Autumn Twilight

I feel the fabric of magic in autumn.  Under the autumn twilight of the sun, it is easier for me to slip unaware into the faerie lands.

I was standing on top of a steep slope, looking down at my small stone circle that rests upon the embankment above a swiftly flowing stream. I noticed my small circle of stones shining golden beneath the twilight of the autumn sun. As I watched, each stone’s skin was shimmering, then breathing and stretching into a slow, lumbering, clockwise dance.

Suddenly, a blue jay screamed.  A crow chuckled.  I blinked, and the stones grew still.  But the magic remained with me like strands of a broken spiderweb brushing across my skin.

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Magic or Rubber Boots?

A long, pointed, yellow stone rests peacefully on its side just above the waterline of the tumbling, sun-sparkling, wintry waters of the stream.  There are actually two stones I long to get my hands on.  I wish to bury the long yellow stone in the earth like a stone seed, its sharp, pointy end upwards, as a marker, a guide to my small stone circle below.  The other stone is white and roundish, like the top of someone’s head.  My wife would like this stone.  The problem is, both rocks are on the other side of the stream from me.

“Tough luck, lad,” empathizes a Faerie fellow with blonde hair.  With otherworldly grace, he leaps across the stream and gives both rocks a friendly pat.  “Are these the rocks you and the missus wants?” he asks with a mischievous smile.  I nod.

“Well, if you believe hard enough, you can call them over to you,” he says, quite seriously.  I frown at him, but he just shrugs.  “Or you can put on your waders and swim for ’em.”

Magic or rubber boots – it seems those are my two options.  The Faerie fellow across the stream sits on my wife’s round rock.  He smiles at me and then stares down the stream, as if pondering the question.

A Shiny Stone

A rainstorm can make a common stone shine like a beautiful gem accidentally dropped from a pirate’s treasure chest.  Sometimes such a sparkling stone will cry out to be picked up and admired, while other stones just want to be admired from afar.

Always ask a stone’s permission first before picking it up.  Stones can be quite unhappy if they are picked up when they just want to be left alone.  After you are done admiring the stone, please place it back on the earth in the exact same position where you found it.

If you become so enamored with a stone’s beauty that you wish to take it home, please first always ask the stone if it wants to come live with you.  Do not take the stone with you if you don’t get a really good, happy feeling about taking the stone.  When in doubt, put the stone back exactly where you found it.

Please remember to always treat every stone with respect, for stones are older than humanity.