A rock can be a dragon egg, a magical talisman, a portable forcefield, a gold nugget, a skipping stone, a pet, a communicator, or even just a rock.

As an adult, I’d wish I had both.

A Turkish acquaintance of mine from a long time ago introduced me to the idea of reform Islam. I didn’t know that it existed, but she was a practitioner. She didn’t wear a hijab, she swore when she felt like it, and she wore shorts when it was hot outside. Her prayers were usually sitting quietly and humming to herself when her phone alarm went off. Whenever we did an art project, she’d do this big long prayer to dedicate it.

Nice girl. Hope she’s doing okay.