allergies?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPerfect. Let\u2019s eat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat are these?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPotatoes. They\u2019re a tuber \u2014 a kind of node that grows on the root of a specific plant.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He started with a plain chip and squirmed in his seat. He followed up with dipping a chip in the mayo. \u201cThis is rich. What is this?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEggs and oil, mostly.\u201d She explained the mayo, then the tamarind chutney and the cilantro chutney, and convinced him to try both together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His first bite with the mixed chutneys made his antennae stick straight up and a shudder ran down his whole body as evidenced by the wave of fur standing on end and settling back down. He seemed at a loss for words, so Mara encouraged him to continue eating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019d finished both orders with no help from her in just a few minutes. \u201cThat\u2019s\u2026wow. No wonder your stand is so busy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt almost wasn\u2019t,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe first few days I didn\u2019t get any customers at all. The only chips I made were for myself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat changed?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was ready to call it a bust, so I started frying up chips and offering them free. Before I knew it, I was out of stock and had to close until the next shipment came in. By the time they did, I had a line before I even turned on the fryers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHired Lindl, the tentacle woman \u2014 I can\u2019t pronounce her species \u2014 that day. She seemed fascinated with the process, so I offered her a job, and she\u2019s rocked it ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat are your shipping prices like?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFair, I guess. I go through around a thousand kilos of potatoes a week \u2014 1,644.87 standard cargo weights. And that doesn\u2019t include paper, mayo, chutneys, ketchup, and so on. Call it two thousand every Earth week \u2014 so every nine unit cycles. And it\u2019s all coming from Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow much are you paying?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFour-thousand credits per week.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kintari\u2019s antennae spread to the sides. \u201cHmmm. One of the small carriers?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah, same one a lot of the stalls are using.\u201d Mara shrugged. \u201cI mean, there\u2019s just not much call for Earth freight out here\u2026other than me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He pulled out his comm and began scrolling through data screens. \u201cI bet I can get your freight here, two-thousand weight, every nine cycles, for under two-thousand credits.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cReally? You like to gamble, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFifty credits again?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo. If I can\u2019t, I\u2019ll pay your entire next cargo fee. If I can<\/em>, a free order of chips every time I come here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mara went back to work, sparing an occasional glance at the munerin pilot talking to several other hawkers. The food market closed for the cycle, and she sent Lindl home while she cleaned up and prepared for the next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kintari approached. \u201cIf you give me your shipment details, I\u2019ll have your orders here for 1,800 credits every nine cycles.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLarger ship, and instead of just picking up one order at Earth and delivering, I can pick up orders for twelve other stalls. Means I can run out here with a full ship and return with a full ship of ore every trip.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mara laughed. \u201cOnce again, I\u2019m glad I lost a bet to you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His antennae dipped. \u201cMy pleasure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWait a minute\u2026how many of the other twelve hawkers did you make the same bet with?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His antennae bobbed up and down. \u201cAll of them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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