Grandfathers eyes narrowed as he glanced over from his chair beside the fireplace “Do you want to talk about it?” he said softly. I sighed. I didn’t want to talk. I didn’t know how. Or what I’d even say. He knew that too but he always asked anyway. The warmth of the fire beside him called out to me. I kicked the heel of my boots to remove them, water spilling out as I pulled them off. A cold shiver took hold of my body and shook it deeply. I parked myself beside him and sat in silence trying to quiet my mind by listening to the crackle of the flames and feeling the warmth against my cool skin. “Here” grandfather said, holding out his hand. Puzzled, I looked from my palm to his face. “A penny”, I said inquisitively. His smile widened. “I’m too old for penny sweets, grandfather”, I wasn’t even sure they sold sweets for a penny anymore. Things were a lot more expensive these days. I chuckled to myself. “No dear, I don’t give you this to spend. I want you to keep it. Forever. And I want you to use it”. Use it? He just told me not to spend it. I can see this chat ending very soon. I start to shuffle in my seat, readying to excuse myself for bed. My cheeks are pink now and my eyes starting to tire. I humour him “I will keep it in my pocket for as long as I live” I said sarcastically, instantly regretting the tone as soon as my words were spoken. He was a good man. And I wasn’t being very nice. “Sorry” I said and meant it. Still grinning ear to ear he shuffled his chair closer to mine and put both hands over mine and he squeezed the penny into my palm. “Sometimes, Olive dear, you don’t want to talk because you don’t know how you feel, what choice to make, what path to chose, what to

let go or what to hold on tighter too. Life can be hard. The mind can be so overrun by thoughts and others expectations, you can’t hear it” he paused and nodded his head. “Hear what?”I say softly. Intrigued, I leaned in closer. “Your intuition, dear”. I’m definitely confused now, what’s intuition got to do with an old brass penny. I tossed the coin around my fingers and wondered if grandfather was losing his marbles. But there was something about the coin I just could not place - a feeling of mystery or magic or even both. I stared at my hands for a while. My grandfather continued “You have the power inside you. We all do. The power to draw upon the universal energy that will guide you. Show you the way. Whenever you are feeling like you don’t know the answers, make a bet with yourself and flip the coin. As soon as you throw the coin in the air, you’ll know which side your hoping it lands. That right there, is your intuition. It was there all along, you just couldn’t hear it through your thoughts. Use the coin my dear but never spend it”. My eyes filled with tears and my throat tightened. I wanted to say thank you but the words just wouldn’t come out. Squeezing his hands tighter, tears rolled down my face and my heart clenched. I nodded. And he understood.

My grandfather has not lost his marbles, he is the wisest man I know. And I will cherish this coin, and him. Forever.