A Speckled Pebble

I walked down the low brick porch step onto thegarden gravel, heading toward the quiet shadow beneath the stone bench. Between two damp cobblestones, a smooth speckled pebble sat catching a narrow slant of afternoon light. I paused three paces back, watching how the moss clung to its rounded edge. When no breeze stirred, I crept closer and tapped it softly with my front paw. It tipped over with a dry, pleasant clink, revealing a damp dark hollow beneath it.