16

'How do these doors open by themselves?' asked Grace as the mysterious mechanism worked seamlessly and they all walked outside without lifting a finger.

'Because I wish to go out,' said Lucien as though it was the most natural thing in the world. 'That's how the enchantment works; it keeps people I don't want out, and lets me – and the people I allow – to come and go as they please.'

'That's cool,' said Grace. 'And thanks.'

'For what?'

'For letting me live here.'

'Don't mention it, please. I'd appreciate it if Kuro said that even once, though.'

The cat simply rolled his eyes and walked ahead of them.

'I'll lock you out one of these days, Kuro!' said Lucien, laughing.

'I'd like to see you try!' said Kuro indignantly, but he was laughing too.

'There's another question on my mind,' said Grace.

'Fire away!'

'Oh, don't say that, please,' said Grace, fanning herself with the basket lid. 'It's hot enough!'

'Oh, sorry!' chuckled Lucien. 'The heat does take some getting used to; all the more reason to stay inside. So, go ahead!'

'Well, I was wondering how you had bread and milk and eggs and things like that,' said Grace. 'For one thing, nothing grows here at all! It's so barren! And you're the one who said that even growing vegetables here was impossible; and yet, we did eat them! And for another, I'm certain you didn't bake that bread yourself; but there obviously aren't any factories or anything here, so... who's making it?'

'Good question,' said Lucien approvingly. 'You're brighter than I thought!'

'Well?'

'You'll find out soon enough in the marketplace, where we're going.'

'How far are we?'

'Far.'

'That's disheartening.'

'I can't help that, can I?'

They walked on for a while, and the landscape seemed unchanging no matter where they went.

'If I have to go much further, I think I'll just die; this heat is killing me,' said Grace at last, patting her forehead with a handkerchief.

'That would be lucky for you if that happened,' observed Lucien. 'Because you'd go straight to Heaven!'

Both Grace and Kuro gave him disapproving side glances.

'What?' he said, looking from side to side. 'What did I say?'

'Nothing,' laughed Grace. 'Please, just tell me we're near and I'll accept it as Heaven for now!'

'Actually, we are!' said Lucien. 'There it is! The marketplace!'

Grace looked ahead and saw a long line of stalls with vendors sitting behind them, with colourfully painted awnings and wooden signs that hung over them announcing what they sold.

There were houses nearby, too, which Grace guessed were either where the vendors lived or where they made and sorted their goods. As the trio approached, a vendor called out to them.

'Fresh bread! Fresh bread! Straight out of the oven!'

Then, a vendor to the right called out.

'Tomatoes! Red and juicy!'

'Milk! Creamy and delicious!' called out an another.

'Eggs! Freshly laid!'

'Get your clothes mended!'

'Socks to keep you warm at night!'

'Shoes to go with them!'

'It's quite lively,' said Grace, looking around her. The set-up looked like a medieval market, but the colours and the signs looked more like they were in the 1960s.

'It's fun, isn't it?' said Lucien with a smile. 'Come on, let's get bread from Mrs. Sourdough first.'

'Sourdough? Is that really her name?' said Grace in surprise.

'Well, no, not really,' said Lucien. 'It's just that she always has a sour expression, but she bakes really good bread, so I call her that! Her actual name is similar enough, though.'

'These are all humans here,' observed Grace as they walked forward. 'Not a single demon!'

'Yes, these are all the condemned,' said Lucien casually.

'These are all people who were sent to Hell?' said Grace, looking around fearfully.

'Yep,' said Lucien. 'The only humans in all of Hell are the ones sent here for their bad deeds; except you, of course.'

'They don't look that dangerous,' said Grace, looking at a merry-looking man who offered her a strawberry.

'Dangerous? Hmmm, not really,' said Lucien. 'This is Sheltered Hell, so the really bad eggs are in the Mainland... the ones who ended up here were bad, but not all that bad.'

'What did they do to land here?' said Grace curiously, as she noticed a twelve-year-old boy helping out at a sandwich stall.

'That boy, for instance,' said Lucien, glancing at the sandwich stall. 'He used to bully younger boys at school, and he used to hurt animals and torment them. But he was only a child, and usually, children are never sent to the Mainland. And the guy who offered you the strawberry, he used to cheat on his wife all the time, but he wasn't that bad otherwise, so, yeah, he's here.'

'Oh,' said Grace. 'Listen, there aren't any murderers and people like that on this side, are they?'

'No, no,' said Lucien with a laugh. 'Those kinds of people are serving time in the Mainland, so don't worry. All these people you see here were bad, don't ever doubt it – and they might still be – but they're not pure evil.'

'That's a relief,' said Grace.

'We're here, by the way' said Lucien, turning to the left. 'Let's get some bread!'

Grace stopped and looked up at the large stall with a wide wooden sign on top that read:

Mrs. Sauer's Baked Goods

'Her name really is "Sour,"' whispered Grace.

'And her personality is even more so,' Lucien whispered back. 'You'll see!'

'What would you like?' snapped an old woman, appearing suddenly with her arms crossed.

Grace looked at her, startled. This woman was the crossest-looking shopkeeper she had ever seen.

'Well?' said Mrs. Sauer bitterly. 'Bread, cake, biscuits, or nothing?'

'Bread, please,' said Lucien pleasantly. 'The usual!'

'There you go!' said Mrs. Sauer, producing a large loaf of bread that really did look to be of excellent quality.

'Thank you!' said Lucien, placing it in Grace's basket.

Grace stood still as Lucien walked away casually and the woman went back to arranging things and cleaning crumbs off her makeshift counter.

'Lucien!' whispered Grace warningly, running towards him.

'What?' said the demon.

'You forgot to pay!!'

Lucien stared at her for a few seconds before breaking into a hearty laugh.

'What's so funny?' said Grace, puzzled.

'I'm sorry,' said Lucien, grinning. 'I should have explained it to you earlier. There's no need to pay anything around here. Everything is free!'

'What do you mean?' said Grace, who still couldn't wrap the notion around her head.

'I mean what I said,' said Lucien plainly. 'There is no money in Hell. No payment. We do call this a marketplace, but there isn't any actual buying and selling. Just free stuff to give out and take as you please.'

'That... can't work,' said Grace with a frown. 'The economic system would collapse if everything was free – my aunt said that once.'

'Well, there is no economic system if there's no money,' said Lucien simply.

'But, why would anyone make and give out anything if they won't get anything in return?' said Grace. 'Unless... it's a punishment?'

'No, it's not a punishment,' assured Lucien. 'Everyone in this marketplace sells stuff of their own will!'

'I can't believe it,' said Grace in surprise.

Lucien chuckled. 'New humans who land here often have trouble getting used to this, so you're not alone. But if you think about it, it makes perfect sense.'

'How?'

'Well, because at the end, everyone benefits. If the baker gives out bread for free, they also get the ingredients to make it for free. If they wish to eat meat for dinner, the butcher gives it to them without a problem. If that butcher wants their clothes mended – or new ones altogether – the tailor is happy to oblige. If that tailor wants their hair cut, it'll be done. And when the hairdresser wants to make a chicken sandwich, they'll go to the baker and the butcher. It comes full circle, and everyone has a good time. That's what you'd do with money anyway if you had it, right?'

'But...' said Grace. 'Everything has a source; the base ingredients like wheat, milk, eggs, etc. Or cotton, maybe. It has to come from somewhere. And someone has to pay for it!'

'I don't see how,' said Lucien, puzzled. 'These things grow from the earth we walk on; free for everyone.'

'You're right,' said Grace thoughtfully. 'I guess it's just too good to be true. On Earth, the rich just get to have everything and the poor don't; there's always a divide. A price tag on everything. If humans can work in this system so well in Hell, why can't they do it on Earth?'

'Exactly,' said Lucien. 'It all comes down to greed, I guess. And evil. There are some people who try to sabotage others even here, but it gets called out and penalised immediately.'

'I like this system,' said Grace.

'Me too,' said Lucien. 'Another good thing is that because there's no money and greed involved, people only "sell" what they want to, what they're good at; they only cook things they enjoy making, or offer services they're skilled at. Everyone enjoys in the long run. That's why everyone is all smiles around here; except Mrs. Sourdough, of course!'

'What did she end up here for?'

'I think she was a terrible mother and mother-in-law,' said Lucien. 'Oh, well!'

'One thing I still don't get is the source for all these things,' said Grace, looking down at the hard, sandy ground. 'This doesn't exactly look like a prime agricultural spot...'

'Of course,' said Lucien. 'For that, I'll have to take you further and show you where the main supplies are grown and gathered. It's beautiful, so you'll like it. But first, we'll finish our shopping!'