Numismatic fiction by Mihir Kinjawadekar:

 “It’s my lucky day!” I thought as I bent down to pick up the shiny coin on the floor. The Turkish 10 kurus coin that I held sparkled in the light coming through the beautiful domes of the Blue Mosque.

It was 9 a.m. on 22nd October 1950, the last day of our trip to Turkey. As we left the mosque, I decided that I should start collecting coins of different countries. So I saved it. When I was flying back to U.S.A., I kept my coin safe. I did not want to tell my parents about my coin until Christmas, because then I would tell them Santa brought it for me. I kept the coin in a special safe that I had made in art class. I took it out often and thought about what I would do with my coin collection. 

During Thanksgiving break, my parents took me to St. Louis, MO, to see the Mississippi river, Gateway Arch, and other attractions. I took my Turkish coin along with me wherever we went. One day, as we cruised along the Mississippi river, I leaned over the boat railing to see fish in the water. The coin was in my hand, and before I knew it, I had lost it in the river! 

I started crying and my parents asked me what happened. I told them I got hurt. So they took me back to the hotel. That night I slept early. The next day I woke up and looked in my drawer, expecting to see the coin. Suddenly I remembered that I had lost it. I pulled over the pillow and covered my head. I looked down at the mattress and there I found …..the coin!

I was so glad that the coin was back. I now knew that the coin was magical. I grabbed it and took it with me. When we went to the Gateway Arch, I stood behind my parents and dropped the coin and went away. That night, as I crawled into bed, I was eager for morning to come, because I hoped I would get my coin back. 

That night I had a dream where the magical coin could come back to me only once. But the next day when I looked under the pillow, I was relieved. The coin was there. I still wasn’t sure if the coin would return every time that I lost it. I decided to find out.

Later one day, I threw it in the fire. I was excited because I was going to solve this mystery. The next morning I saw the coin under my pillow. From that day on, I knew the coin would be with me forever!