Fantasy short story time! My favorite time. The following all-new short piece is in response to a prompt (the quote above) over at Stephanie Ayers Author.com
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He skipped a stone across the surface of the smooth, clear pond. Skip, skip, skip, kerplunk. Serene ripples sped forth from each impact. Dragonflies chased each other among the reeds. The man took a sip from the jug and waited.
"How will I know?" she asked.
"Do not worry. You will know." He flung another stone. They both tracked its flight. Skip, ploop.
She laughed. "Definitely not that one!"
"My arm is a little sore." He followed a vee of geese honking across the sky as he massaged his shoulder. "Want to trade?"
She shook her head. "Tempting. But you're doing such a great job!"
He bent down and picked up another handful of stones.
He looked across the water and flicked his arm hard. Skip, skip, skip, skip, splash.
"Four, wow. Great throw. Was that the one?"
He shook his head. "Don't worry. We'll find it."
He skipped a stone across the surface of the smooth, clear pond. Skip, skip, skip, kerplunk.
She perked up.
He smiled.
"Uh," she said. "There's one slight problem. I wasn't watching!"
"Damn." He tilted his head up to the heavens in silent prayer to whoever might be listening.
"Sorry?"
Scowling, he waded out into the water, in the general direction of his last throw. About waist deep into the pond he turned around. "Well, don't just sit there. Help me look for it."
She stood at the water's edge and looked out across the pond. "What did it look like?"
"It was gray and flat. Just like the last fifty rocks I threw."
"Damn."
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Picture for today to go along with the prompt:
Picture by Sean the Spook at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7335791
Can you find the Stone of Time?
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