Rody's Rocks

Rody’s Rocks

Every ghoul has a gift. Some make music in the attic. They might walk on loose boards and tap windows to make a creaky, sleepy song. Other ghouls might stack boxes or toys or cards in a big tower. Some even write stories about other ghouls! Rody was not a creaker or stacker or writer. Rody had a gift for rocks. He liked to collect rocks, but he also knew what kind of rocks people liked. In fact, Rody’s favorite thing in the whole world was to give someone a rock that they would love. It was tricky, especially for a ghoul that had to be sneaky, but it was Rody’s gift.

One day, a new family moved into the house Rody lived in. There was a mom, dad, sister, and brother. Rody was very excited. He had a new humanamily (which is what ghouls call their human family). He watched them settle into the house, and he tried to learn what kind of rock each would like. The dad had a big mustache and liked to sit in the chair with a book at night. The mom was very busy–putting things in the oven, cleaning plates, and finding flowers for the vase. That night, the whole attic smelled like apple pie, and Rody slept very well. As he nestled into the box with his rock collection, he wondered which ones would be just right for his new humanamily.

The next day, he watched the boy and girl. Rody had never seen kids before, and these ones seemed odd. The girl liked to jump over a rope again and again in the yard. Ghouls were not good at jumping, and it looked very tricky to Rody. After jumping, the girl played with dolls and helped her mom, and drew pictures. The boy was even stranger. He climbed trees, threw balls, and ate more food than anyone else. But strangest of all was when he was “imagining”, as the dad called it. Rody heard it the first time when he was sneaking Below, which is where the people lived. He had snuck Below to cause some mischief, when he heard the boy in his room talking of dragons, wizards, knights, and spells. It all sounded very odd to Rody, who liked stories about rocks and stones instead of the “imagining” stuff. 

After watching his humanamily for so long, Roy was feeling very rocky. That’s the feeling he had when he wanted to find someone’s perfect rock. He started by watching the dad that day, and he noticed something. The dad liked to read, but every few minutes the wind would blow the back door open. It would creak and swing open. The dad would grumble about the latch, stumble over to the door, and mumble and bumble back to his chair. Before long, the wind would tickle the door open again, and the dad would grumble again about that “old door”. That night, Rody looked through his rock collection. He had lots of rocks, big or small, shiny or dark. He had a rock for everyone, and each had a name. He looked through the big rocks that night. He needed one that was just right for the dad, a rock that was heavy and quiet and patient. That could only be Breck. Breck was one of the hugest rocks Rody had. He thought it might be from a meteor. It was the rock he used for a pillow every night. Rody would miss it, but he knew it was the right rock for the dad. He used all his strength to carry Breck Below, and he set Breck outside by the steps, right where the dad liked to tie his shoes. The next morning, Rody woke to the dad chuckling and showing the whole family his new rock. 

“It’s the perfect rock for that old door!” the dad said.

Rody was pleased, but soon he began to feel rocky. It was time for the mom. He watched her again that day, and he realized something. She was always working hard to make everything very nice for her family. All the baking and candles and scrubbing and dusting. Rody needed a rock that could help her with the big job. That night, he looked through his collection. None of his rocks were very good at cleaning or dusting, especially Dooster, which is the ghoulish name for dusty. None of his rocks could do the jobs for her, but he did have one that could help her. Schooner was a shiny little rock that could do tricks with the sunlight. If Rody held Shooner up to the old light bulb, the little rock cast lovely colors all around the attic. Rody would miss all the colors, but he knew the mom would like the beautiful lights for her family. When he went Below that night, he dropped Shooner into the laundry bin full of pants. The next morning, Rody heard the mom’s delighted voice.

“This rock is perfect for the kitchen!”

Rody was very pleased, but he was still feeling rocky. He wanted to help the girl. The next day, she drew a picture, played with toys, and helped her mom frost a cake. During the frosting, Rody realized the girl was very curious. She was always asking questions. She asked about all the kinds of frosting. She wondered how many colors of frosting there were. She even asked why frosting had to go on the outside of the cake. And Rody saw how artsy she was, from her drawings, but especially how she spread the frosting over the cake. It was a masterpiece.

Rody had a rock that was curious and beautiful. He had named it Geoee, and it was one of his favorite rocks. Geoee was small, round, and dark. It looked like a very normal rock, but if you were curious, you noticed the crack in the rock. You could look inside and see an amazing, colorful gem inside Geoee! Rody loved to sneak outside and watch Geoee’s secret gem dazzle in the light. Rody would miss Geoee, but he knew it was the best rock for the girl. That night, he snuck Below, and he tucked the rock beside her doll. The girl was gleeful the next morning.

“Mom, Dad, look what’s inside this rock!”

Rody smiled and settled down to rest. Before long, the rocky feeling returned. He would find the boy the perfect rock, and then Rody could take a nice long nap. Rody watched the boy for a day, but he could not find a good rock like he had for the dad, mom, and girl. He tried giving the boy a skipping stone to bounce across the pond, but the boy was not interested. Rody watched another day. He gave the boy three little blue rocks to put high in a tree. The boy did not notice them. Rody became worried. He was feeling more rocky than ever before, but he couldn’t find the right rock. He watched a third day, as the boy climbed trees and ran around the yard and helped set the table. Rody noticed something. The boy was always imagining. When he and his sister climbed the tree, they were really climbing the mast of a pirate ship, or scaling a mountain. When they raced around the yard, they were trying to catch fairies. And even when he put the forks and spoons on the table, he was preparing his family to battle the spaghetti monster. The boy needed a rock for imagining. Rody was so excited as he searched through his whole rock collection. He nudged aside Rooster, Boomper, and Flabber, but there were no rocks for imagining. He rolled away Great Don and Sir Doit, but there was nothing the boy would like. Rody checked the oldest corner of the attic, where he kept his very favorite rocks. There sat Breck’s dad, Greck, the biggest rock Rody had ever found. There was also Gumphry, Loomper, Heever, Sooper, Dooper, and all Rody’s other favorites. But there was not one imagining rock for the boy. 

Then, Rody realized something. He’d been looking for the imagining rock like it was Breck, Shooner, or Geoee, but it wasn’t. In fact, it didn’t really matter what the rock was like. It only mattered what it could be. Rody had to use his imagination. He was a ghoul that liked rocks. He’d never tried using his imagination before. But he squeezed his eyes shut and tried and tried and tried. And when he opened his eyes, he was no longer surrounded by rocks. Instead, there were dinosaur fossils, old cannonballs from pirate ships, sparkling gems hidden in every stone, and more. Rody had never seen his rocks like this before, and he was amazed. He looked through his new collection, and after a minute, he found the perfect rock for the boy. It was Gumphry, a large, round rock of regular gray. But it wasn’t just a rock anymore. It was a dragon’s egg. Rody renamed it Ogger, which is Ghoulish for eggy. 

That night, he hid Ogger in the boy’s room. The next morning, Rody heard the most amazed shout.

“Look what I’ve found!”

At last, Rody’s rocky feeling went away as he watched his humamily. The dad settled into his chair with a sigh. The kitchen was filled with beautiful light as the mom prepared breakfast. The kids played with their new wonders. And Rody remembered that he had many new wonders in his attic to explore, and he would see to each of them after a proper, ghoulish nap.

The End.