"Come in quickly and close the door," West said nervously as he entered the house.
Elena put down the empty plate in her hand and asked her son, "Where have you been these past few days? Are you hungry? Do you want me to make you something to eat?"
West turned the dim oil lamp up to its brightest setting, then pulled over his younger brother and sister, who were weaving nets. He took two fist-sized white loaves of bread from within his coat and handed them over.
"Go on, eat. I went all the way to the inner island's residential area to buy these."
The two children held the white bread but didn't take a bite, looking worriedly at their mother instead.
Elena looked anxiously at the delicately wrapped bread. "This stuff is expensive, isn't it?"
West said nonchalantly, "It's fine. They're only 50 Echoes each. We can afford that."
As he spoke, he pulled out a stack of Echo Paper Currency and held it out to Elena.
