The next morning, Gold woke up at 10 am, two hours later than he was used to on a regular Sunday. For someone like him, who worked tirelessly the entire week, ignoring the magnificent blazing sun that always arrived early through the window was easy. After lazing on the bed for half an hour, he got up and heated the fish soup in the shared kitchen of the apartment where he rented a room. Even after a night in the fridge, the soup was too delicious. It was mellow and sweet but fresh and savory. The fish meat was very tender but still retained some texture. He could taste the chopped onions and some greens, plus a little spiciness in the soup.

Gold took a shower, changed into his best clothes, and then went out to look for an open store where he could buy new clothes. Yesterday he realized how important the outer appearance was, especially if wanted to visit expensive places. Furthermore, he wanted to look and feel good. Even though he believed that everyone deserved to be respected, he knew that only those with wealth and status would actually receive this treatment. Since he couldn’t change the system, he would rather be amongst those who were treated well, and the first step would be to look rich.

Of course, once he walked by the shop windows of the best brands, such as Hollister, Lacoste, Coach, and Tommy Hilfiger, he realized that he could barely afford a few sets. Fortunately, there were some items for sale, so he spend almost 2.000 in the Hollister store to buy three t-shirts, one shirt, a pullover, and two basic jeans. Of course, Lord Menes, who strangely wasn’t against following him around, had approved everything he bought. Apparently, the fair value limitation wasn’t as strict as he had thought.

The shop clerk had been surprisingly friendly. She even helped him choose matching pieces within his budget. For now, he could only start slowly and buy his way into becoming a rich man. However, as soon as he left the store wearing his new outfit, a basic Hollister white t-shirt under a dark blue flannel shirt and dark jeans, everyone started looking at him differently. In fact, he was far from posing as a rich young man, but he no longer looked like a miserable worker who struggled to make the month’s end.

Gold returned home thinking about his hard-working parents and his sick younger sister. He couldn’t help but feel guilty about enjoying himself. However, how could he help them without ‘wasting’ the money? For now, his only idea was to use the weekly quota on himself and sent home all of his wages, but that was far from enough.

The rest of the day was uneventful, and Gold only spend 200 tahrs in a street stall and the 24/7 supermarket. The next day, he had breakfast and got to work at his usual time. As someone who had come from a poor village and didn’t have a degree or contacts, Gold could only find a job at the port. Six months ago when he arrived at Seaport, his situation was even worse, so he accepted a loader position for a monthly wage of 2.400 without thinking.

Although his job was strenuous, he was young and strong, but more important, he was extremely motivated by need. Gold worked through his shift as usual and left the port when the sun was about to down. On the way home, he passed through a street stall and bought dinner. After eating and taking a shower, he started to think of ways of sending more money to his family, but he was too tired to think, so he ended up sleeping.

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The next morning, he went to work early and got his monthly payment before his shift. On lunch break, Gold went to the nearby currier company to look for his cousin Arnold. Arnold’s job was to assist the driver in delivering goods to the southern region, so he would usually pass by their village a couple of times every month. Actually, if it wasn’t for Arnold, Gold wouldn’t know about his sister’s condition. After all, he had only talked with his family two times through paid calls.

Every month, Gold would come to the courier agency and ask his cousin to deliver some money to his family when he passed by the village, and when he returned, Arnold would usually bring letters and local products for Gold.

“Hey, cous!” Gold waved to a skinny young man, who looked to be around his age. The two exchanged greetings and a hug, but Gold was too anxious to make small talk.

“How’s Anna and my parents?”

“She’s a little better now, but the town doctor still doesn’t know what’s wrong with her.” Arnold discreetly searched for something in Gold’s hands.

“Anna suffered the most… Mother couldn’t feed her for long, so she always had a weak constitution. We should’ve…” Gold could only blame himself and his family for being poor and incapable of taking care of the younger siblings.

“Cousin, don’t worry, she’ll get better… Maybe we can gather money from all the family and bring her to the city. I’m sure they would find what’s wrong with her in no time.”

Gold lowered his head and started to think of a way to send extra money, but nothing seemed like a good idea.

“When are you going back to the village?” Since the weekly quota couldn’t be spent, he at least had to send his salary fast.

“I’m not scheduled for the next 15 days… but I can change places with the other guy if you need to send something with urgency!” Arnold promised and grabbed Gold’s shoulder to give him confidence.

“Arnold, I don’t want to trouble you…” Gold was reluctant to reject the offer. The money would be crucial to his family, and maybe for the survival of his sister.

“It’s no trouble. We’re family.”

“Okay… Please, send it to my parents.” He counted the 2.400 tahrs and passed it to his shocked cousin. “Explain to them, that I’m doing some extra shifts and I have enough money…” His remark was both for his parents and for Arnold who clearly knew how much was his salary.

“Don’t worry, cousin. I’ll leave tomorrow and give to them as soon as I reach the village.”

They said their good byes and Gold returned to work quickly. Unfortunately, there was an extra weigh over his shoulders, so even after sending his entire salary home, he still was worrying about his sister and thinking about how he could use the weekly quota to help them.

The days continued to pass, but Gold couldn’t think of a solution. He still went to work every morning, and he was slowly becoming healthier. He would eat leftovers in the morning, buy lunch in the street stalls near the port, and bring a banquet home after a day of heavy work. Overall, he was spending 150 tahrs every day. When he got home on Friday, he still had 800 tahrs to spend after paying rent and the power bill. Fortunately, the next day was Saturday and also a day off, which meant he could go out and splurge in shopping.

Actually, he had been very careful in checking everything with Lord Menes before buying. That’s why he decided to buy almost the same things from the same stalls every day. Thankfully, the rent and the power bill were within the ‘fair’ price range, or else he would be forced to move out.

Even though he had a backup plan that could easily consume the remaining 800, aka ‘The Old Sea’ restaurant, Gold couldn’t help but feel anxious about the last day of the week. If he failed to spend all of the money, he would die without accomplishing anything. Therefore, he would give his all and not save a single tahr!