"I am in love with
the
quaintness,"
said Djun. The neon-lit store fronts whizzed past behind his head, because although brother and sister had physically slowed to a halt, the sidewalk they were standing on hadn’t.

"Me too," said Djuna, turning away from the shops to peer closely at her brother’s face. "But I want to go down."

"Mm-hmm. What’s this we’re on? Level 7? I heard Level 3 has the best brew…"

"No, I want to go all the way down. To Street Level."

"Street Level? There’s nothing there but garbage and trinket stalls. It’s not even aclimatized Djuna, and this is July after all. The coffee down there tastes like sewer water---it's all greenhouse freeze-dried and they skimp on the amount they put in…"

"I’m sure we can find you something tolerable down there. Besides, it’s the only part of the original Market that’s left. I want to feel the old-time flavour. How often do we get into the downtown core, let alone to Kensington Market? Isn’t the experience worth a little physical discomfort?" Her brother’s face continued to register only disinterest, so Djuna kept speaking, "Did you know there used to be live animals sold here in the 1980's? You could choose your own rabbit or chicken and watch it hop to the slaughter…"

Djun sucked his teeth and shook his head, "What a waste. Biomeat is so much more productive. Energy efficient. Environmentally conscious. We’ve come so far since then."

A 3D holo sign burst out over his head and Djuna ducked even though she knew better. Those signs didn’t really move, they just grabbed your attention. "I want to see the Old Market. Besides, I feel like stretching my legs." She tugged on his arm, pulling toward the elevators to take them down to the outside.

"I really don’t see the attraction of Street Level," Djun refused to be moved. "It’s an artificially maintained system---those vendors would never be able to afford prime real estate if it weren’t for subsidies. Things change, Djuna, that’s the way the world works. This is the future for those guys down there." He lifted his hand and waved at the shops around them. In mid-air, his wristwatch started beeping. He brought it down to look at the flashing message, and pushed a few buttons. "Aimée’s calling. She wants to go to shopping at Gateway tonight."

"Gateway?"

"You know the new Giganta Mall in Brampton… They have everything there, even a new preservationist forest. I’ve always wanted to see old growth."

Kensington Market in the year 2020

epohlweary@hotmail.com