Barter Economy — Meyari McFarland

2020 changed everything.For the better.Spring 2020 was as different as anything Kanta had ever experienced, including transitioning. She really wasn't sure how she'd survive until things got back to normal. No one was.Thing was, she wasn't all that sure she wanted normal when she got to barter brownies for jambalaya and home-bakes sourdough bread with her downstairs neighbors. Everyone in the apartment building was terrified, sure, but they were all so kind.Especially Avia who was bright and cheerful and so enthusiastic as she ran errands, carried mountains of traded food around, and beamed so beautifully behind her Hawaiian-print mask.Kanta could get used to a world that included Avia smiling up at her that way.