The Painted Stones of Route Nine

Aunt Eliza stopped the car at a desert gas station. Nico got out and stretched. The air was hot and dry. There was nothing around but sand and sky.

"We have two hours of road left," Eliza said. "Go and buy some water."

Nico walked to the shop. A small stone sat on the step. Someone painted it blue. It had a white star. He picked it up.

"Whose stone is this?" he asked the man at the desk.

The man smiled. "It is a trail stone. Follow the stones, and you find something nice."

"What do I find?"

"I cannot tell you. You must go and see." He gave Nico two bottles of water.

Nico showed the stone to his aunt. She laughed. "We have time," she said. "Let us look."

Behind the shop, a red stone sat on a rock. It had a yellow sun on it. Nico saw a third stone by a dry bush. They walked to it. The ground was hot under their shoes.

The stones led them along a dusty path. Every stone had a different picture. One had a fish. One had a moon. One had a tiny house.

"Can I keep this one?" Nico asked. He held up the fish.

"No," said Eliza. "Other people want to find it too. Take a photo."

Nico took a photo of every stone. Then he put each one back in its place.

After twenty minutes, the path went down between big rocks. It was cool and dark there. Nico stopped. He heard a sound.

"Is that water?" he asked.

"In the desert? No," said Eliza. But she listened too. "Yes. It is water!"

They walked on. Below the rocks, a small pool shone green and clear. Palm trees stood around it. An old woman sat in a chair. She wore a big hat. Next to her was a table. It had pots of paint and empty stones.

"Hello," she said. "You found my pool."

"Are these your stones?" Nico asked.

"Yes. Every week I paint new ones. I put them on the road. Most people drive past. They never look down."

"Why do you do it?" said Eliza.

"The road is long," said the woman.

"People get tired."

"A cool pool is a good surprise."

Nico took off his shoes. He put his feet in the water. It was so cold that he shouted. The old woman laughed. Eliza sat down next to him and closed her eyes.

They stayed for an hour. The woman gave them orange slices. She told them about the birds at the pool. She showed them small fox footprints in the sand.

Then she gave Nico a white stone and a brush.

"Paint one," she said. "Then put it on the path for the next person."

Nico thought for a long time. He painted a small red car. Inside the car, he drew two people. One of them wore a big hat. Eliza looked at it and laughed.

"I do not wear a hat like that," she said.

"You do now," said Nico.

At last, Eliza looked at her watch. "We must go. Our hotel is far."

They said goodbye to the old woman. She waved her hat. Nico and Eliza walked back along the dusty path. The sun was lower now, and the sand was orange.

Nico put his painted car on the red rock. Then he took the blue stone with the star. He put it back on the step.

"Now it is someone else's turn," he said.

Eliza started the car. Nico looked back one more time. Far away, a small truck stopped at the gas station.