The stone man

John and his wife, Elena, were just putting the finishing touches on their new home. They had just bought a nice house at the edge of the forest, the mountains were close, they had a nice view. Their ten-year-old son Brian was playing in the yard with some stones picked up from the river near the house. There were many stones on the edge of the river, bigger or smaller, some rougher, others more shiny gray.

Elena went all the way outside to see what the boy was doing.

- Brian, what are you building there?

- I'm trying to make a castle out of stones, but I don't really stay, the stones fall.

- Maybe we talk to your father and he brings you some glue.

Then he called after John:

- Hey John, do we have rock glue?

John went out the door in amazement:

- What do you want to do with the glue?

- Look, our boy wants to follow in your footsteps and be a construction engineer.

- Oh yes! John said. Now I'm going to get you the glue, Brian.

After a few minutes he appeared with a tube of glue. But Brian seems tired.

- Don't you want to build a castle out of stones, father?

- We will try. As long as mother cooks for us, we will build the most beautiful castle.

- Yes, I understood the message, said Elena, laughing. You send me, ever so subtly, to the kitchen. Ok, I'm off.

John and his son set about building the castle out of stones. They were determined to do something beautiful. After about an hour, the little stone castle was ready.

- How about Brian, how do you think it turned out? asked John.

- It's beautiful and strange at the same time, like a witch's castle, says Brian.

- Where do you say you got the stones?

- Look over there from the river bank. There are many.

Then John had an idea.

- How about if we make a big stone man tomorrow? From as many stones as we have on the river, we can make a big, huge one.

- Yes, Brian said excitedly. That would be great.

- Ok, tomorrow when you go shopping in town with mom, I'll start building the stone man. Then when you come, you'll help me too.

The next day, Elena and Brian went shopping in town, and John started collecting stones from the river bank.

While they were at the supermarket, Brian went to the sweets section and Elena studied the food prices. Suddenly, an older woman, about 60 years old, approaches her.

- Hello! Are you the lady who moved into the house at the edge of the woods?

- Yes I am. Why do you ask me?

- I don't want to scare you, but in that place there was a house where a young married couple lived. After a week they disappeared and have never been found since. It is said that they were killed and buried in the yard of the house. As the authorities stopped searching, the boy's father was so angry that he tore down the house with an excavator, eventually leaving the land clear. That's how you bought it and built your house there.

- How long has it been since then?

- About ten years.

- Yes, who knows what it would have been. Anyway, even though the first neighbor is about two miles away, we have a pretty high fence, a pretty big dog, and we plan to install surveillance cameras.

When they got home, they found John resting in the yard on a lot of rocks.

- Brian, how was the shopping?

- Okay, I got an electric toy train, I'm going to the house to play.

After the boy left, Elena told her husband what the old lady at the store had told her. John shrugged unimpressed and said,

- Even if it was like that, many years have passed since then.

Elena got to work around the house and John started building the stone man. He placed the stones carefully to get exactly the shape of a giant man. The legs were set into a concrete floor to make the stone man stand as stable as possible. Brian also appeared to help bring the small stones. At the top, John had to climb a double ladder as he couldn't reach any more. In the evening, the stone man was already looking determinedly towards the house of the Jones family, meaning John, Elena and Brian. It was big, about 2 meters.

- Dad, Brian said. It's like he's the Hulk, he looks good in everything. I say let's just call him that, The Stone Man.

But Elena wasn't so happy to see him, she even felt a sense of fear, but she didn't say anything except "he's beautiful".

John and Elena's bedroom had windows facing the front of the house. At one point in the night, Elena woke up suddenly, agitated. He looked towards the window. The stone man stood stiffly in the moonlight and seemed to be frowning at her. "Did he nod?" Elena wondered. "Impossible, I guess I'm not awake at all." It moves John.

- Hey John wake up, I'm scared!

John mumbled something but didn't wake up. Elena looked at the window again and froze in fear. The stone man was right by the window, staring at her mischievously.

- John, quickly, wake up! The stone man is at the window.

John jumped suddenly.

- Here you go?

They both looked at the window. The stone man was in place, inert and moonlit.

- I think you dreamed my dear. Lie down so Brian can't hear us from his room.

But Elena didn't sleep anymore. She stayed awake until morning, but with her back to the window and her eyes closed, consumed by all kinds of dark thoughts.

The next day John had gone to work in the city and Elena had stayed with Brian. He reached for the phone and called the former owner of the land, whose name was Ralf Radke and who lived right at the entrance to town. He was about 60 years old. He confirms to Elena the whole incident with the disappearance of his son and his wife, how he was overcome with rage when the authorities stopped the search and demolished the house with a bulldozer.

- Where do you think she disappeared? Elena asked.

- I didn't find out anything, but if they didn't show any sign of life, I don't think they're alive anymore. I have come to terms with this idea.

John also came from work. He greeted the Stone Man, smiling as he passed him. He had heard a whispered "hello" behind him. He turned, looked at the Stone Man who was standing still. "Yeah, tired from work," John thought to himself.

He entered the house, approached and kissed Elena lightly.

- What does the most beautiful and hardworking wife in the world do?

Elena laughed.

- I can't answer you because I don't know her.

- I know her, I'm looking at her right now. Isn't she, Brian, the most beautiful and kind mother in the world?

- Definitely! Brian said, biting into a cherry pie.

He had almost forgotten about the Stone Man in their yard. They felt wonderful in their new home.

But night came again and Elena went to sleep with her back to the window. Around midnight the house began to shake. John and Elena jumped out of bed, Brian running up to them. The Stone Man was at the door shouting in a loud manly voice:

- What are you doing here? This is my home! Go away!

The three were trembling and did not dare to utter a word. The Stone Man ran towards the mountains, but stopped when he heard Brian's voice.

- Man of Stone, why do you say it's your house, it's our house, we created you.

- It will be my home until the moment of revenge arrives.

Then they disappeared into the forests between the mountains.

Daylight had begun, and the three had not slept at all. They didn't even know what to do, call the police, no one would have believed them. They headed for the place where the Stone Man had been created. The concrete slab was shattered and there was a hole in the ground with a piece of human skull sticking out.

"A shattered human skull," John exclaimed. Someone is buried here. Let's call 991 quickly.

Just then, a huge bulldozer stopped in front of their house, from which Ralf Radke, the former owner, got out. He had a gun in his hand and was pointing it at the three.

- Who made you dig here? Now you're all going to die!

But the Stone Man appeared behind him:

- Criminal! How could you do such a thing?

Ralf's eyes widened and he said fearfully:

- James? Son?

- How could you kill your own child, you bastard! said the Stone Man. You shot me and my wife, then bulldozed us over.

- I told you that I do not agree with you marrying the daughter of my greatest enemy!

He then started firing the gun at the Stone Man until he emptied the magazine.

- You can't kill me a second time. I'm there in that pit, the one with the crushed skull. Below are the bones of my ex-wife.

The Stoneman approaches Ralf, but he manages to escape in the bulldozer and takes off. The Stone Man managed to break a window on the bulldozer and grabbed Ralf by the throat with one hand and pulled him out. Ralf's bones could be heard cracking under the heavy pressure of the Stone Man. The bulldozer sped forward and ran over them both, then flipped into the river.

All that was left of Ralf was flesh and shattered bones, and of the Stone Man, only the head.

- Now. It is your home now, said the Stone Man.

The three watched as the head became inert, and a tear dripped from one eye.

After the investigations made by the authorities it was discovered that Ralf was the real murderer. John was advised not to tell anyone about the Stone Man so as not to "panick the world".