The Courageous Brownius Stones

From deep within the roots of a massive rock, I pulled my arm out with a brown object in my hand.

“It's the Brownius Stones! We did it Alana” I shouted as I held them high for her to see.

For the last year, we had been searching for these stones so that we could restore them to their rightful place in the Maori culture. Now, they were mine. They would be safely returned to their rightful home where they belong.

“Jeff, quick look behind you!” She exclaimed while pointing some more rocks on the ground. “This whole area was covered in stones, but they're all gone now.”

I dropped the stones and ran over to where she was pointing. Sure enough, there was nothing but dirt and rocks everywhere. Someone had taken all of the stones, leaving only a barren landscape behind them. Alana was right, this wasn't supposed to happen. We were supposed to find the stones and return them to a people who needed them most. What had happened? Why were these stones missing?

“Why would someone want them?” I asked her as we walked back toward where I had found the last stone. “What can you do with a big ugly rock anyway?”

She gave me an angry glare before answering my question. “These are not ugly rocks Jeff; they are beautiful gifts from our ancestors and they have been stolen by thieves!” She screamed at me loud enough for anyone in twenty miles to hear her outburst.

I knew better than to interrupt or talk back to her when she got like this, but I couldn't help myself. “Alana... I'm just saying this isn't logical... but okay let's say these rocks are special enough that someone stole them from us, why would they leave all the other rocks behind? There are tons of huge rocks around here that nobody is going to steal. Why take these ones?”

As soon as I finished asking my question, she grabbed me by both arms and stared me straight in the eyes with an intensity like I had never seen before. “Jeff, you know what these stones are don't you? You know why people would want them so badly that they would take them away from those who need them most? These aren't just big ugly rocks and it's not just because they are gifts from our ancestors... it's because of what these stones actually do! They give us courage Jeff! They make us braver than we ever thought possible! If someone took these away from us... if they took away that courage then we will fall victim to fear instead! That is why they must get these stones back before it's too late! Before we lose everything!” She screamed at me one more time before letting go of me and falling backwards onto a nearby boulder exhausted from her outburst. As she sat there trying to catch her breath, tears began streaming down her face uncontrollably as if something terrible had happened in front of us and she was trying desperately not to cry about it in front of me.