Published

The Coin follows Jason, a sixteen-year-old who is gifted a tarnished silver coin by his quiet next-door neighbor.

The coin appears to decide his future with every flip. Jason eventually realizes the coin is just that: a coin. The outcomes are random. The question the story actually asks is whether that changes anything and whether the decisions he made while believing in it were really his own.

The story started as a response to a writing contest prompt, which is what forced the decision-making theme into a concrete plot instead of staying abstract. It was later selected for presentation at my school's annual Writers Week, an event where students apply to share their own original work. Presenting it to an audience was the first time I'd defended a creative project in front of people who hadn't read it yet.

The response afterward was the most rewarding part. Classmates and a couple of teachers went out of their way to send thank-you notes about the story, which was the first time I'd seen something I wrote land with people beyond my own read of it.

The Coin is available in paperback and Kindle editions, with free access for Kindle Unlimited subscribers.