The Girl Behind the Food Cart

Odoe was one of the first Udari to arrive in Novestr. The war had claimed her hometown and family, and some soldiers thought it merciful to give her a new life at the capital.

Growing up in a Uman orphanage, she struggled to adapt. After all, she was Udari in a place where almost none like her willingly lived. It became evident to her from a young age that she was different, and treated as an other, even among abandoned, lonely Umans.

Her fate started to change when she realized the local ingredients at the market were much cheaper than the common, imported Uman diet.

Dried Aure mushrooms, Doroberries, and other vegetables and fruits regularly went bad at the local market. Because of it, she managed to secure some for herself and her orphanage for free. Instead of whatever leftovers they fed her, she used her cooking lessons to make things that reminded her of her family.

It was a stupid idea at first. The Doroberries were too sour for the Umans. The mussa dough was way too crispy and the sauce was slightly too sweet to belong in the savory dishes of the capital. The orphanage staff, despite appreciating Odoe’s mood changing for the better, were secretly hoping the phase of her food experiments would come to an end… But Odoe didn’t mind, she was delighted by her own food all the same.

It seemed even stupider when, once she came of age, she decided to build a cart out of knocked down trees, her sheer strength, and the kindness of some of the Umans at the orphanage. She underestimated carpentry. Once again, the staff rejoiced when the constant daily hammering, and frequent cleanup of splinters and chips of wood, was over. For a finishing touch, she molded her own oven with what she thought was Udari clay.

And what would’ve seemed like the stupidest idea yet—she rolled her cart right in front of the Royal Gardens and Mansion, in between whoever left enough space for her.

If there’s a place where this will work, it’s the most high-traffic street in town, she thought to herself.

Unsurprisingly, very few Umans would stop by her cart, and almost no Udari would ever go to that part of town. But it provided her with food and shelter, barely. The Umans grew increasingly curious about the Udari diet, but curiosity was not enough to lead them to consume it in large numbers.

Days went by uneventfully. Odoe restocked her cart, prepared her food, and wished for more customers than she had. But ultimately, she only made just enough to get by. It wasn’t an easy existence, but, despite the daily toil, Odoe could sleep content. She had finally managed to recreate flavors from her dear childhood, even if they weren’t perfect.

One day, she heard a young girl, hidden on the other side of her cart’s bar.

“Why don’t you make your berries like that other person next to you?”

Odoe looked around, unable to spot the source of the voice. She smiled when she realized it was a child too young to truly understand anything.

“I won’t take advice from a little rabbit like you.” She giggled as she took off her gloves to take a look at the daring girl. As soon as she realized the girl had pale pink hair, she froze in fear. It was only for a couple of seconds, but they felt extremely long. An Udari girl had shown up to her cart, alone.

She thought fast and ushered the girl into the back of her cart, and hid her where no Uman could see her. The girl was dressed in fancy clothes, likely a noble’s, in what seemed like an extreme contrast to Odoe’s clothes, covered by an apron full of red Doroberry stains and flour too caked to scrub off.

Odoe, now hidden behind the bar, managed to calm herself down. She didn’t want to spread her fear towards the girl. “What’s your name?” Odoe smiled at the girl.

“My mom says I’m called Ui now.”

“It’s a wonderful name, Ui.” Odoe smiled at her. “Listen to your mom.”

“But she doesn’t let me leave the house.”

“Life is hard sometimes, Ui. Your mother cares about you very much, I’m sure of it.” Odoe looked up, making sure no customers were around. “What did you want to eat?”

“The shop next to you is full of people. They make parfaits. I think a Doroberry one would be perfect!”

Odoe nodded and took off her apron. She gathered what little coins she could before walking towards the neighboring cart. Odoe noticed Ui peeking discreetly from behind the counter.

Odoe and the neighboring cart owner awkwardly negotiated for a few minutes, with Odoe coming back with no coins, but a jar of parfait cream.

“Will you help me?” asked Odoe.

Ui nodded. Odoe and Ui spent the next minutes layering parfait cream and topping it with a Doroberry jam and other ingredients that Odoe had left. Once they were done they both enjoyed it until the very last bite. Their worries seemed to disappear as they both smiled at each other.

An anxious Uman mother walked up to the cart once they were done.

“Have you seen a—” The mother’s worry turned into relief once she spotted Ui, hidden behind the counter. She then covered Ui’s hair with a hood. “Thank you for watching my daughter.”

“No problem.” Odoe smiled.

“This is for your help, and your discretion...” The mother dropped a pouch of coins on top of Odoe’s counter. She had never seen such large amounts.

Ui’s mother whisked her away quickly, and Odoe was left lonely once more, but with more coins than she’d ever had.

That day, Odoe had created her first hit dish and found her first regular customer. A first of many to come.

◆

“Odoe.” Ui’s voice grew louder. “O-do-e!” She still sounded like a child to Odoe, even if she wasn’t supposed to be one anymore.

Odoe looked back at a much taller Ui than when they first met.

“Since when do you daydream, Odoe?” Ui looked at Odoe questioningly, tilting her head. “Anyway, can you believe he said that? Maybe things are getting better!”

“I wouldn’t be too hasty, Ui.”

Ui looked at her, annoyed. “Whatever, Odoe.” Ui grabbed her Doroberry parfait and happily walked away from Odoe’s cart.