“Stop,” she said sharply.
The crowd fell quiet.
“You shouldn’t accuse someone without proof,” she told the man.
“You defending him?” he snapped.
“Yes,” she said without hesitation. “I see him here every day after work. He is not a thief.”
Her calm certainty shifted the mood at once. The man began to falter. A few people muttered that maybe he had simply misplaced the wallet. At last, embarrassed, he walked away.
Daniel exhaled slowly.
“Thank you,” he said.
Grace shrugged. “Friends defend each other.”
But the worst part came a moment later. When Daniel checked his bag, the little money he had spent weeks saving was gone.
Every coin.
He closed his eyes. He knew immediately who had probably taken it.
Marcus.
For a moment rage burned in him. Then Grace’s voice echoed in his mind: If you quit every time people laugh at you, you’ll never reach your goal.
When he opened his eyes again, he was calm.
“I guess I’ll just have to start saving again,” he said quietly.
Grace studied him with admiration. “That takes strength.”
“Maybe,” Daniel said. “Or maybe I’m learning patience.”
The next morning, Daniel returned to the workshop with renewed determination.
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