The Silver coin

Lena had heard the legend a thousand times, like all the children in the village. Her grandmother, with her gray hair pulled into a tight bun, would sit by the hearth, her face wrinkled with age, and tell the same stories she had been told when she was young. These were the kinds of tales that made you shiver with fear, but also stirred something deep inside, a longing for more. In particular, there was one story that always caught Lena’s attention—the story of the silver coin.

The coin, according to the legend, was said to grant any wish, no matter how grand. It was not the kind of thing you found easily, but it would come to those who needed it most, when the darkness in their hearts was thick enough to be felt. The cost? No one ever spoke of it directly, but it was understood that every wish had a price. A price too steep for anyone to truly pay without regret.

Lena had always been skeptical of such tales. After all, they were just stories, passed down through generations. The world was full of hardships, but she knew better than to hope for miracles. Still, life hadn’t been easy. Her father had passed away when she was just a little girl, and her mother had struggled to raise Lena on her own. Though they were far from poor, there was never enough to feel secure. Every month, her mother worked long hours in the village shop, stitching clothes for the wealthier families in town, while Lena helped take care of the house.

There was no luxury, no freedom. Just a steady rhythm of hard work, day after day. And, as Lena grew older, a quiet yearning began to settle in her heart. She often dreamed of what it would be like to be free, to not worry about bills, or food, or how to make the next payment. She wished for wealth, for comfort, for a life where her mother didn’t have to work so hard.

But of course, she never said these things aloud. Who would listen? Who could help? So, like everyone else, Lena pushed her wishes to the back of her mind, resigning herself to the fact that her life would always be one of quiet struggle.

One chilly autumn evening, Lena decided to take a walk in the woods outside the village. The crisp air was refreshing, and the rustling of leaves in the wind was a welcome escape from the quiet solitude of her home. As she walked along the narrow path that wound through the trees, something caught her eye. Half-buried in the soil, glittering faintly in the light of the setting sun, was a silver coin.

Lena knelt down and picked it up, turning it over in her fingers. It was old, worn, but the engraving on its surface was clear—a delicate symbol of a crescent moon, surrounded by swirling stars. She had never seen anything like it before. There was an odd warmth to it, as if it were alive. Her heart skipped a beat, and she felt a strange pull, as if the coin were calling to her.

“Be careful what you wish for,” a voice seemed to whisper in her mind, distant but unmistakable. Lena froze, looking around. The woods were empty, save for the rustling trees and the quiet chirping of birds. There was no one there. The voice had been nothing but a trick of her imagination, surely.

Still, the warning lingered in her thoughts, like an echo that refused to fade.

Ignoring the unease crawling up her spine, Lena stood and made her way back to the village, the coin still warm in her palm. She couldn’t help but wonder if the legends her grandmother had told her were true. Could this really be the fabled silver coin? Was it possible that she could make a wish and have it come true?

That night, after dinner, Lena sat on the edge of her bed, the coin resting in her hand. Her mother had gone to bed early, exhausted from another long day of work. The house was silent except for the creaking of the wooden floors and the occasional gust of wind against the window. Lena looked down at the coin again, feeling a strange mixture of excitement and trepidation.

It was silly, she thought. A coin. A wish. It was ridiculous. And yet... the temptation was there, like a flickering candle, drawing her in. She closed her eyes, holding the coin in both hands, and whispered softly to herself, “I wish for wealth. Enough to never worry again. Enough to take care of my mother, to never have to work so hard.”

As soon as the words left her lips, the coin pulsed with light, startling her. For a moment, it felt as though the entire room was vibrating. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the light faded, and the coin vanished from her hands. Lena gasped, her breath quickening. Had it worked? Had her wish come true?

The next morning, when Lena opened her eyes, she couldn’t believe what she saw.

The modest little house she shared with her mother had transformed overnight. The walls, once plain and unadorned, were now covered in fine tapestries. Golden chandeliers hung from the ceiling, their crystals sparkling in the sunlight. On the table, there were piles of coins, more than Lena could ever count in a lifetime. The small kitchen was stocked with food—fresh bread, fruits, cured meats—things Lena had never seen in abundance before. She felt as though she were dreaming.

Her heart raced as she ran to her mother’s room, shaking her awake.

“Mother, look! Look what happened! We’re rich! We have everything we could ever need!”

Her mother blinked in confusion, rubbing her eyes. “What are you talking about, Lena?”

Lena pulled her mother to the living room, showing her the piles of gold. Her mother gasped, staring in disbelief. “How... how did this happen?”

“I don’t know,” Lena said, her voice trembling with excitement. “But it’s real. We can live like this now. No more worrying. We can have anything we want.”

For the next few days, Lena and her mother reveled in their newfound wealth. They bought fine clothes, hired servants, and even visited the larger towns nearby, purchasing things they had only ever dreamed of. For a while, it felt like paradise. But as the days went on, Lena began to notice something strange.

Neighbors, once friendly and warm, now avoided her. People who had smiled at her in passing now looked at her with suspicion. Even the shopkeepers who had once greeted her mother with kindness now seemed stiff and wary. It was as though the wealth that had brought them so much joy had somehow made everyone else uncomfortable, even fearful.

One afternoon, as Lena was walking to the market, a man approached her, his eyes burning with anger.

“Give me what’s mine!” he shouted, grabbing her arm. “You think you can take everything for yourself, don’t you?”

Lena was startled, but before she could respond, he was pulled away by a crowd of others, all shouting for their share. They were strangers, their faces twisted with greed and resentment. They demanded money, food, anything they could take. It was as though the wealth had transformed the whole village, turning even those who once wished her well into vultures.

And that wasn’t all. Her mother, once so full of life, had grown quiet. She no longer smiled when Lena came home, her face drawn and weary. The constant stress of their new life seemed to wear her down. She began to question where the money had come from, whether they truly deserved it, and whether they would ever find peace again.

One evening, as Lena sat alone in the parlor, she thought back to the warning she had heard when she first found the coin. Be careful what you wish for.

The voice had been right. The wealth had come at a price—one that Lena had not understood when she had made her wish. The people who had once been her friends now treated her like an outsider, and the constant fear of losing everything had replaced the joy she had hoped for. She had gained everything she wanted, but she had lost so much in the process.

In the stillness of the night, Lena stood by the window, looking out at the village below. She knew she had to find a way to undo the damage, to return to the life she had before, where things had been simpler, even if they were harder.

The next morning, she returned to the woods where she had found the coin, hoping that somehow it would appear again. She called out to the air, to the trees, to the spirits that watched over the land. “Please,” she whispered. “Undo it. Take it back. I don’t want this anymore.”

But the coin did not appear.

And in that moment, Lena understood. The price had already been paid. The wish could not be undone. It had changed her life forever. The only thing left to do now was to live with the consequences, and perhaps, in time, learn how to be content with less.

Be careful what you wish for.

Lena would never forget those words.