To See Is To Believe

Once upon a time in a City full of rich individuals that has defined social strata which categorized into levels called, Well-off, Rich, and Elite. At that time, there is a huge banquet happening in the center of the city, it is attended by various individuals coming from different levels of that society. But among them, the three people who sit at the top of each level made their appearance.

The banquet is held in the morning and most of the time, all you can hear is people flaunting their power and wealth with one another. Showing off their jewelry, expensive clothes, even walking sticks made gold and diamond that seems irrelevant as they can walk straight, and especially their skins which is so clean and smooth.  Then suddenly, walked unto the door and entered the hall where the banquet was taking place. This old man uses rags as his clothes, a gourd as his water bottle, and a branch of a tree as his walking stick. Clearly, an old man not suitable for the event that is happening in the said place.

Then all of a sudden, the old man yelled.

Old Man: Help me! I am from the land outside this city, it is an urgent matter as a epidemic suddenly spread in our village. Now, aside from dying from the disease, people of our village are also dying out of starvation because of the shortage on manpower to produce the foods. I saw that the people entering this place are wealthy people, so I decided to come here. Please, save our village and its people.

One of the guests suddenly spoke.

Guest: Get that old man out of here, he's bringing disgrace into this exquisite banquet with his appearance like that. I know that there is a scarcity of soap, but you look like someone who never used it. (Laughs)

The crowd murmured with agreement.

Guest: What are you guards doing? Drag him out!
Old Man: No, please help me, help our village. (In the verge of crying)
An elegant voice suddenly spoke that made the crowd go silent.  It turns out, it is the man who sits at the top of Well-off level people, his name is Augustus.

Augustus: Wait, there might be something we can do to help this old man and his village, considering that we all are so rich that we can just take some pocket money and accumulate it to fund the survival of their village.

Two men laughed at him vigorously, they turned out to be the one sitting at the top of the rich and the one at the top of the elites, whose names are Julius and Reinhart.

Julius: Why would I spend even a coin for those low lives?
Reinhart: You must be insane if you think we will just hand our money to someone we don't even know.
Julius: That's right, this old man might be a scammer, I heard that they are scattered outside the city.
Reinhart: Augustus, we suggest that you don't intervene with that old man's and his village problems. It is also for your sake. 
Augustus: I would never turn a blind eye to people who need help if it is something that is within my power.

The crowd murmured, "Talking like someone big and mighty when he can't even be one of the rich and just stocked as the top of being well-off", "He dared to talk back on those two people at top when he is even lower than the lowest rich level." And many more insults.

Reinhart: If that's what you believe in, don't come back crying as I've already warned you.

Augustus exited the hall and took the old man with him. He made his servants prepare a carriage as he would immediately depart to see what was really happening in the old man's village. He made the old man join him inside the carriage as he looked really exhausted. But before entering the carriage, he noticed something strange about the old man. Although he looks so dirty, he doesn't really smell bad. And even though he said that he traveled from outside the city, his footwear doesn't seem to be ragged and dirty as his clothes. Augustus suddenly felt like something was wrong, but he decided to help the old man and so he will continue to do so, and he thinks that his servants will protect him if something were to happen.

While on the road, the old man suddenly spoke.

Old man: Youngman, why are you helping me even though the others have disagreed and thought that I might be a fraud?
Augustus: I just felt like it is the right thing to do in this situation.
Old man: Is that so, you are a very kind man.
Coachman: Sir, we are near the village.

They have arrived at the village on the afternoon after hours of travel. As Augustus glanced for the first time in the village, he felt shocked. As what the old said seems to only be the tip of the iceberg. The people who are on the street are lying, their bodies are so thin that you can trace every bone in their body, if not dead, some are only holding on to a thin thread. Their field has nothing but weeds, there are no livestock that can be seen, just some shells scattered in the village, the only place that people gather to get something to fill their stomach is a small well in the middle of the village.

Augustus: How can this be, outside the city that is full of wealth luxury, and overindulgence, is people who are suffering to get by just for another day.

Augustus and his people quickly inspected the village and found out that the source of epidemic is actually the well in the center of village where most of the people get their water even before the epidemic spread. Augustus does not delay things any longer and resolves the problem out of his own pocket.

Old man: I thank you from the bottom of my heart young man, this village is greatly indebted to you. Once we regain our former source of income, which is making soaps, we will definitely repay you. Not to brag but the soaps made from this village are quite popular in the city. But that's a matter of past, what we can do now is to regain what we have lost.

                           -The End-