“Sir, please don’t throw rocks into the water.”
Marcus looked up the slope at the ranger, and decided against revealing the truth. “Sorry officer,” Marcus replied, “I just wanted to see the big splash.”
“It just scares the fish away from this spot,” the ranger said. “A lot of folks like to swing by this ridge to see them.”
“No problem at all,” Marcus said, “and I apologize for throwing it.” The ranger turned back up the ridge, over his shoulder adding, “thanks for understanding.” As the ranger disappeared beyond the top of the ridge, Marcus thought that he seemed nice enough. But there were unintended casualties in every war.
==================
Copyright 2025 Russell Dickerson. All rights reserved.