A Penny In The Dust

As two siblings, walk along the fields prior to their father's funeral, both reminisce on past events that have occurred during his lifetime. Peter's sister asks him if he recalls the time his parents had thought he was lost.

When Peter was seven, his father gave him a shiny penny as bright as gold. His father and him did not have a regular "father and son" relationship that everyone else had. They were both rather quiet towards each other, nor had they spent any quality time.

On his way to the store, Peter began to put off the decision of spending his money. Instead, he sat alongside the dusty road alone. Repeatedly, he'd hide his new penny deep in the sand, and recover it moments later. It wasn't until Peter had lost the penny that he decided to head home.

After long hours of searching for her son, Peter's mother doubtfully walks into his room, finding him lying down on his bed. When asked where he had been, Peter simply replied, " I lost my penny." He wanted to tell her how he lost it, but his father came into the room, changing his mind. How could Peter bear the shame of mentioning his visions to his father, or the reason of guilt that he truly felt when loosing the penny?

The following morning, Peter and his father made their way to the road where the penny had disappeared. His father was quite a handy man. He could fix almost anything, and could make whatever he wanted with perfection. It wasn't surprising when he found the penny almost at once. Assuming that Peter hid it, his father pointed out that he didn't need to- he wouldn't have been beaten.

Peter felt like he hurt his father, for he did not intend on hiding the penny. And so, he told his father the truth. Finding the penny once it had been buried gave Peter the feeling that he was finding treasure. Peter had visions where him and his father had the money to afford a car, where they'd drive around laughing and talking. He desired the father and son relationship. For the first time, his father put his arm around him.

The penny in this story symbolizes the love and happiness. At first, it only represents something of value one may use to buy from a store. The penny doesn't so much have much meaning to it. Later on though, it displays the memories that one shall treasure- like a shiny new penny.