They’d been cold when the Green Lady gave them the assignment. What a waste of time, they thought, there’s so many things I am capable of doing, and yet, you make me cook and hand out food. Despite this, they did not disobey her orders. They went to give food to the less fortunate people of the city, the people they might have lived with if they’d taken a different path. It was not an instantaneous revelation. There was a lot of tedious work and disapproving thoughts. It took an hour for something to change in their head. It took an hour for them to think about the meal they’d given out and the chance they’d handed each of the people they’d served.
Hadn’t Honey been given a break at one point? Hadn’t someone taken a moment to take the poor, weak child they once were and pluck them from the streets and give them warm food to eat? They’d never given much thought to the details of their childhood. They hadn’t wanted to dwell on the past or give it much of their time.
Now, here behind the counter at the weekly soup kitchen, they began to wonder if they’d been wrong. They watched the hungry people relax as they sat down to eat, somewhere safe and secure for these moments. They saw the relief on mothers’ faces and they saw men and women sit and talk and grow closer as people over these small meals. Honey didn’t talk a lot in general. They were not great at connections and bonds, but they knew their importance. They could tell how much these moments meant to those in need. They understood why the Green Lady made them spend their evening here, rather than doing useful research on how to help the world.
It was because this was just as important as the grand gestures they usually did. These people needed saving and help just as much as the people Honey rescued in distant lands. The solutions were less complicated, but no less important.
When the evening was over, they walked to the Society’s kitchen and stopped at the doorway. Basil was inside, just as they expected.
“Hey, Green,” They took off their hat and held it over their chest, giving Basil a deep bow. “Sorry. I was wrong about your cooking.”
They didn’t wait for a response. They put their hat back on their head, straightened up, and left the doorway. They still had a lot of thinking to do about this. There would be time to deal with whatever Basil had to say later, once they were in a more solid mental place.