Illustration Friday - Talisman

What an odd little thing it was lying there in my hand. I wonder what made me stop and pick up. It looked just like thousands of other stones scattered on the forest floor. But for some reason I stooped to pick up this particular one. I tried to remember what I saw that drew me to it. But there wasn't anything really. As I recall it was half buried in the earth. I even had to use a stick to pry it loose. But as I brusquely brushed off the grime with the palm of my hand, my heart skipped a beat. I felt a chill, as I looked into its unseeing eyes. I picked up another stone and then another just to make sure. Maybe there were hundreds of little carved figures laying around. Maybe it wasn't fate that drew me to this one, maybe it was just the luck of the draw. But all the other stones I found were just ordinary rocks. And this was anything but ordinary.