The stone that no one noticed.

Once upon a time, there was a small village where a strange, dark-colored stone stood in the middle of the main square.

No one knew who put it there, when, or why.

Most people just avoided it, some even stepped over it, and children sometimes threw it at it - because what good is a stone if you can't play with it?

But there was an old man in the village who stopped by it every morning.

He didn't pet it, sit on it, or talk to it.

He just stopped.

And moved on.

One day, one of the young men in the village asked him:

- Uncle, why do you look at this useless stone so often?

The old man smiled at him.

- Because it's the most important stone in the village.

- But why? - the boy wondered. - It's dark, full of cracks, and it's even in the way.

Then the old man bent down and tapped the side of the stone.

- Do you hear?

The boy shook his head.

"I can't hear anything."

"Exactly," the old man said. "This stone teaches me what most people never learn:

that you can be strong in silence.

that you can be important without being noticed.

And that even if you don't like or admire something, there can still be light in it."

The boy looked at him in confusion.

"Light? This stone is as black as it gets!"

The old man pulled a rag from his pocket and began to wipe the surface of the stone.

At first the stone was just damp, then it slowly glowed in a small spot.

"See?" the old man said. "It's not shiny on the outside. It's shiny on the inside."

The boy stepped closer.

Inside the dark stone, there was a real luminous vein running through it—one that could only be seen if someone took the trouble to bend down, wipe it, and look.

– This stone was once placed here by a wanderer. – the old man continued. –

He said that whoever finds the light in it finds his soul.

And whoever only sees it as darkness… hasn't stopped long enough.

The boy looked at the stone for a long time, then said:

– Why didn't you tell anyone?

The old man smiled.

– There are things that shouldn't be said.

But let people find out for themselves.

And from that day on, the boy stopped by the stone every morning.

Not to look for light in it.

But to remember:

the world is full of things – and people – that seem dark on the outside, but carry light on the inside.

And that the greatest lesson is always where people look the least.