I was roaming around the woods yesterday when I came upon this hole. Immediately I was intrigued. Perhaps a horse made it? But why would a horse be hopping on one leg, and in any event, there are no horses in the woods. That I know of.
Then I looked more closely. The edges of the dirt were smooth. I imagined a rock had been there and someone decided to pull it out. But why?
Happens I’ve been rereading my first Maggie Dove mystery (because it is to be published in paperback soon! But more on that later.) Maggie Dove had planned to throw a rock at someone, so it was possible that someone had read my book and decided to emulate her. Though that seemed unlikely.
The track team runs on this trail, so I thought it possible that someone tripped over the rock. Got irritated and dug it up. But why then would you leave a hole that you could trip on? No, the more I thought about it, the more convinced I was that someone had done this with a purpose. I have a friend who paints on rocks. She could have chosen to pick it up. Though I thought it would be rather large for her. Some kid could have picked it up, but where would be the story in that?
So I went back to dreaming up a more ominous story. Perhaps a woman walking by herself with two little dogs. Hears something behind her. Needs to have some sort of protection. Sees a rock.
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