Chapter 20: Trifle

"It shouldn't be easy to be amazing. Then everything would be. It's the things you fight for and struggles with before earning that have the greatest worth. When something's difficult to come by, you'll do that much more to make sure it's even harder―or impossible―to lose." —Sarah Dessen, Along for the Ride

"Every job from the heart is, ultimately, of equal value. The nurse injects the syringe; the writer slides the pen; the farmer plows the dirt; the comedian draws the laughter. Monetary income is the perfect deceiver of a man's true worth." —Criss Jami, Killosophy

"A woman or man of value doesn't love you because of what he or she wants you to be or do for them. He or she loves you because your combined souls understand one another, complement each other, and make sense above any other person in this world. You each share a part of your soul's mirror and see each other's light reflected in it clearly. You can easily speak from the heart and feel safe doing so. Both of you have been traveling a parallel road your entire life. Without each other's presence, you feel like an old friend or family member was lost. It bothers you, not because you have given it too much meaning, but because God did. This is the type of person you don't have to fight for because you can't get rid of them, and your heart doesn't want them to leave anyways." —Shannon L. Alder

***

Wasted crops, burnt goods, and worn-out people were the remains of two destructive phenomena that struck the island. Homeless and drenched from the heavy storm and fire that spread throughout the whole town, people felt hopeless at the end of the day.

Those that were still hoping that even at least a pair of good clothes had survived the fire searched all over the flooded town with the water leveling to their toes.

"Where are we gonna sleep now, mommy?"

Kids cried as their parents faced the problem all on their own. No food and no place to stay at. The only places that were not affected by the fire were Franzia's, Arlan's, and Xenia's. The triplets live in the town, so their house was caught in the sea of flames that burned everything before the heart-shattering heavy storm flooded their minds with nothing but hopelessness.

People who did not bother themselves trying to seek clothes or anything valuable went straight to Gordon's and Austere's household to stay for the night.

Many have voiced their concerns and pestered the two families while none of these people tried to cling to Xenia's family, which was a good thing on their part. Moreover, they won't be able to welcome anyone since their house was not that huge and could only shelter six individuals.

Therefore, the responsibilities fall under Arlan's and Franzia's families since both of these households have quite the space to take people in. However, it was entirely up to them whether they let anyone in.

"Shouldn't we let some people in?" Arlan's mom asked, perplexed and overwhelmed by the number of people begging to be taken in.

Sitting on a chair, his head aching from all the noise coming outside of their house, children weeping from the cold.

"You must understand, Lilian! We can't possibly add more! Remember that our food supply went into smoke in an instant, and we only have a week's worth of food in our storage! Taking more people increases the mouth we need to feed!"

Allan was right. When they first noticed the fire, the storm immediately broke out, extinguishing the swallowing sea flames that took everything away from the Balmackians in town. And the very first family to knock on their door was the triplet family. Drenched and empty-handed, the family of five had to beg Allan and Lilian to let them stay, for their house was caught in the fire.

Being close friends with each other, Allan and Lilian took them in, although Allan already kind of pictured what was about to come. And he was right. Soon, people swarmed outside of their houses, asking to be taken in with nothing but their wet clothes with them.

"B-But we should at least help them!"

Lilian always has a soft spot for people in dire need of help. And that was what captivated Allan's heart. But not now, for the man of the family knows how valuable a tablespoon of food was. Even underwear he does not wear anymore holds more value than ever before.

"The best we could do is give these people all the clothes we don't wear anymore. Certainly, there are lots of old clothes stored in our attic."

It may not be enough, but Lilian was happy to hear that they could be of some help to the people outside.

"This little act of kindness will surely suffice for now."

The triplets and their parents with Allan's family helped each other bring down every stored clothes in the attic. It may not be much, but it will help some of the families outside. Although there are tons of families outside, waiting for the generous and kind Lilian and her family.

When I say the house was swarmed, it was SWARMED. Flocks of cold and hungry people surrounded the vicinity. And upon opening the door, people stood up and raced to the door, unbothered by their actions. What mattered to everyone was to be let inside the house, which was not the intention of the Gordon family. (Allan Gordon in case you're confused.)

Whether they stepped on each other or had to push away people just to reach the front, everyone's desperation trampled each other's desperation.

Before they could even ask Allan, the man spoke with as much tone as he could produce for everybody to hear what he had to say.

"Everyone!" He began. "I am so sorry to say this, but we won't be letting any more people inside our house! I want all of you to understand this, but it would be unfair for others if I allow some of you inside my house while others suffer from having no place to stay! But rest assured! My wife and I had decided to give away all of the clothes we don't wear. So, I want all of you to please standby and Don't create a ruckus!"

If not thousands, hundreds! At least three hundred people were waiting outside of the house. Yes, all of the towns were burned down. Nothing was spared. The sea of flames worked wonders, spreading wildly across the town in an instant, engulfing everything on their way.

Like the fire was meant to take everything away from these people and leave nothing to them. What was the reason? It is unknown.

"Clothes?! What about food?! If you're kind enough to give us clothes, at least spare us some food!"

People's greediness can't really be satisfied. Their desire for everything grows after each satisfaction and thing they receive. None of them would possibly feel grateful enough when they receive some spare clothes from Allan's family.

"I'm afraid my family is short on food. We can't share any food with all of you."

And when their greediness isn't satisfied or was not fulfilled, that was when people started to show their true colors. And when desperation kicks in, these people might start doing the unthinkable. An irredeemable piece of an act that would put not just their lives in danger but those around them.

"Liar! Your family is well off! I know you are just saying that because you're a damn selfish bastard!"

Allan did not know where the voice was coming from the thick crowd. It was so noisy, and chattering masked off the trace of the person talking to him, thus disabling him to locate the person.

His family's safety relies on his words. If he ever says something that would anger the mass, things around their house might turn sour, and chaos could possibly happen. So, he had to be smart in responding to people's concerns.

"Hon..." Lilian, who was behind Allan, worries about her husband. She knew how bad the situation was for them. And her little act of kindness was being cast aside by the townspeople.

"The worst possible outcome of this scenario is people using brute force. They will ransack our pantry and storage room, taking everything, and we will have no power against that."

Allan pondered his thoughts, calculating the number of food supplies they would be left with if they cook something for the swarm of people. And it pained him that he could not do anything about it but stick with his words because they would be left with nothing.

And all of this is happening with the Austere household too. Others that were too late to reach the Gordon family pivoted and went to the Austere family instead. Between the two families, Allan's family is wealthier than the Austere, but it does not mean the family has fewer food supplies than the Gordon's.

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