Ascetic

characterized by or suggesting the practice of severe self-discipline and abstention from all forms of indulgence, typically for religious reasons. /əˈsedik/

When the Krispy Kreme donut shop opened its doors across the street from the zen monastery, it wasn’t ideal for the monks' ascetic lifestyle. Those caramel smells wafted through the temple and into the nostrils of the monks, who, despite having devoted themselves to years of abstinence from the western luxurious, were helpless against its sugary powers.

First, Kannika excused himself from prayer, feigning a bladder infection, returning an hour later with glazed donut sprinkles stuck to his face. Next Teva snuck out the back of the prayer room, returning with apple fritter crumbles in his hair.

Finally, Bodhi abandoned ship. But when he returned with two dozen glazed cinnamon rolls, sharing it with fellow monks, His Holiness promoted him, instructing the monastery to pray to the cinnamon roll from then on out.

“If you contemplate the spiral shape of the cinnamon roll long enough,” His Holiness said, “You will understand the truth of the universe.”

This is a Friday newsletter. Each week I pick a new word I’m trying to learn, then use it in a short story. Suggest a word in the comments. See ya next week wordos!