It had been a miracle, Edwin decided, as he managed to get out of the bed one fine morning, drenched in sweat, but not feeling like he was going to barf his guts out, that he had survived this horrible, horrible month.
First, the doctors had found out he had a curse laid on him, which made him sick. They had taken that out, of course, but he had to stay put at home, rather than to go to the rune workshop, where he worked.
For such curses could spread like a forest fire, and Edwin's boss simply refused to take such a risk.
Then, as soon as Edwin was proclaimed healthy once more, he came down with a summer virus. Gotten that virus healed, went to work, and then got down with a second summer virus, since his coworker had refused to go home, and had coughed out his lungs the entire day, as Edwin tried to write his daily quota of runes.
So, as he had gone home, drenched in sweat and cold like an iceberg. Edwin really hoped he would get a paycheck for this month, even if he knew that it won't be easy.
Or even possible.
As a runesmith Edwin had a good paycheck. In fact, he had it so good that he was switching jobs, just so he won't waste two hours going to and back from the office.
But until that home office gig could start, Edwin had to make ends meet, somehow.
So, as anyone with a computer, powered by runes, of course, not by that new mana generator everyone talked about, Edwin went into Forestia Search, and he started, while he shook from the fever which had taken a hold of his limbs, to search for ways with which he could survive until the next paycheck came.
He searched, frowned at the fact that he had to survive off instant noodles and pasta, and hoped for an answer.
Surely, he wouldn't have to learn to live off hopes and dreams? For the noodles were about as nutritious as air, and he knew that from his college years.
And then he found it. A single YouTube video, with a woman who was shopping. He noted how she picked a couple of vegetables from the fresh produce aisle, then a dozen eggs, then some tortillas, rice and beans, and some bananas, and went out of the store having spent only ten gold coins!
"Well, I'll be damned," Edwin said to himself, as he started to search for recipes. "People can't get fed from just that, can they?"
As he saw that it was about ten in the evening, he went to the fridge, got his last container of premade food bowl, which he got with his subscription to Food Bowl Forestia, he wondered if the food he was getting premade and ready to be reheated was any better than the food the woman who had spent just ten gold coins ate.
As he looked at the half-dead egg, for the bowl was supposed to be for lunch, but he had not had any appetite, and was eating it now, he sighed.
Well… it was not like he had had anything to do during those extra two hours he was going to get with the new job. And since he had the next eight days free from work, he could give this whole cooking thing a shot, right?
But first, he was going to enjoy the crème caramel he had gotten at the Elven bakery down the street!
As he ate his dessert, he could not help but notice that there was something like éclair rolls in the cream. And yet, he thought nothing of it.
After all, he had been getting his food from there for months now. Surely, they wouldn't sell him anything that was off, right?
0000
Edwin was heaving over the toilet bowl, cursing God and the elves of the bakery, and thinking over his life choices.
A pizza every Friday, or just after a stressful day. Crème caramel pretty much every time he passed by the bakery, which pretty much everyone agreed was the most expensive in town.
Not to mention the fruit he bought, could not eat before it spoiled, and then threw away.
"If I survive," he heaved once more, some slime coming out of his mouth. "I will change."
There was no lightning behind him to give him motivation, or even something like a gust of wind passing through the bathroom. Just the smell of puke, regret, and sweat stinking of sickness.
No, Edwin decided, as he finally felt well enough to clean the mess he had made in the bathroom. Things had to change.
But first, he needed a shower. And as soon as he got in the bathtub because god forbid an apartment with such a good rent had a shower cabin, and not some bathtub which had to be fixed every five months, or the neighbors from downstairs were going to rebel and come to kill Edwin and his roommates in their sleep, for the old thing had the habit of turning the neighbor's ceilings soggy, he saw another problem.
A shower gel which was imported from the neighboring empire, which was expensive, yes, but not as expensive as the tiny shampoo bottle which Edwin bought as a reward for managing to keep his job.
The shampoo was made by a world-renowned witch, and the woman could turn even the worst manes into something people could feel comfortable going out without a hat with.
"Good God," Edwin said, as he picked up his shower gel. "I act like someone who has had money for just a month!"
Which was not far from the truth if Edwin had to be honest. He really had money only ever since he started his job at the rune workshop.
But his new job did not pay so well. It offered him the possibility to work in the comfort of his own home, to not have to wear a winter jacket during the summer, and pretty much two hours extra for him to do with as he pleased.
"I need to change," he said, as he started washing up. Then, as he got out of the bathtub, he looked at the face cleaning gel he liked to use.
"But… surely, that could stay?"
After all, he did not want to end up with his face littered in pimples once more.
No, he would change, he vowed, but some things had to stay. Not the fifteen gold coins shampoo, and definitely not the eight gold coins shower gel.
But some things, like his medicine kit and basic stuff like the only thing which kept him from looking like someone in puberty, could stay.
0000
Edwin was in the supermarket. That was nothing new for him because during his collage years he had even read all the promotion PDFs with the religious vigor of someone who hoped they could get to eat something apart from noodles.
But now he was in front of the baked goods section, and he was trying to reason with himself that, no, he did not need the expensive and sinfully delicious bread buns, which cost 45 silver coins per bun.
Or the donuts with jam, which could promise him nirvana for a couple of minutes, until he craved more.
Or even the muffins… God, why could he not take even a single muffin?
Edwin looked at the price of the muffins, which was something he rarely did ever since he got the new job.
Two gold coins per muffin.
"Well, maybe I can bake my own muffins?" He thought, as he slowly stepped away from the baked goods aisle.
He went to the much-ignored bread aisle. Normally, in all the other shops, the bread would be of good quality, and soft. But here, the supermarket did want to sell its much more expensive fresh bread, so the bread on offer here was, to put it bluntly, not very promising.
Edwin's eyes went to the tortilla packages, and he looked at the price. Hm… only one gold coin per package?
He took a package, and then looked around. Did he need normal bread if he had the tortillas? Maybe he should get himself a loaf, right?
Just in case, he got the munchies.
He reached out and took one bread loaf at random. Putting that in the cart as well, he wheeled the cart down the aisles.
His eyes widened when he noticed the prices of all the candy he used to enjoy. A bag of mint bonbons costed 2 gold coins?
Edwin could not help but think that the mint probably had classical music played to it, while it was growing. The cookies were also a no, and when he saw a package of muffins, which costed even more than the fresh muffins of the bakery aisle, he just bowed his head, and went to the preserves section.
He already had bread, the only thing he needed was a jar of the cheapest jam they had on offer!
"Holy shit!" Edwin could not help but exclaim, after his search had gotten to the point where the cheapest jam was an apple jam for five gold coins.
A woman looked at him with scrunched up eyebrows, and Edwin just bowed his head, and moved away from the preserves section.
Surely, the honey…?
After five minutes of Edwin considering the idea that the bees of Forestia were exploited and were actually slaves, for the honey was worth double the cheapest jam he found, he made peace with the fact that his sweet tooth would have to take a hike.
So, he wheeled his cart back to the vegetable section, and went about picking things which looked promising. He got two onions, a bag of carrots, for they were sweet and cheap, and he picked up some potatoes and canned beans as well.
Then, because he decided that he had some money to spare, he got a cluster of parsley, which was only ten silver coins per cluster.
Edwin looked inside his cart and did the math inside his head. If he tried to buy some meat, even if the meat was on promotion, then he would end up spending more than the ten gold coins he was willing to spend.
And that simply could not stand.
"Did you hear? The rice is on promotion! Buy one bag, get one free!" He overheard someone near him, and his eyes widened.
How could he be so stupid! Of course, he could get rice! It was easy to make, and filling!
With a bounce to his stop, Edwin started to search for the rice. He had to pass by the trap of the ultimate snack food, as Edwin called the rolls of chips, pass the siren, as he called the ice cream section, and then along the meat cooling boxes, where the red stickers which showed something was being sold at a reduced price called to him, and made him want to imagine eating something which had grown on a bone.
But he persevered, somehow, and made it to the rice. There, as if chosen by fate, was a single package with two bags of rice left.
Edwin looked around, took a step to the rice, and then took it.
Without so much as a backwards glance, he made his way to the checkout.
Only to have someone block his way.
"Hey, do you mind splitting the rice?" The other man asked, and Edwin narrowed his eyes. Does he really do something like that before he could benefit from the promotion?
Edwin stared into his food cart, and then he glanced in the food cart of the other man.
There were apples, beans, vegetables, some cheese. It all looks so, as if the man was budgeting everything as well.
"I…" Edwin did not want to prevent the man from stocking up, but the thing was, that he had to count every coin.
"All the rice got sold out. I will pay you the full price for a single bag," the man said, as he smiled. Edwin could not help but think that the smile was charming.
But the offer that Edwin would not have to pay for the rice at all was like a siren's song for him. He had no idea why the man loved rice so much, but he had offered, and Edwin would be a fool to refuse.
"Sure!" Edwin said, as he looked around. One of the fast checkouts was open, and Edwin made a beeline for it. Soon, he had everything bagged, and paid for.
When he got out of the supermarket, the man was waiting for him. Edwin forked over one of the bags, the man gave him the money Edwin had paid for the two bags.
And so, they went their separate ways. And yet, as Edwin went back home, he could not help but think he had done some good.
If this was the life he could live as someone who counted every coin, then so be it!
He smiled, his stomach rumbled, and soon, he was mixing himself a potion to lower his fever.
But such was life.