There wasn’t a sharp division between the market and the rest of the tower, as Kaira had seen in other places. It was only after they’d been passing intermittent stores and cafés for a couple of minutes that she realised they must actually be in the market proper.
She pursed her lips. She’d been in some rundown markets before, but there was something different here. A level of wear and poverty which seemed to hang over everything. It took her another couple of minutes to realise what it was. Almost nothing looked new. Clothes which weren’t patched were at least well worn, and other than food most of the items for sale looked second-hand or cobbled together from other items.
And yet… there were smiles. People seemed happy. Not everyone, of course, but mostly people looked happy.
