Chapter Six- Ascending to New Heights

Suddenly, it became clear. The little boy was not just walking. He was running, kicking stones to the left and right.

"Does he think of stones as melon seeds he can just throw around?"

Step- Step-

It grew louder and louder, closer, nearer. And with the closing in, the calm feeling of bathing in the sun turned into a mix of discomfort and fear.

"What if he kicks me?"

A faint clattering resounded, and I began to notice myself shaking.

[Emotion detected]

{User experiences fear.}

"Fear?!" The rattling lessened with my surprise. "A stone can feel something?!"

[Evaluating reason for emotion.]

[Scanning environment.]

[Found!]

Clack- Step- Clink.

Another stone had been catapulted high into the air and fallen to the ground.

[Closure to enemy: 10 meters]

[9 m]

"Oh, please not again…" I clattered again, this time louder. "I just wanted to-"

The boy kicked another stone into the air.

[8 m]

"I just wanted to live!"

[7 m]

[6 m]

"Ugh!"

[5 m]

Suddenly, I noticed faint screams echoing through the air.

"No!"

"Hey, boy! Kicking is not allowed."

I gasped and would have covered my mouth with my hands. There were other stones. All of them were just like me.

[4 m]

"All these stones must be alive!" My idea was shattered quicker than it could form a concrete thought.

[Grave error in thinking detected!]

{Not all stones possess a soul, a system. They merely are their own life forms.}

"Oh."

[3 m]

"Okay, now it would only be a few steps…" Until he would have passed me, that would be.

"I should just stay quiet." I firmly believed that as just one of thousands of stones, he wouldn't hit me.

[2 m]

Now I felt his presence; the outline was clear white. I could have sworn I even noticed his long hair.

I noticed his shoes – sandals made with the finest leather.

"Getting hit by them would hurt." I sniffled; that was just really what I wanted to avoid.

[1 m]

"It'll be over soon!"

[0 m]

And in this moment, I noticed it. The boy's feet slightly tilted back, his sole opening shoveling up what was ahead.

"Eek!"

I exclaimed as I noticed myself being lifted into the air.

"Oh no!" In the next moment, I fell from the sole and ascended into shivering heights. The temperature dropped, my head became dizzy from all the spinning, and for the first time, I felt like I was falling from heaven.

"Oh. It really is all much bigger as a stone." The astonishment lasted only seconds.

[Danger detected!]