The Coin in the Straw — Under the corn leaves, Vera kept a flat copper coin tucked beneath her pilgrim hat. It had one square hole in the middle and smelled faintly of smoke from last year’s bonfire. Read the full story →
Under the corn leaves, Vera kept a flat copper coin tucked beneath her pilgrim hat. It had one square hole in the middle and smelled faintly of smoke from last year’s bonfire. She wanted to know why it clicked whenever the scarecrow turned its head, but the scarecrow stood beyond the tall rows, where the dry stalks hissed shh-shh-shh.
Vera stepped out anyway. A burr grabbed her ankle. A crow dropped a cold kernel on her back. At the pumpkin mound, she paid her price: one bright tail feather, tied to a fence post so she could find her way home. The coin clicked faster as she reached the patched scarecrow.
“Trade?” whispered straw from under the hat. Vera placed the coin in the scarecrow’s button pocket. The scarecrow’s stitched smile opened just enough to show a hidden map: three dots, a barn, and a tiny turkey track leading home. In return, the straw hand gave her a seed, black as midnight and warm as toast. If you spot the round buttons and the waving hands, you may know where Vera first heard the coin click under the corn leaves.
