Over a span of a few tens of years of me going insane of boredom, the boulder slowly changed. Mosses and small, hardy plants grew on top of the boulder, while rain and rocks falling from above hit and broke off most of the jagged edges. It blended in with the surroundings, looking more like a small hill than a boulder. Its parents, the two slabs that created it, stood out due to their sheer size.

Their majesty in comparison to the boulder was overwhelming. They were literally overshadowing the boulder. The boulder was jealous of them, he had felt like they were holding him back somehow. No matter how dense he was, he couldn't endure being near them.

The plants growing on him symbolized his bould attempts to distinguish himself from his parents. But at the same time, they made him feel rooted to the ground; like he was stuck on a path without a way to return. No matter how much he begged or graveled, the change seemed permanent.

One day, it all fell apart, literally. A group of humans came along and made camp next to the slabs. One even sat upon the boulder while chatting with the others about a volcano and collecting rock samples. They seemed like friendly and sociable people on the surface, but beneath their shiny luster was the capability to commit atrocities.

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In the morning, the group of humans packed up their camp and pulled out a few large, black plastic bags. They began storing nearby stones and fragments of the slabs into these bags. A few also pulled out brushes and small metal tools to break open some of the stones, clean them up, and examined them. These were the younger siblings of the Boulder, kidnapped and dissected before his very lack of eyes.

Then they examined the source, the slabs, and started talking about alkali metals, feldspar, and granite. They seemed very interested in the slabs but abruptly left with their bags full of stones and fragments. But not even a week later, they returned with more people that had shovels, picks, and even a few construction vehicles. Within a day, the slabs were dug out and carried far away.

The boulder feared for its safety, especially when the worker would take their lunch breaks and leaned up against him. The boulder no longer felt jealous of his parents, but instead felt relief and guilt. By the time everything was over, the boulder realized everything it had taken for granite had been whisked away and turned into someone’s overpriced countertop.