The Touchstone

Neil has problems until he discovers a special stone, but all that negativity it absorbs has to eventually go somewhere...

      Neil scampered down the bank and onto the lake's smooth-pebbled beach where he began his ritual walk.  Presently, he heard a cry overhead, and he paused a long moment to watch a seagull go noisily by; meanwhile, waves splashed in a lullaby of rolling white noise that served to calm him down.

      He felt a bit better now.  School with its relentless teasing and tedious study faded somewhat from his mind.  He began combing the rocks for agates, a pastime that he found more enjoyable than TV or even shoot-em-up games.  The rocks were shiny wet and almost glowed with reds of various hues.

      Suddenly, Neil spied an agate half buried in the sand.  Circular lines flowed through it.  Then he notice a face had been carved in the rock.  It was primitive yet spoke something clearly.  The eyes gazed up knowingly.  Its mouth was slightly upturned at the corners as though it was suppressing some intimate secret.

      Neil reached down to pick it up; and when he touched it, he suddenly felt the day's remaining tension melt from his mind, leaving a blissful peace in its place.

     

                             *            *            *

      Neil felt that familiar dread as he entered the school.  He made it about twenty feet down the hallway when suddenly his pack flew off his shoulder.  Not again, he thought, as the panic of not knowing how to handle these things overcame him.  Big Mike appeared from behind. "Having problems with your stuff?" he taunted.

       Reflexively, Neil reached into his pocket for his special stone and was instantly transported to a calm, reassuring beach with its tranquil surf.  More importantly, he now knew what to do.  "You trying to bother someone?" he asked sardonically.

      Mike's jaw slacked.  "Ah...yah.  I'm trying to bother you."

      "Not working."  Neil picked up his pack and headed to class. He did not look back.

      The next encounter with Mike occurred in the lunch room.  Mike threw a banana peal at him.  Hate and frustration gripped him once again, but he reached out to his stone and suddenly found himself throwing the peal back at Mike and locking his gaze on the other's eyes until he backed down.

      Finally, the last bell rang, and Neil went out the door, sure  that he had successfully negotiated Mike and everything else of concern that day.  He was moving up to the bus line when out of nowhere he was thrown to the ground.  He reached into his pocket for his trusty stone when he realized it was gone.  As Mike glared down at him, He looked around desperately for the rock then saw it at Mike's feet.  Neil lunged toward it.  "Oh," Mike sneered, "the little boy lost his little toy!"  He reached down to pick it up.

     But something happened when Mike grasped the stone.  His eyes took on a feverish look.  He was overcome by a fit of crying then collapsed into a ball on the ground as though he had been socked in the stomach.  A nearby teacher walked over to him, inspected him a few moments then called the ambulance.

      

                          *                *               * 

      Neil entered the hospital room.  Mike lay on the bed looking back at him with wide, fearful eyes.  "Don't make me touch that thing again!" he cried.

      "No, I'm here to help you, Mike."   Neil paused and tried to appear accepting.  "You see, that stone you touched had stored up a lot of negative energy you had created in me.  When you made contact with it, it released it all back to you.  Now you know what I go through sometimes.  You don't want to cause that kind of suffering again, do you?"  

      Mike shook his head, fervently.

      "I think it is better to spread peace and understanding.  Friends?"

      "...Yah, friends." 

Author's Note

Too simple?