The Changing Rock ( Part 1)

One evening as May was closing down the restaurant there was a loud knock on the front door.  “Who could that be?” thought May as she walked toward the door to open it.  As May opened the door, she saw a strange figure which looked like a square rock.

The square creature was red.   It had a face with blue eyes, a pointed nose and a triangle mouth.  The monster looked like a rock.  It spoke, “I demand that the rocks on the door be returned to me at once”  “wait” May said.  “Why do you want them back?   Who are you?” May questioned   “I am Ruby” the figure answered.  “I have come to take all that is mine” it added.  “Ok, but you must be mistaken” said May.  “Perhaps there was a misunderstanding” she added.   “There is no misunderstanding.  The stones belong to me.  If you do not give them to me, I will destroy this restaurant” Ruby responded.  “Alright, I will give them to you” said May in a shaky voice.

May left the creature and headed to the right side of the restaurant where she kept supplies.  She was looking for a rock cutter but could not find one.  After what seemed forever, May decided to use scissors to cut the rocks off of the door.   She returned to where the door was and began to cut out the rocks. 

After two and half hours May successfully removed all the rocks.   Ruby accepted all the rocks   that May give the creature and disappeared immediately.  “Wow! I did it this time” said May.  In the mean time, Steve had returned to GreenMountain.  He had not been informed of what May did.

Ten days later, May and Steve met at Yummyland to discuss some personal stuff.  He wanted more than just a friendship from May.  As Steve entered the restaurant, he noticed that there were only a few people in the restaurant.  May saw Steve and stopped what she was doing.

 “Hi Steve” said May as she walked over to meet him.   “Hey, do you have a minute?” asked Steve.  “Sure, what’s up?”  “I was wondering what happened to those rocks on the door”, said Steve. 

“Well, it is a long story, one that I cannot tell you”  “Oh, why not?  Is there something that you wish to keep from me?” Steve asked with surprise in his voice.  “Yes, there was a creature that stopped by here about ten days ago who demanded of the rocks.  I knew you were a rock collector so I chose to withhold this information from you” said May in a reluctant voice.  “I am sorry” she added.    “That is fine” said Steve.  

“I need help” said May.  “The creature might come back if it finds out that I did not give it one rock” May continued.   “I can help” said Steve.  “Do you have a plan?” asked May.  “Yes, I was thinking if Ruby shows up demanding of the missing rock, then you can just give it another rock.  Hopefully, that will work” Steve replied.  “Ok, let’s do it” said May.   

“Where will we get the rock?” asked May.  “I have a rock at home that I can let you have.  You can give it to Ruby when it comes knocking at the door.” Steve said.  “Good plan” said May.  "What do you say we take a walk to my house and I will give you the stone?” asked Steve. ”Ok” May agreed.

“Tonight when I close the restaurant, I will meet you outside the front door of this restaurant” May said. “That is fine” said Steve. “Good” said May. Four hours later, May closed the restaurant and met Steve by the front door. They said their greetings and Steve led the way as they walked to his house. Fifteen minutes later, Steve and May reached Steve’s house.

The house was light brown with four windows on it.  It was a small house.  Steve reached into his pants pocket for the house key. As he inserted the key into the door lock, he said, “I have plenty of rocks. It is a matter of choosing the right rock” “Ok, but I do not know my choices” said May. “Do not worry. I will tell you” said Steve.

Once Steve and May were inside, they found two chairs and a table nearby.  Steve and May sat on the chairs to talk.  “Where are you keeping your special rocks?” asked May as she looked around.  The inside of Steve’s house had three small rooms and a small hallway which ran across the doors of the rooms.  There were lots of colorful rocks on the walls of each room. 

“I keep them in another room” Steve replied.   “Ok, can I go to the other room with you?” questioned May.  “Sure” said Steve as he got up from his chair.  “Follow me” Steve added.  May got up from her chair and began to walk towards Steve.  Steve was walking down the hall to another small room where he kept his special rocks.

When Steve and May got to the second room, May was amazed at the variety of stones she saw.  There were many kinds of stones there.  There were a few small rocks, colored rocks, and stones which looked like glass.  There were many more rocks. 

“Hey May, look at this!” said Steve in an excited voice as he spotted a stone similar to the stones on May’s restaurant door.  May came over to where Steve was and said, “Wow! You have done it again”  “Thank you” she added.   “Not a problem”, said Steve. 

The rock that Steve showed May was colorful.  It was a small stone.  The rock was beautiful.  Steve placed the rock in a small case and gave it to May.  May carefully placed the case on a nearby table. 

After a few minutes, Steve asked, “Do you love me?”  May looked at Steve in shock and replied, “Yes, I do” “I want to live with you” added May.  “Ok. As long as you do not mind having plenty of rocks in the house” Steve said.  “No, I do not mind” May said with laughter in her tone.  “Good” said Steve. 

May picked up the small rock carrying case and smiled to herself.  “Well, it is time for me to get going.  Thanks again for the stone replacement” said May as she exited the room and walked to the front door.  “You are welcome” Steve called out after her.  “I love you” he added.  “I love you more.  Bye for now.  Until next time” May shouted back with enthusiasm in her voice. 

Now outside Steve’s house, May could not stop thinking about Steve.  She could not wait to see him again.  After an hour of standing outside May decided to leave Steve’s town and walked home.  

Four days after Steve visited May at Yummyland, Ruby returned to the restaurant to claim the last of the rocks on the door.  May was busy cleaning the restaurant when she heard the knocking on the door.   Ruby came knocking at the front door as it demanded “Where is my missing stone?”  May responded, “This is my restaurant.  I am in no position to give you what you demand.  You do not demand anything from me.  I still have one stone and it is the most powerful one.  Please leave or I will be forced to use it”.  Ruby began to move back as it realized that it could do nothing to convince May to give in.  Ruby was hopeless and at May’s mercy. 

After Ruby recovered from being shocked at May’s words, it demanded, “What do you mean?  The rock has no power”  “Why do you want it back then?” May asked.  “They belong to me” said Ruby “The rocks that you have are my own eggs” Ruby added as it lunged forward to enter the restaurant.  May said, “No, I will not give you the missing stone.   In fact, I want you to give me back the stones I gave you.  You cannot convince me that the stones are yours”. “And you can’t convince me that that last stone has any power” said Ruby getting more and more aggravated with May. “Listen here Ruby; let’s just call it a truce.  Will you? I mean after all; you have in your possession most of the rocks so, I will keep this one rock because it was on my property.   Therefore, it and the others that I graciously gave to you belong to me.”  May went to shut the door in Ruby’s face, but it came with a quickness and lunged out at May trying to grab hold of her arm, but she felt something pulling her back.

As Ruby turned frantically, it realized that all hope of ever recovering the rock was lost.  Ruby was powerless and was forced to leave.   Ruby desperately wanted the rock.   “How can I convince May that the rock is really my egg?” thought Ruby.  “There must be a way.  I will get the last rock eventually.  No one or nothing will be able to stop me”, it said aloud.  

Despite Ruby’s failure to obtain the last of the stones, it continued to visit Yummyland for seven more times.  During the seventh time of Ruby’s visit, Ruby tried a more friendly approach.  It knocked on the door softly.  “Can I come in?” asked a soft voice.  May was busy closing down the restaurant when she heard the voice.  It seemed pleading and May could not resist. 

May opened the door just a little and recognized who it was.  “Maybe I will let you in” said May from one side of the door.  “Please, I want to talk” said the voice on the other side of the door.  May debated whether or not she should let this stranger in. 

After five minutes, May finally reached a decision and decided not to let Ruby in.  She would talk to it outside.  “No, you may not come in” said May in a firm voice.  “We can talk right here” she added.   “Ok fine” said the voice. “What do you want?  Why have you returned?” asked May as she stepped outside closer to where Ruby was.  “I want the rocks” said Ruby desperately. 

“You see May, I am only a mother rock” continued Ruby.  At those words May was silent for a moment.  She was trying to determine whether Ruby’s words had some truth to them.  May finally asked, “Can you prove it?”  Ruby said, “Let me show you.  Come, May, let us go to where I live and I will prove my case” 

“Wait” said May.  “Is this a trick?” asked May.  “No, it is not” said Ruby.  “If you want, I can give you time to think about it.  I will return two days from now” Ruby continued.  “Ok, I will give it some thought” said May as she turned toward the restaurant door.  “Ok, that will do” said Ruby.   “I will be on my way” it added.  “Bye” May called out as she opened the restaurant door to let herself in. 

Once inside the restaurant, May began to think aloud, “What do I tell Steve? It would be impossible to explain because I do not fully understand”  “Oh, how I wish Steve was here.  I could think more clearly if he was” said May aloud to no one. 

After a few moments, May decided to lock up the restaurant for the night and go home.  May lived in a yellow house in ShortWood.  It was four houses from Yummyland.  The house had one floor.  It also had three windows, a door, and one bedroom. 

When May got home, she went to the bedroom.  In the bedroom, there was a bed, a chair, and a table.  May wanted to get some rest, so she lay down and tried to sleep, but sleep would not come.

 May kept thinking of the encounter with Ruby.  It was a restless night.  “What if this was a trick?  What if Ruby was really going to bring destruction to her restaurant? What could I do?” thought May. 

The next day, May went to Yummyland to work her usual shift, but she felt disturbed.  She tried hard, but could not concentrate.  Her mind was on the previous evening’s events. 

A few hours later Steve came to visit May.  He entered the restaurant and sat at an empty table.  The table was near a window.  Ten minutes later, May came to Steve’s table.  Steve looked at May with a concerned look.  “What’s wrong?” asked Steve.  “We have to talk” said May in a whisper.  “Ok” said Steve not knowing where this conversation might end up at. 

“Well, let us just say Ruby stopped by last night” said May in a trembling voice.  “And?” said Steve, looking at May trying to calm her down to talk.  “Ruby wanted me to go with it” said May, the words coming out in a rush.  Steve was quiet for a moment as he thought of what to say.  He said, “It will be alright.  Now tell me exactly what happened”  

“Ok.  Here goes” said May, trying to stay calm.  “As I was saying, Ruby was here last night.  It wanted me to go to where it lived” May went on.  “Ok.  What’s so bad about that?” asked Steve.  “I think it is a trick” said May.

 “What if I go with you?” suggested Steve.  “Ok I guess” said May in a reluctant voice.  “When will Ruby come back to the restaurant?” questioned Steve.  “Two evenings from last evening” May responded.   “Alright then” said Steve.  “I will make plans to meet you at this restaurant the evening that Ruby will visit” Steve added.  “Ok” May agreed.

“Do you want anything to eat or drink?” asked May.  “No thank you” said Steve, knowing that May was busy.  “Ok, I will get back to my work” she said.  With that, May went to a nearby counter to review some orders.   Steve sat alone for two minutes and left the restaurant. 

Two evenings later, Ruby visited Yummyland again.  It wanted to know what May wanted to do.  Ruby knocked softly and asked, “May, are you in there?” May was inside the restaurant cleaning when she heard the voice and the knocking sound.   “Yes, I will be right out” said May as she finished cleaning.  Steve was with May.  He had come back to accompany May.  Two minutes later, May opened the door and stepped outside.  Steve decided to stay inside the restaurant while May and Ruby talked outside.  He would be filled in on certain details later. 

“Hi Ruby” said May.  “I have decided to go with you under one condition” she added.  “What is that?” asked Ruby.  “My friend Steve will come too. If that is ok with you” said May.  “Sure, that is fine.  The more friends the better” said Ruby. 

Steve was inside.  He was waiting for May to come in.   “Ok, I will tell Steve” May said.  “That will do” said Ruby.  “I will be right back” said May as she headed inside the restaurant.  Ruby waited outside. 

After ten minutes, May opened the door and she and Steve stepped outside to meet Ruby. Steve looked at Ruby for the first time.  He was surprised to see that Ruby was a rock with a face.   May said, “Ruby, this is my friend Steve”  “Hi” said Ruby. 

Steve asked, “Where do you live?”  “I live in a town called Rocktown” said Ruby. “Where is that?” asked May.  Ruby replied, “It is five towns from here”  “Ok” said May.  “How will we get there?” asked Steve.  “I will fly us all there” said Ruby.  With that, the square rock suddenly grew bigger so that it became a rectangle. 

Steve said, “I thought Ruby was a square rock” “So did I” May agreed.  Ruby said, “I am a special rock”  “What?  How are you different from any other stone?” Steve questioned.   “You see, not only am I a mother rock, but I also can turn into other shapes” Ruby explained.  “How do I know this is not a trick?” asked May looking at Steve then moving her eyes to Ruby and then back to Steve. 

Steve said, “Come on May.   Let us just give Ruby the chance to prove its case”  “If this creature is playing a trick, then I can take care of it and vanish it.  That is if it came to that” he added.  Ruby said, “Come, May and Steve, let us go” “Ok, here goes” May said as she got on Ruby.  Steve followed May and sat behind her. 

As soon as Steve was on Ruby, it began to move upward.  After a few moments, they were flying.  Five minutes later, they reached Ruby’s town.  Ruby landed on top of a rock which looked like a mushroom.  It let May and Steve off of its body.

Ruby said, "This is my town”  “You may walk around, if you like” it added.   “Ok, let us do it” said Steve in an eager tone.  He wanted to see more rocks.  May walked along side Steve.

 Ruby was walking with them on its way to a nearby cave.  Ruby led the group to her cave.  Inside the cave, there were many small rocks.  These small stones were identical to those of the ones that May had on her restaurant door.  “Hey, these rocks look similar to your rocks on your restaurant door” said Steve to May as they looked around.

 The walls of the cave were covered with round shaped rocks.  “Hey Ruby, this place is cool” said Steve.  “Yes, it is” agreed May.  “Can we visit again?” asked May.  “Of course” said Ruby.  “Now, May and I believe you.  We had to see for ourselves” said Steve. 

“What do you eat?” asked May.  “I eat rock candy” said Ruby.  “I have some right next to me” it added.  The rock candy was round and had a whole in the middle of it.  The candy was small and grey. Ruby showed May and Steve the food it ate.  Steve asked, “What do you drink?”  “I drink lavawater” Ruby replied. 

“Wow! This is very interesting” said Steve.  “I have never seen so many rock-looking eggs” he added.    “Yes, there are lots of eggs here” said Ruby as it moved to an empty corner in the cave.  Suddenly, Ruby shifted into a nest-like shape.  It grabbed a few rock eggs and placed them under it, so that the eggs were under it. 

After a few minutes, Steve and May heard a cracking sound.  “Uh oh” said May.  “Ruby was right” she added. ”It is alright” said Ruby.  Steve said, “I think we should leave Ruby”  “No” said May.  “We should try to help” she added. “Ruby, where can we find rock candy and lavawater?” asked May.  “You can find lavawater in a lake.  The lake is outside this cave.  You can find rock candy on a tree.  You also find that outside this cave” Ruby responded.   May said, “I am leaving this cave to get some food and drink for Ruby”  “Ok, I will stay here and keep Ruby company” said Steve.  “That will be fine” said May as she walked toward the cave opening. 

Now outside the cave, May looked around and saw that there were trees nearby.  She walked to the closest tree and saw that the fruit looked like rock candy.  May decided to pick some fruit off of the tree.  She placed the rock candy in her pants pocket.  May walked on a little farther and spotted a lake full of lavawater.  “This is different” thought May as she saw a round like container by the lake.  She picked it up and filled it with lavawater. May wanted to walk farther on, but thought better of it.  She walked back towards the direction of Ruby’s cave, carrying the container.  It was full of lavawater.  

Moments later, May entered the cave.  She gave the container and the candy to Ruby.  Ruby ate and drank.  Steve, May, and Ruby became the best of friends.  May and Steve both learned not to judge by appearance.  Just because Ruby looked like a monster, does not mean it was.

The End