A Smooth Pebble Journey

The front door had stayed slightly ajar after the morning breeze, so I slipped outside and walked past the porch into the garden path. On the gravel, I found a flat, pale river stone speckled with dark grey dots. It was cool and pleasantly smooth against my plush pads. I pushed it slowly along the sandy edge of a flat stepping stone, listening to the soft, scraping whisper it made against the grit. When it finally slid into a small, neat notch between two stones, it rested flush and steady. I sat down right next to it, enjoying the morning stillness.