The Penny Drops (Sea the Depths Book 1) by Karmon Kuhn (warren buffett book recommendations TXT) 📕

he grunted, “Down the sidewalk to the right. Turn left on Marina Ave. You can’t miss it. Big sign.”

“Thank you.” I said, but he’d already gone back to his ‘reading’ as he’d been doing the day before.

***

As I walked down the sidewalk from the inn to the meeting place, the city was agreeable. Stagnant air whipped the buildings, unlike the blustery wind of the ocean air, but the sunshine felt glorious on my skin, and the reflection from the structures and vehicles was quite beautiful. I enjoyed seeing the elementary technologies as I passed by them. There were lights that instructed vehicles to stop or start, screens that displayed messages or images inside shop windows, and the handheld video boxes or virtual volumes that nearly everyone had as I passed by.

Once at the cafe, I stood and took in the surroundings. The shop had a great deal of decor hung all around on the walls and displayed on every available surface. Signs with nonsensical mathematical equations like “Caffeine=life” and photos of cups filled with dark liquid were everywhere. The floor had a covering of seats and tables with people peppered throughout. And in the back corner, there were shelves of books.

A strange thin peep registered in my throat, and I nearly skipped to the shelf. I’d seen so few full human manuscripts in my life. Even in the libraries at the tsez̈ø, most of the collection lacked pages or was made up of pieces of separate volumes. But these, tattered and worn as some were, had bound spines with nothing missing! A sign atop the shelf read “lending library,” so with tender touch, I explored the choices.

I’m not sure how long I stood there, but eventually, I heard a gruff noise behind me, like a growl in someone’s throat. I turned to see that a tall male stood behind me and evidently waited to make a selection. I grabbed the book that my fingers were currently on and let out a sheepish apology, to which I received no response.

Thank oceans that I wasn’t hunting males. As much as my people could be cold and formal, these men were cold without the formality! Rude and so far malodorous, aside from the clean scent of Darius, my fellow tsuṣuṣe. I found a seat near the door where Penny would be able to find me and settled in to read Alice in Wonderland.

***

Several chapters into Alice’s adventure, I looked up and spotted Penny crossing the street. A few of the people around her stopped to look, their body language showed interest and attraction. She must have fit the cultural beauty standards. Another positive of discovering her.

She waved at me as she came into the store and sat down across from me, smiling. I understood the perception of her beauty. Her hair was shiny and strong, curling loosely and cut to frame her face. She’d painted her plump lips red and added some sort of tint over her eyelids and along her lashes. She also wore facial jewelry that dangled from her nose like the clothing store attendant’s. Her appearance was neat and seemed physically healthy, but there was something else about her. Something that I couldn’t immediately place. Something magnetic.

“Have you ever been to this place?” she asked me.

“No,” I answered.

“Oh, I love it here. It’s great for studying, and they have open mics where people do stand-up routines or perform original music and stuff. And the pastries are amazing! Lots of vegan stuff! Have you ordered yet?”

I stared. What did it mean to order? To offer some kind of response, I held up the book.“I’ve only read.”

“Do you know what you want? My treat,” she said, smiling again, showing her teeth this time.

“Your treat?” I tilted my head and again was unsure of what she meant.

“Sorry, I need to stop using weird phrases. I mean, I’ll pay for yours if you tell me what you’d like. A coffee or something to eat maybe? They also have Italian sodas here that are great!”

“I will have whatever you are having,” I answered. I had been given this tip by an instructor at the tsez̈ø. Because the human diet is so varied and culturally dependent, he stated it was best to eat like your tsùges̈ss until you became familiar with the foods of the people.

“I won’t let you down!” She turned and walked to the attendant behind the counter.

She returned with two golden, crispy puffs with a dark filling.

“Chocolate croissants! Vegan! I also ordered some cappuccinos, but I got them with oat milk. If you want some real food after, I don’t mind getting some sandwiches or whatever too. I just figured that you might like these. They’re excellent here!”

“What is vegan?” I asked.

“There I go again! Sorry! I’m a vegan, which means that I don’t eat, wear, or buy anything that comes from animals.”

I’d never heard of such a thing, but the food in front of me didn’t look as though it was made of any animal that I’d ever seen or learned about. I pushed it with my finger, and the food made a delicate crackle as pieces of the golden exterior fell onto the ceramic plate.

“Why do you eat this way? Is it common practice?” As I asked the question, Penny picked up the puff with her hands, pushing the end into her mouth and pulling off a bit with her teeth. She then covered her mouth with her other hand and sat the croissant back down on its dish. Even though her hand covered her face, I could still see tiny golden flakes sticking to the side of her lip. As if she knew what I was thinking, she picked up a piece of paper from under her dish and wiped the wisp of food away.

With her mouth still slightly full she answered me, “I stopped eating meat as a kid because it grossed me out, but I stopped eating eggs, milk, gelatin, and all of that stuff because