Just as Michael was about to ask the old man what he meant by that, he suddenly heard a cacophony of excited shouting in the distance.
It sounded like children getting excited at a birthday party.
He didn't expect such jolly sounds from a barren town.
Michael curiously walked towards the center of the town, where the main wet market was established. As he did so, he saw a small gathering of small children lining up towards a single table.
These children, despite looking a little bit thin and malnourished, were surprisingly healthier than the adults that he had been seeing in the town.
Most of the people in Orcus Town remained inside their houses, choosing to lie down and sleep all day to conserve energy. This would allow them to be less hungry throughout the day.
But somehow, these kids had enough energy to jump around excitedly as they looked towards this table.
"Finally! I've been waiting for this since yesterday!"
"Hehe! Woohoo!"
"I wonder what we're going to get today…"
The kids talked amongst each other with a giddy attitude.
Michael slowly approached the crowd, mingling himself with the children.
"Children… No pushing, okay? You'll get your turn eventually."
On the other side of this wooden table was a middle-aged woman, who showed a gentle smile towards the children.
And even as the kids were overcome with excitement, they didn't disobey the woman and kept themselves in line.
"Yes! We will!" they all recited.
Michael peered through the crowd and finally saw what was laid down on the table.
He thought it was something special.
But…it was just a couple loaves of bread. Not even enough to feed a single family of four, much less a whole group of these children.
He was quickly proven wrong.
The middle-aged woman wearing a worn-down apron took out a loaf of bread and began to tear out small pieces to give to each and every child lined up at the table.
"Thank you miss!" said one child as he gleefully chowed down on the piece of bread smaller than his fist.
"Thanks! I'll savor it for a long time!" said another child as he began to nibble at the bread, making sure not to eat it all in one go.
Soon enough, every child got themselves a small piece of bread to eat, except Michael.
The woman looked curiously at Michael, not recognizing his face. Her face showed worry and a little bit of panic as she realized that she had run out of bread pieces to give to him.
She quickly rummaged through her wicker basket until she found a small baby carrot stuck in the edges. She turned towards Michael and gestured for him to come closer.
"This is the only food I have for now. Come, take it."
Michael looked at the middle-aged woman and saw the fading Life mana in her body.
She needed food more than anybody.
Yet, she kept urging Michael to take the last piece of food in her basket.
"There's no need," Michael said to her.
"Oh don't be shy, little boy! You need a lot of food to grow properly, okay?"
The woman walked towards him and forced him to open his hand. Then, she dropped the baby carrot in his palms and closed his hands.
"You're always welcome here," she said to him.
Michael stared at the woman, touched by her generosity.
"I haven't seen you before!"
One of the kids munching on a piece of bread spoke to Michael with a friendly face.
"Here! Looks like you weren't able to get one for yourself!"
The little kid broke half of the remaining bread in his hands and gave it to Michael without hesitation. It was already smaller than his fist, but now, it had become the size of a strawberry.
Even though he was clearly younger than Michael, the boy unselfishly gave Michael half of what he had despite risking hunger later on.
"Are you new here? Have some of mine as well!"
Another kid approached Michael and tore off a small piece of bread for him.
"I'm not that hungry. Can I share it with you?"
"What's mine is yours!"
"Let's get along well in the future, okay?"
One by one, the kids began to give Michael small chunks of their food while introducing themselves to him. Even though he was a complete stranger to them, they treated him as if he was their family.
Everyone's first thought upon seeing Michael was that he was one of the lost orphans who wandered into the town.
He looked like he needed help.
And, when these kids needed help, the woman also gave them food to eat without any hesitation. Now, they were just paying it forward.
Michael watched everything unfold, speechless at how kind everyone was to a total stranger.
It was clear that they were the ones who needed help the most, yet they were the ones who helped others.
"But how are you going to eat?" Michael asked the middle-aged woman.
"Don't worry about me, boy! I already ate my fill," she said, exaggeratingly patting her belly as if she was incredibly stuffed.
It didn't take long for Michael to realize what was happening.
He looked around the town and saw all the senior and elderly people peeking out of the windows with satisfied smiles on their faces.
Even though only the children were eating food, they didn't argue or beg for some.
It seemed that they had chosen to leave all the food to the children, leaving nothing for themselves. If they had rationed the food for all the people in town, they would only last a couple of days. But if only the children ate the food, then they could last for months longer.
Seeing this warmed his heart.
The people here were still filled with goodwill despite the horrible situation they were in. They helped each other survive and were even willing to sacrifice themselves just to give the children a better chance at surviving.
Michael made a decision right there and then. He was going to help this town.