A Bewitching Stone

He looked out through the night sky, the moon providing just enough light for him to see the stone in the water about 20 feet from shore. He had been coming here for years yet he had never seen a stone there. It was a very sandy beach.

Curious, he threw some sand at it, yet it didn’t move. He yelled but still nothing. Eventually, he decided to wade in the water just a foot or two to find a rock to throw at it. He hesitated at the shoreline. However, he soon decided that he was just being paranoid so he quickly ran in, felt around and grabbed a couple of rocks before running back out.

After he collected himself he threw a couple more rocks at it but again nothing happened. He tried to just walk back to his car and forget the thing but he couldn’t. He paced around in the parking lot before walking back. He half expected and wished the stone to be gone when he returned but it was still there. He again paced back and forth on the beach before he got an idea.

He rushed up to the dunes and looked around until he found a nice long stick. Again, he hesitated at the shoreline, but after he took a deep breath and shrugged his shoulders and waded in. The depth stayed relatively stable so he didn’t have to swim out. However, by the time he was out 10 feet, the water was up to his waist. At 15 feet he prepared his stick and stuck it out at 16.

However, again, it didn’t move. So, it’s just a stone. However, it seemed that thought acted more like reassurance than anything. He looked back towards the beach and there was still no one there. He was so far from civilization that no one would hear him if anything happened. Oh, this is crazy. I’m just gonna go over and touch it and that will be all.

He slowly waded through the water and hesitated one more time before finally placing his hand on the stone. “Hmm, well that was disappointing. Ha, that's what she said.” He waded back out, walked back up the beach, through the path and out to his car. As he sat down he started thinking about what he had to accomplish tomorrow. He turned on the car and started to pull out. He looked over towards the beach again. It lingered in his mind.

He sighed before saying, “Well, I may never see it again, so, if it leaves as fast as it appeared. One more look.” He parked the car but knowing that he would soon return, left the door open and the keys in the ignition and walked out to see the stone one more time. At the beach’s crest he saw the stone. The clouds had moved, allowing the moon to shine more clearly on it. He decided to move down to the shoreline to appreciate its incredible beauty. Once there, he remembered how he didn’t really get a true sense of how the stone felt so he decided to wade back out.

This time he didn’t hesitate but rather fully embraced it, admiring its beauty and touch. He felt all around and even got on top and layed on it. Then, he looked up at the stars and realized that he had never seen such a clear sky and view of the stars. So, he continued to lay there for a little while longer.

When people arrived the next day they found a car with the keys in the ignition and its driver’s side door open. Initially they thought that someone was just walking along the beach or was somewhere close by but after combing the beach and yelling they found nothing. People looked out at sea but there was nothing but placid blue water. Thankfully, the wallet was there too so they were able to quickly identify the man and report him to the police. They and volunteers combed the area but found nothing. He was never seen again.

The night after he went missing, a woman decided to visit her beach late at night. She had had a busy stressful day and just wanted to get away from it all. She crested the beach and was confused when she saw a stone in the water about 15 feet offshore that she had never seen before.