Today’s Positive Adjective:
Assiduous: showing great care, attention, and effort
Addie loved the treasures Papa made in his tiny, crowded workshop. She spent hours perched on a stool as he meticulosity molded, and hammered, creating the perfect receptacle for the simmering stones.
Forbidden from entering the studio when he wasn’t there, she couldn’t force herself to obey. Late at night, Addie would slip from her bed. and tiptoe downstairs. In the pale light, she would caress Papa’s tools, examining the details of whatever project lay on his bench.
One morning Papa announced that Jules, Addie’s older brother, would no longer attend school. Instead, Jules was to apprentice with Papa. Jules groaned, and Addie silently wished she was so lucky.
For months Jules reluctantly followed Papa to the workshop each dawn and bolted from his hell the moment Papa released him for the day. Addie’s clandestine visits continued, and she grew bolder. She held Papa’s tools, manipulating them as he did, while she imagined herself performing the tasks he assigned to Jules. By day, she watched Jules’ beefy hands ruin costly materials and his stubborn attitude soured Papa’s patience.
One spring afternoon, Papa let out a beastly roar and banished Jules from the shop. Jules ran, almost skipping in delight. Not long after, Papa emerged, his shoulders slumped, and he sighed shutting the door behind him. Addie waited, but all was quiet. Unable to resist she entered and surveyed Jules’ destruction. Without thinking, she selected a tool and started the repair.
It was a day she would never forget. The day everything changed, and a new path opened to her. She fingered the pendant at her neck, her first creation, but not her last. Her days found her next to Papa, assisting him, collaborating with him. With assiduous use of the precious materials, Addie worked, crafting masterpieces fit for a king.
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Keep on writing.
Jo Hawk The Writer
Jo Hawk 