The day the rock walked away

Jonas Stein loved gardens. He loved their peaceful air and how you could always find some new detail you didn’t notice before.

Unfortunately, Jonas was the opposite of a green-thumb. His friend Mildred jokingly said he had ‘the fingers of death,” it was that bad.

So when Jonas got a new house with a little yard, he decided to have a rock garden.

“It’s great,” he told a doubtful Mildred, while sipping tea in her flowering garden “it’s like having my very own mini mountain range I can have imaginary walks in.”

And as much as Mildred loved her flowers, she had to admit Jonas’ rock garden was becoming lovely thanks to all the work he put into it.

See, what Jonas called a rock garden was also a beautifully arranged rock collection. Each stone found and placed carefully with the others. That is why Jonas was so excited when he found the rock on a sunny weekend walk.

It was a beautiful day, and Jonas decided to take a real walk, in real size mountains. It has been a while since he walked them, life has gotten too busy, but his feet remembered all his secret trails and he was enjoying some memories when his eyes fell upon a perfectly rounded little rock. It was love at first sight (well, as much as that’s possible with a rock).

On close inspection the rock was about 40 centimeters across, had a lovely grey tone with delicate texture, and one spot that was slightly greenish, as if it had some plant growing on it long ago.

It was quite heavy, and Jonas spent the rest of the day slowly carrying it to his car and home. But by nightfall he was sitting in his yard, with achy muscles and a nice cup of tea, looking over the new star of his rock garden.

For three years not much changed in the garden. Jonas added a few new rocks and stones, but the round rock remained his “rock-star” as he affectionately called it (only to himself).

One rainy morning, Jonas was sipping his freshly brewed coffee blearily, when he noticed something in the garden. A plant. Some long, twisted branch fell into his rocky garden. ‘Must have been blown over by the winds’ he thought to himself, just as the branch moved.

Jonas nearly dropped is mug. He took a breath and carefully placed the cup on the table. He was suddenly very much awake, as he stepped toward the window and looked at the garden.

The branch was definitely moving. And it wasn’t just the wind, the movement was smooth, and far too nimble for a dry looking branch. Tough it did have one leaf, Jonas noted, his nose nearly pressed to the glass, or… two? There seemed to be a small twig-thing growing from the branch that also had a leaf. And all this was happening right on his “rock-star”!

Jonas shook his head, blinked a few times, and looked again. The branch was still there, still moving in an odd smooth way that felt almost like it was petting his rock.

“So weird.”

Jonas mumbled to himself and went to get his phone. He wanted to call Mildred and ask her about this odd plant behavior. He was pretty sure that wasn’t normal, but he was no plant expert. His finger froze mid-dialing when he glimpsed out the window and saw another rock.

A second, beautifully rounded, delicately textured, lovely grey rock was behind his rock. He started at it. And the rock stared back.

This time he did drop his phone (thankfully on the carpet).

His rock was still there, same as always, and right behind it was another rock that looked just like his rock, only that it had an eye, very large and very green, looking right at him, and Jonas could swear it looked sad.

Can a rock be sad?

I’m really losing it, aren’t I?

Most of Jonas’ brain was a long high-pitched beep, but a few thoughts did go through. One of them was that it was lucky he didn’t manage to finish that call to Mildred, because she would be so worried he had lost his mind (after she finished making fun of him).

Part of him wanted to shake his head to wake up from this weird illusion, but another part didn’t want to wake up, didn’t want to stop seeing the rock that was now eying him carefully, while glancing at “rock star” and up at the branch.

It was then that Jonas noticed that the branch was growing on the rock-with-an-eye, and that it stopped moving and was stretched to all its length with its single leaf at attention. And the small twig of a branch that grew from it was doing the same.

The long branch made a little gesture with its top and leaf, moving from side to side. It looked like a wave, and without thinking, Jonas waved back.

The branch repeated the wave excitedly, waving like a mad… branch? Jonas was starting to lose it, and when he noticed the tiny branch was repeating the excited wave of the bigger one, he just broke out laughing, and couldn’t quite stop. It didn’t help that both branches stopped mid-wave in what looked like a cocked head gesture. It was just too much!

Jonas slapped his face a few times, and a second later the branch tapped its leaf on the rock-with-an-eye, which looked confused by the gesture.

Jonas stared at the pair, and the pair stared back. Well, the rock stared, the branch was just… waiting. Jonas blinked. He had no idea what was going on. He looked at the rock that looked back. He looked at the branch stretched in attention. He drew a circle with his hand. The branch drew a circle with its top (the little branch tried too, but didn’t quite get it right). Jonas made a triangle shape. The branch repeated it (the little branch was more successful with the triangle and did an excited little jig).

For a few minutes Jonas stood at his window, drawing shapes with his hand and watching the big branch and the little branch repeat them. His brain was not really processing, but something was singing in his heart.

Finally, his hand dropped beside his body.

“I really need my coffee”

He mumbled, watching the two branches cock their tops. He looked at the rock again, who looked back and seemed to understand something. At the very least to understand that “it’s okay”, that there’s no danger. And after a soft blink, returned its attention to “rock-star”. The branches seemed to sense the change in focus, and also turned toward the rounded rock.

After five cups of coffee, a power nap and a long nap, Jonas still had a rock with big eyes (it turned and Jonas saw that there were two) and two moving branches (one big and one very small) in his yard. It was lucky that it was a weekend, because he could barely remember his name, let alone work. He spent the entire day in front of his window, looking out at his guests, trying to wrap his mind around what he was seeing and if he should do something about it.

The next morning rose sunny and bright. Jonas half expected the whole thing to have been a dream. But it wasn’t. They were still there, and after a big cup of coffee, he finally stepped out to the yard. He was greeted by two very excited branches, that kept tapping him wherever they could reach, and a somewhat apprehensive rock, that glanced up at him anxiously. Jonas set on the ground before it, and after a while even managed to gently pet its rocky surface.

He called his boss and asked to use some of the vacation days he had accumulated. He wasn’t sure why, but Jonas had a feeling that this was temporary and wanted to savor the time he had with this odd trio. He already decided not to tell anyone, they’d think him crazy anyway, and if they believed him – well, that would be a whole other mess to deal with.

On the third morning Jonas found his guests sitting beside “rock-star”. He could feel their excitement in the air, even the two branches stood still for a change. He took his coffee out and set next to them. A few branch and eye gestures got him to gently place his hand on “rock-star” – it was warm! Not like a rock gets warm on a sunny day, different somehow, and then he felt a tremor. He jumped with surprise and looked at the rock next to him, something in his eyes made it all click, and Jonas spent the next few hours with his guests, looking at the warming up rock and waiting.

Around midday was the first crack. Jonas nearly fell over with surprise. He was expecting something to happen, but it’s very hard to prepare yourself when you don’t know what you’re waiting for.

“Rock-star” continued to crack for the next hour or so, until finally a whole section fell off, revealing a hollow interior and a small round rock with six legs and two eyes that blinked in the light. The bigger rock and his two branches immediately reached out to the small rock and Jonas watched as they did the closest thing to a hug rocks and branches can do.

With young Rock-star running around (Jonas continued to call him that) it became very clear that the larger rock and branch were also older. Rock-star was zooming from one side of the yard to the other, the little branch stretching the best he could after him, and Jonas could swear the old rock sometimes gave him a look that said “kids, eh?”. It was also becoming clear that they were getting slower and slower.

On the fifth day Jonas set to read next to the old rock, who was napping most of the time, the large branch settled across his rock with its top on Jonas’s shoulder. That’s why Jonas saw it when the leaf fell.

He froze, looking at the overly green leaf in his lap, and when he looked to his side he saw that the large rock had his eyes open slightly and there was sadness, but also acceptance in them. Little Rock-star wasn’t zooming around, he stood by his older friend with one leg gently touching his side. The small branch was still, its leaf hanging low. Jonas could feel the wight of the large branch then, and realized that it had passed.

They stayed this way for a few moments, as tears filled Jonas’s eyes (he liked plants quite a bit, you know?). And then the old rock seemed to gesture to the little branch, who slowly straightened its leaf and wiggled a bit. Slowly the little branch released itself from its parent, revealing tiny stubby roots. It then slowly moved, wiggling its way across the larger rock and over to Rock-star, who looked up at him excitedly. The little branch touched its leaf to the larger rock, who watched through half closed eyes as the two young-ones zoomed together across the yard.

The next day the old rock didn’t open his eyes.

Jonas found Rock-star and the little branch skirting around it, stopping to touch it every now and then, as if to make sure. The large branch was still wrapped around the old rock and Jonas couldn’t help but feel that this was probably how they wanted to go.

He spent the day in the yard, reading by the silent rock and branch and watching the two young ones play. He could feel them growing restless, the little branch trying to stretch over the fence and Rock-star looking for new ways to climb the rocks in the garden. And in his heart, Jonas knew that they will be leaving soon.

They did. The next day when Jonas was making dinner, he could see them standing by the old rock and branch. He came out and stood next to them for a bit, then crouched down and gently petted the rocky skin of Rock-star and tickled the branch.

“Off you go then” he said sadly “it’s a big world out there, be safe.”

He stayed a bit longer, then walked back in the house. He looked out the window at the two, and the little branch suddenly shook its top and leaf in a little wave. Jonas let out a little laugh and waved back.

Jonas could hardly believe it was only one week. Could hardly believe it happened at all. If it wasn’t for the broken shell of Rock-star and the round rock with a branch wrapped around it still in his yard, he’d probably think he imagined the whole thing.

He went back to work and so-called normal life, but every morning he drank his coffee while looking out the window at the remains of his magical encounter.

After a few months there was hardly anything left from the branch. Jonas was pretty sure that normal plants don’t just crumble like that, but he didn’t want to ask Mildred, and this was no normal plant anyway. He also discovered that the old rock’s legs crumbled away, leaving only a round rock that looked a lot like his original “rock-star”.

One day, almost a year after Rock-star and Twig (as he came to call him) left, Jonas looked out the window at his yard. The sun was shining on his collection of stones and a particularly round one that set a little apart from the rest.

“Right then.”

He said to no one in particular and went to put on his hiking gear. He gently placed the rock in a small cart and drove out to the mountains. It took some time and effort, but he finally reached the place where he originally found “rock-star” and with a bit of heaving placed the round rock there.

Jonas settled on the ground by the rock to have a bit of lunch (it felt weird to sit on it, knowing that there was probably a living thing growing in there), and spent some more time reading and enjoying the mountain air.

He had considered to keep the stone, see if more guests will come, if it too will crack to a reveal a baby rock-with-legs. But he knew it was too risky. Who knew how long it would be before (if) that would happen? What if someone found out? What if the rock will crack in fifty years in someone else’s yard? What if no one found it and it emerged out all alone, with no old rock and giddy branches to greet it? He also knew not all people would be happy to just leave them alone, that some would want to do studies and experiments and who knows what, and that whenever this rock cocoon opens it will be safer in the mountains.

When the sun began to lower, Jonas patted the rock a couple of times

“I’ll come visit you, alright?”

He whispered and got up, walked to his car and drove back to his house, where the broken shell of his Rock-star now stood proudly on the living room mantle.

~ fin ~

(?)

* The magions described in this story are Polipus silex and Ramus flexibilis, you can read more about them in the magion archives.