Freegaia 3 – Emma

Freegaia – The City Begins to Shine · Episode 1 · Episode 3 of 23

On Sunday afternoon, Carla rings Emma's doorbell. There's a pause behind the door, and then slow footsteps can be heard.

„You’re visiting Grandma Emma!“ Emma, leaning on crutches, beams at Carla. „Come on in. I’ve been baking.“

There is a cake on the kitchen table, and an iPad is lying next to the cake.

„That's new,“ says Carla.

„From Sarah and Claude. For my seventy-fifth birthday.“ Emma taps it, and the screen lights up. „And Claude gave me a Claude “set up."

„A what?“

„Well, Claude—he’s the one who knows the recipes. I ask him what I should do with the strawberries from next door, and he tells me. I don’t even look in cookbooks or baking books anymore.“

„I thought you didn't even have email.“

„Now, now, now, my dear Carla. I’m not living under a rock.“ Emma cuts into the cake. „I’m only seventy-five—not ninety-five yet. Chocolate cream cake. Coffee’s coming right up.“

„Are you trying to make me fat?“ Carla picks up her fork. „I’ll have to work all that off again.“

Then Emma falls silent.

„It’s been quiet here since my husband passed away. Sarah comes by when she can. You come by.“ She pushes the plate toward Carla. „I used to be around people all the time. Now the city is a day’s trip away by bus, and on the bus you’re all alone, too.“

„And what about the 60+ group in the church congregation?“

„Nothing but old people. And do you know what they're talking about? Their illnesses. I've got enough of my own.“

Carla laughs and puts her cell phone next to the iPad. „Then I might have something for you. Check this out—it’s called Gradido!“

The city lies on the cell phone, and stars shine over the city.

„Look here, these are people,“ says Carla. „Red means: they love what I love. Green: they offer what I’m looking for. Blue: they’re looking for what I offer. And the brighter one glows, the better a match they are for me.“ She taps the brightest green star. „I found that one last night. I Sports “typed."

Dave. Offers sports therapy in the comfort of your own home.

„A gym membership costs money every month,“ says Carla. „At Dave's, it's free. I'll be there Tuesday at six.“

„That's something for young people.“

„It says here: He had people who could barely walk. Now they’re walking again.“

Emma looks at the green star. „I used to go hiking so much.“

Carla already has a plan. „You ask him yourself. You’ll need an account for that.“

„Then let’s set up one of those,“ Emma searches for the right word, „Grandioso accounts.“

„Thank you.“

„Grandioso works, too.“

Carla picks up her cell phone and taps Show it to your friends, and Emma holds the iPad over the QR code, as if it were a photo. Carla-Sonne Shows You Gradido, it says. Create an account. Emma recites her first name, last name, and email address from memory. Emma types in the password herself, using one finger, while Carla keeps her eyes on the cake. She checks the box for the privacy policy. The email arrives while Emma is pouring the coffee: Confirm your email address. One tip, and the account is hers.

Then the account asks for a username, and it already has one: Emma followed by a letter.

„No,“ says Emma. „Grandma Emma. That’s what everyone calls me.“

Carla is typing Select another option, Emma types the name, with a hyphen. The following appears below it: is still available.

„And now everyone can find me?“

„Everyone who wants to thank you.“

Save. One window closes, and the next one opens: Welcome, Emma! And below that, the question about the past few weeks.

Emma is reading. „Cakes for the community festival, sure. And I cook for the neighbors“ kids when their parents are running late. But other than that?„ She pushes the iPad a little way away from her. “It’s not really that much anymore.”

„That's a lot.“ Carla scrolls down to Community & Volunteer Work. The sentences there start and stop halfway through, and you finish writing them. Emma dictates, Carla types:

I helped out in my community or church by baking cakes for the community festival.
I helped out in the neighborhood wherever help was needed by cooking for the neighbors' children when their parents were running late.

Then Carla scrolls back to the top. Above each sentence is a box, and next to it: I am a retiree. And smaller: Your life's work matters.

„What does that mean?“

„That you don’t have to prove anything anymore. Seventy-five years. The kids, the job, your husband, the neighbors. It’s all summed up in that one check mark.“

Emma does it herself.

„So what now?“

„Save it. And then watch it.“

Emma types. The window is blank except for one sentence: The community is reading what you wrote. Below that, smaller: This will take a moment—about half a minute. You can leave the window open.

Emma stands up, her hand resting on the edge of the table, and takes the four steps to the window. She looks out over the gardens, up the hillside to the edge of the forest, and says nothing. Carla is eating cake.

„Emma. It's here.“

Emma sits down and reads.

Dear Emma, welcome!
The community thanks you—for the cake you brought to the community festival, for cooking for the neighborhood children, and for your life’s work: all the years you’ve been there for others.
Your first 100 Gradido are a token of appreciation for what you've already done.
It's great to have you here.

And below, behind In your account, the number.

She reads it again. Then she takes off her glasses and wipes her eyes.

„I’m sorry,“ she says. „But it’s been a long time since anyone’s said that to me.“

Here's how it works in the software

What Emma goes through on the iPad is what every new account goes through: the code, the name, the security question. Here’s the step-by-step process, including everything that didn’t make it into Episode 1.

1. The bill at the other table. In your account, tap „Show it to your friends“ and then „Someone here with me.“ You can do this as soon as your email address has been confirmed—which, like Carla, has been the case since Saturday night. Your guest holds their phone or iPad over the code, reads „[Your Name] is showing you Gradido,“ and taps „Create Account“: first name, last name, email, password, and check the box to accept the privacy policy. The account is open immediately. The confirmation email is on its way right away, and by this time tomorrow, all they need to do is tap the link inside. What if your guest doesn’t have a device at all? Below the code, it says „Don’t have a phone with you?“—in that case, they can create their account on your device. You’ll be logged out for this, and then you can log back in afterward.
2. The name people use to find you. When you open the account for the first time, it suggests a username consisting of your first name and a single letter. Clicking „This works“ keeps it; clicking „Choose another“ opens the field: three to twenty characters, letters without umlauts, numbers, hyphens, or underscores. „Oma-Emma“ works, but „Oma Emma“ with a space does not. Right below the field, it immediately says „Still available“ or „This name is already taken.“ You can make up to four changes per year later on.
3. The question, sentence by sentence. „Welcome, Emma!“ and below that, the question from Episode 1. The sentences are divided into six groups, ranging from „Family & Care“ to „Animals, Nature & the Environment,“ and each one ends right in the middle: „I’ve helped out in the neighborhood where help was needed by …“ You finish the sentence in your own words—just a few are enough. Above all the sentences is the box „I am a retiree“ with the phrase „Your life’s work counts.“ Then click „Save,“ and the window displays: „The community is reading what you’ve written.“ Wait about half a minute; the window can stay open. Then a message of thanks appears, and the number appears after „In your account.“.

Can't think of anything right now? There's a button at the very bottom with that exact name, and the question will come up again the next time you open it.

Is your account older than this question, and have you already earned Gradido yourself? If so, the question will no longer appear.

In addition to the box for retirees, there is a second one for children: „I am a child“ and „Your time counts, too.“ Episode 14 tells this story.

👉 About Your Gradido Account

Next episode on Thursday, November 5: „Freegaia 4 – Grandioso.“ Emma laughs through her tears, and then she tells the card: I love cooking and baking.
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