A Visit to the Workshop
The year was 1880, and the streets of the city were darker than Zaylen expected. She held tightly to her brother's hand as they walked toward a small building filled with light. "That's where he works," her brother whispered.
Inside, the room buzzed with activity. Wires stretched across tables, and glass bulbs sat in rows. In the center of it all stood Thomas Edison, speaking quickly as he moved from one experiment to another.
Zaylen watched as one of the men carefully adjusted a thin wire inside a glass bulb. A moment later, it began to glow. The room filled with a steady, warm light. Zaylen gasped. It was brighter than any candle she had ever seen.
Edison smiled as he looked around the room. "We're getting closer," he said. "People should have light that is safe and lasts longer."
Zaylen thought about her home, where her family used oil lamps that flickered and sometimes filled the air with smoke. She imagined what it would be like to have a steady light that didn't go out so easily.
Before leaving, Zaylen took one last look at the glowing bulbs. Outside, the streets were still dim, but she knew something was changing.
As she and her brother walked home, she glanced back at the workshop, where the lights continued to shine late into the night.