Tolling Stone

Rain needled around Elias as he stalked down the empty street. He paused outside a luxurious store. He glanced at his reflection in the glass, but his gaze fell to the empty shelves. The lavish coats that had once lined the bare mannequins would’ve fetched a pretty penny before everything changed.

Elias shoved his fists into his pockets as he turned away from the dying storefront and continued walking. His head sank between his shoulders with each step until he reached the lake at the city’s edge. As he stood watching the waters, the rain stopped and the rippling water stilled. He plucked a smooth stone from the shore and tossed it in his hand as he stared out upon the lifeless surface.

“Not many would come out this way.”

Elias snatched the stone as he whirled around, finding an elderly figure leaning on a cane. He tossed the stone up again as his eyes narrowed. “The same’s true for you.”

The man laughed as he stepped beside Elias and plucked another stone off the ground. He threw it out over the water, and the stone skipped five times before it fell into the still water. He turned and thumped his cane against the ground four times.

“I’m here every day.” The old man leaned closer and poked Elias’s shoulder with a finger. “I’ve never seen you here before.”

Elias shook his head and threw his stone across the lake, getting it to skip across the lake’s surface four times. “The city’s dying. The disease is wiping us out.”

“If you’re worried about the sickness, why aren’t you with family?”

Elias picked up another stone and tossed it into the air. “They were among the first to succumb.”

“I’m surprised you came.” The man pointed his cane at Elias. “Why do you think you’ve survived?”

“To suffer,” Elias said, chucking the stone across the lake.

“That’s a terrible mindset to have, isn’t it?”

Elias whirled about, shoving a finger into the stranger’s face. “How can you spin losing your entire family in a positive way?”

The old man smiled and thumped his cane on the ground seven times. “You might consider grief the toll for walking farther.”

“What are you talking about?”

The man’s smile widened as he thrust a finger into Elias’s chest. “Pain doesn’t make the road easier. Rather, the agony teaches you how to keep walking when the road gives you no mercy.”

“Well, I’ve hit rock bottom.” Elias grabbed another stone and whipped it out over the lake. It skipped the surface seven times before plunging under the still water. He wiped his mouth as he squatted down. He punched the earth and swallowed a curse.

“What would you give to help those still afflicted with this illness?”

He grabbed another stone and rose. Elias turned to the stranger and bit his lip. He brushed his nose and scoffed. “I wasn’t able to do much to help those I loved.”

“That’s not an answer to my question.”

Elias shook his head and chucked the stone. This time the smooth stone skipped over the lake, landing on the distant shore while Elias dropped to his knees. “I would give anything to bring my family back.”

“Some doors don’t open twice.”

Elias grabbed another stone before he glanced up at the old man. “That’s why I’m here chucking stones.”

“And if someone offered you the chance to help everyone else in the city?”

“I’d take the chance.”

The old man thumped his cane on the ground. “You wouldn’t get fame, wealth, or praise for your help.”

“That’s not why I’d seize the opportunity.”

The stranger stepped in front of Elias and dropped to one knee. “Why are you so willing to help?”

“Because I couldn’t save my family.” The stone fell from Elias’s trembling fingers as his head fell forward. “I need to help someone.”

“This’ll help,” the stranger said, offering Elias the ordinary cane.

“What will this do for anyone?”

The man rose and inclined his head. “Have a little faith and use it as you walk back to the city.”

With a grin, the stranger turned and walked away. Elias rose, brandishing the stranger’s cane. “How is this block of wood meant to help?”

The old man kept walking, lifting a frail hand. “Have a little faith and enjoy the walk. By the time anyone understands what you’ve done, you won’t be around to be thanked.”

When he vanished, Elias shook his head. Several seconds later, he left the rippling lake and returned to the city. He used the stranger’s cane with every stride. As he neared the city, he brushed his lips and watched as black dust fluttered off his fingers.

He stopped and turned around, finding a trail of black dust behind him. Elias clenched his fingers and snapped them open, releasing another swarm of black specks. He shook his head, and more dust sloughed off him. He coughed into his hand as he rushed forward, dust falling off him with every stride.

When he reached the storefront again, his reflection was a ruined patchwork of peeling skin and shadow that shouldn’t have been able to stand. He dropped the cane, and the old man appeared, catching it before it could strike the ground.

Elias turned as another gust ripped more black dust off his body. He looked through his crumbling fingers at the stranger. “What did you do?”

“You chose to help others.” The man lifted the cane and inclined his head. “The cane did nothing without your desire.”

“What?”

“I’m sorry,” the man said, reaching up to brush the remnants of Elias’s cheek. “But what’s being taken from you is being given to them.”

“How?”

Another gust tore through the street, breaking what remained of Elias into mist. The stranger’s head dropped as he sighed.

“I’ll always remember your sacrifice,” the old man whispered, as the swirling black dust swept beneath doors, through cracked windows, and into the lungs of the dying.