Finding Smooth Stones

I slipped outside through the front entryway and followed the sidewalk until it turned into a neighborhood park. The wide gravel path seemed like the best way to get moving, so I ambled along at an easy pace. Down near the wooden edge of a garden border, three pale, rounded stones were sitting right in a line. I knelt down on the packed gravel, picked up the flattest one, and turned it over in my fingers. It had a surprisingly smooth, cool face, completely different from the rough path underneath.