Word of the Day: heliolatry

I wrote this yesterday, but, was thwarted by technology, so I am writing it again. Should be better the second time around, right?

During my recent captivity, I rediscovered my old origami interest. It seemed to actually be helpful in working through all the stuff floating in brain by simply being different and active and still creative. What I learned is that coming back to it after so long is that I’m better at it than I was when I put it down, and that while I wasn’t looking or working at it consciously, I’d progressed beyond the basics, which was a pleasant surprise.

This may seem to be something of a digression, but, it is the inspiration behind the story for…  

Today’s Word:

heliolatry

As in:

It was an intricate scene. In one area, a tiny horse and cow grazed behind a paper farmhouse.  In front, a fence held a pig with four piglets,

Nearby, there were African creatures; a lion apparently gazing intently upon some antelope, while a giraffe plucked leaves from a tree and an elephant waved its trunk.  In another area, a crane rested in a nest of shredded paper, and an alligator swam  lazily in a pond.

Helen took a careful moment to place her newest creation in the scene on the top of her bookshelf.  It was a tiny crab the size of pencil eraser, and it was going to live on the shore of the “sandy” lake near the alligator. The little crab would be the 100th model to join the display.

The bookshelf,  Helen had noticed, was almost out of room. After she had mastered a new model, she created a masterpiece version, out of her best paper, and added it to the display. She loved having all of them in one spot, where she could see it from her desk, and where visitors would see it as they entered her office. They always commented positively on the scene, and she took great pride in their attention.

She contemplated other places large enough to accommodate the display and add room for expansion. She wondered if it was time to accept that one place was no longer possible.

There was a place near the large east-facing window, a small side table.  She rejected it, paper did not take kindly to prolonged exposure to the sun, it would never be accused of heliolatry. She laughed at the thought, and then was sobered as she contemplated her precious models exposed to glaring sunlight, and becoming pale and discolored.  Horrible thought.

At long last, she determined that she would use the top of the filing cabinet, which would not give her a huge amount of room, but, would suffice until she could find an alternative.

She picked a few models to move to the new location, and got them settled in their new home, then left the office for the evening.

The following morning, while talking with a client, she learned the folly of her choice as the air started circulating through the ventilation system, which, she had failed to note, had a vent right above her file cabinet.  

She leapt to her feet to survey the damage to her scattered animals.  One had blown 15 feet, and landed in her half-full coffee mug, where it promptly reacted to the excessive moisture.

Helen could not take this disaster, she began to weep.

He client was confused. “Aren’t they just paper?”

Helen scowled, and sat, speachless.

The client tried again. “You can make a new one, right? It’s just paper. Paper doesn’t cost much.  It’s not gold.  ”

Helen burst into tears.

Her client shifted uncomfortably. “I, well, I just meant. It’s just paper, right? Easily replaced.”

Helen shouted, “Oh, sure, to you it’s just paper. Can you replace your son?”

The client just looked at her, and he tried to understand. “It is just paper, right?”

Helen refused to dignify his insulting question with a response.  Her children were not just paper.  She would never drink coffee ever again. Poor little Ronald. He was so young! He did not deserve to drown.

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For some unknown reason, this was much harder to write the second time around. I couldn’t find a way to get into the story this time, and couldn’t remember how I’d done it the first, and then, I ran into challenges of other sorts, and finished much later than I’d planned.

heliolatry / HE – lee – all – o – tree / sun worship