Hot air danced into the tiny chai shop as I entered, harsh bells attached to the door jangling. The old woman behind the counter gave me a look-I was an unwanted visitor.
"Keess chaiye?" she asked, wrinkling her nose. I favored her with my normal smile. She relaxed a little.
"I'm looking for my mother," I said, making sure to expose only the very bottoms of my teeth. It would do no good to scare her. Placing a tin of gulab jamuns in front of her, I released the grip on my shoulder bag and cast a glance outside. The sun beat down on the road, shimmering waves of heat rising and blurring the rickety buildings. This far from the city center, the structures were made of the lower quality brown sandstone and plastisteel. They regularly fell down when the summer storms came, hordes of men and women putting them up again. Few aliens were allowed into the Anthro-Conglomerate, which was just as well, since none wanted to visit us anyway.
"Bless your soul," she said with a smile.