“So, what did you want to do here?” asked Aikaterine, the bazaar veteran of the group.
“We have 3 precious hours. Let’s do as much as we can in that time. First, shall we look around to see all the wares?” bubbled Ervin, “Look over there, I’ve never seen sculptures like that before! Let's go there first.”
Katerine suppressed the urge to laugh at her swampland friend, she was far more amused by the boy's reaction to such trinkets than the items themselves.
They spent at least an hour going from stall to stall, exploring the wonders of the marketplace while getting to know each other a little better. Katerine told Ervin about her evil twin brother, who she fought with whenever the adults weren’t looking. Ervin told the girl stories of his bandit raid exploits, and how his squad encircled and shot a fleeing bandit group for the first time this year.
Ervin found Katerine a bit odd, she seemed to question everything around her, even the most basic things that he took for granted. At one stall, when buying some honey cakes, Katerine asked another question.
“The cook asked for 2 silver coins, why? Silver and honey cakes have nothing to do with each other, so what makes him say that you should pay 2 coins and not 1 or 4?”
To Ervin, the solution was obvious, ask the cook!
“It’s not that complicated, little girl.” smiled the old chef, happy to his regular customer finally bring a friend, “If I ask for too little then I can’t afford to pay rent. If I ask for too much, then you two would decide to go down to that dried fig stand and buy those for 3 silver coins instead. I’ve been selling from this stall for a long time, so I know the amount that will give me the most money.”
Katerine nodded in agreement and moved along, but her question was deeper than that, and she couldn’t help but raise it again with her new friend
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“But why is that?” she commenced. “It’s because of how much his rent costs, right? So who decides those prices? In the end, everything comes down to the worth of our gold, silver, and copper coins, but who decides that?” lamented the girl, as she retreated into her own mind in search of an answer.
“If you think too hard about it, you’ll forget to enjoy the cake.” laughed Ervin, offering her a piece as he thought of a way to change the topic, “Tell me, what’s your biggest dream in life? A goal you want to reach.”
With a mind as fickle as it was sharp, Aikaterine pivoted to the new question immediately. “I want to create a world without money,” she said plainly.
“Whaat!” sputtered the Mukuru, as he guided Aikaterine towards the show he wanted to see, “Is this because I didn’t answer your question? How will we buy things with no money?”
“That’s simple,” smiled the young girl, “I’ll make everything free! That way, no one will struggle with paying rent or buying food. Wouldn’t that be a wonderful world to live in?”
“Sounds far too good to be true”, doubted the boy, “Besides, isn’t it unfair to take away the money people have today? They’ve earned it over years, is all their hard work now meaningless?”
“I remember earlier you said that if we didn’t give schools to peasants, then it would be punishing them for something that they didn’t do. Do you really believe that?” enquired Katerine
Ervinos pondered his answer, if he was talking to a noble he had already said enough to become a bit of a pariah. “I came to that view only recently, but yes, I think if people aren’t given a chance to shine, then it’s not their fault if they don’t.”
“Even if you give them the best opportunities possible, do you think they’ll ever be able to compete with me in terms of memory?” was the immediate response, “If they were born with a weak mind that can’t learn well even if you give them the chance, does it mean they don't deserve to have as much money as someone like me?”
Ervinos did not have an immediate response, but he knew he disagreed with some part of this. “I’m sure there are some exceptional people like you who might not need to work for it, and some very unfortunate people who will never be able to shine no matter how much we try to make it happen.” prefaced Ervin, “But that’s just a small minority of people, most of us can choose to work harder and do better in life. If I am given the chance, but let it go by just because I’m lazy, then I do deserve less money than someone who put in the effort.”
“That’s exactly what my mother says!” whined Aikaterine, it seemed her theory of justice was not complete yet. She always wondered if intelligence and memory are decided by a person's blood and upbringing, then why is the ability to work hard any different?
“Anyway, what’s this show you’re taking me to?” chirped the girl, happy that her new friend could keep along with her conversation. It was not an experience she was used to.
“We’re here!” cheered Ervinos as he showed Aikaterine the tent. The tent material was a thick, opaque black with a bright sign saying “The Origin of Life” on top. It was not the kind of show Aikaterine usually cared about, but the whole thing had a strangely foreign and mysterious look.
The two paid for themselves, and walked into the tent.