Today’s Positive Adjective:
Xenial: of, relating to, or constituting hospitality or relations between host and guest and especially among the ancient Greeks between persons of different cities

Greek fire followed the drought. Desiccated vegetation flared and searing flames touched the skies. Hestia heard her devotees cries and took pity on them. She decided to visit them, test them to determine who deserved her grace.

Disguised as a crippled beggar she went from house to house, asking for shelter and a scrap of bread. At homes of wealthy families and businessmen, they told her the same story. There was no food to spare. She wandered through the entire town, but no one answered her plea. Hestia took the road toward the next settlement. Behind her, a fire destroyed everything.

She walked through the night. As dawn broke, she approached a hovel and knocked at the door. A woman greeted her warmly and invited her to join her household for breakfast. She sent her son to search the chicken coop for any eggs, then she bustled around her meager kitchen preparing the meal. The family didn’t have much. But they prayed and offered the gods a small sacrifice before they ate, sharing the sparse fare with their guest. Hestia asked her hostess about her generosity.

“I follow Hestia,” the woman replied. “She teaches us to honor our xenial duties.”

“Aren’t you worried you might starve?”

“The goddess will provide,” she said as she shrugged her shoulders and smiled.

“Everyone is welcome, my family,” she motioned to those sitting at the table, “my neighbors, and even travelers.”

Hestia nodded and finished her meal. She rose and kissed the woman’s cheek. The woman embraced Hestia, called her sister, and told her she would always be welcomed. They wished each other a good day and Hestia resumed her journey.

As she walked away, the family shrieked with joy,  and praise the goddess. Rain fell, transforming the land into a verdant oasis. It washed the dirt and grime from the hovel, revealing the family’s sumptuous home. The woman and her family never forgot to honor Hestia for her favor.
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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Today’s Positive Adjective:
Whimsical: resulting from or characterized by whim or caprice especially, lightly fanciful whimsical decorations

Arianna grew up flipping through architectural and design publications. While other girls worried about the perfect manicure and impressing the boys, she plotted trips to Taliesin and dreamed of attending Bauhaus.

Everything changed when her parents died in an auto accident. Devastated and grieving they uprooted her, turned her world upside down and sent her to live with her only surviving relative, an aunt she had never met. Aunt Mara lived alone and resented intrusions and the responsibility of caring for a teenage girl. Arianna felt helpless.

Aunt Mara’s house was a one-bedroom vacation cottage she occupied throughout the year. The property was so overgrown it was impossible to tell the home sat on a crystal blue lake. Mara pulled a cord hanging from the ceiling and unfolded a set of creaky attic stairs. The bare, raftered space housed boxes of Christmas decorations, long forgotten trunks and now, Arianna’s bedroom. She suspected the uninsulted room would freeze in the winter and blister in the summer.

Aunt Mara considered her duty done and returned to her office job, leaving Arianna on her own. The nearest neighbor was a mile away, and the town was further. When her aunt left for work, she breathed a sigh of relief and explored her new world. The porch sported peeling paint and overlooked brambles and weeds. Hidden behind a stand of trees she discovered an old garage and several sheds in various stages of decay. A peek inside revealed odds and ends, with boxes and tools piled to the rafters. Arianna imagined abandoned treasures concealed in the cluttered mess. With hours stretching before her, she studied her surroundings.

The transformation was slow, but bit by bit the home and the property changed. Old wheelbarrows and toolboxes became unexpected flower containers. She established meandering paths with tantalizing views of the lake and built fairytale vignettes along the way. Arianna repainted the cottage with discounted miss-mixed paint samples, which highlighted gingerbread trim and shaped clapboard. Her dedication created a whimsical place full of nostalgia, and magic sprinkled with a touch of regret.

Aunt Mara saw the changes, and she changed too. She made contributions and interacted with her niece. Others noticed. Strangers stopped by to look and ask questions. It was the project which would launch her illustrious career.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer