Antero tidied his son's room. Little Ej was only four, and the process of putting things in order helped Antero be at ease with the impending return of his little ball of chaos. Beneath Ej's pillow, Antero found a rock the size of the boy's fist. This wasn't the first rock he'd found secreted in Ej's room, or even the tenth. Antero found it endearing, so he smiled as he tossed the rock into the yard.

Day after day, Antero returned order to a domain of chaos, always tossing at least one rock out of the house. He wondered what drove Ej to collect them, and where they came them. Wherever it was, he wasn't concerned. The world has many rocks.

So did Ej. While sorting clothes Ej had outgrown, Antero found a veritable hoard behind the sweaters in the bottommost drawer. Surprised, he searched more thoroughly, uncovering hundreds of rocks. With a bucket and several trips, he threw them all outside.

Sweating, Antero sat on his stoop to rest and relax into the correction of disorder. Dozens of small cracking sounds drew his attention behind him, where he saw his house pulling free of its foundations and floating away.