It shimmered so bright – it felt like staring at the Sun. The dangers of looking into such an object were just as real; he might as well have been staring at the Sun as it peaked mid-afternoon. The boy knew he should look away from the intense light but couldn't help himself. He was caught in its' gaze. A burning sensation on his face told him he should turn away, but the coin was hypnotizing as it embraced him. It felt as though it was calling him. He could almost hear what he thought was a voice.
'Max,' it called to him. The tone was soft and reassuring. It reminded him of his mother cradling him to sleep. And the longer he lost himself with the object, the more it drew him in. False memories were being shared between the boy and this glowing thing. There were memories of nights by campfires and warm days at the beach. It felt like bliss. The boy knew he was being seduced, but he couldn't pull himself away.
'Stop!' came a voice. 'Turn away, don't look at it.'
A hand came over the boy's face, gripping tight. It blinded him from the warmth while cutting off his connection and the trance he had found himself in. The world quickly shifted from light to darkness. He felt a sudden weightlessness- almost like he was floating- and then there was a thud.
'Ouch.' The boy said as he felt the aftermath of his head making contact with the ground.
As soon as the shock of his head impacting with the floor subsided, he began to feel more pain elsewhere on his body. Little stones with jagged teeth had cut their way into his skin. He could feel the flesh tearing as the stones broke through the skin.
'Max! Max Chan' the voice that had blinded him commanded. 'Don't look at it!'
The boy immediately recognized who had spoken. 'Dad, what are you doing here?'
His father threw out his hand to help the boy up.
'Max Chan, what have I told you? Have you learned nothing from my teachings?'
Max heard half of what his father was saying, partly because he just had the wind knocked out of him and partly because he ignored most of what his father said. Jim Chan, his father, always rambled on about how Max never listened to him and how this would always lead him into trouble. Whether his father was correct or not, Max knew one truth: his father was old, in his sixties and in his prime at seventeen. The dynamic between the two was always going to be volatile.
Max's father continued his rant. 'You looked into the coin. The one thing, the only thing you should never do, is you do that. You know what would happen if I wasn't here.'
'Yes, Dad,' Max answered. 'It will take me away from this world and to a place I will never return.'
'Not just that, Max,' Jim sighed. 'It will take your mind away but leave your body behind. You will be empty and soulless, and I will have to take care of you for the rest of my life. Is that what you want? Is it?'
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Max shook his head in agreement while his father helped brush the dust off his back and removed any stones that remained lodged from the fall. The damage was minimal, but the pain from scraping his skin would last longer, especially as his back rubbed against his shirt.
Jim slapped his son on his back. 'You will be fine.'
'Ahhh,' Max screeched. 'That hurt!'
'And that's to remind you,' his father replied. 'Don't do stupid. And don't look into the coin.'
Jim went to slap his son on the back a second time, but this time, Max was ready and prepared, jumping out of the way before his father could reach him. His dad smiled.
'You can learn fast if you want to.' He enjoyed antagonizing his son, but it was only enough to keep things friendly. 'Here,' Jim said, passing the coin over to him covered in cloth. 'You look after it.'
Max appreciated the trust his father had given him, especially after what had just happened. He took the coin from him and slowly placed it into his sack. Looking down at the object, it occurred to him how harmless this thing was once covered but how much damage it could have done when exposed. What Max believed to be a fun and amusing adventure now had a serious side and a sinister element. Something that, in his youthful haste, had not anticipated. And although he was annoyed at his father, he was thankful he was here.
-
The pair had begun their journey, and both knew there was a long way to go. This coin was just one of six in total. Each coin's discovery came with its unique fortune to those who possessed it. As Max had just discovered, there was also risk. The coins themselves did not belong in this realm. According to his father's beliefs and the stories passed down from his father and their fathers, these coins had been left here in his world long ago by creatures that had also been long forgotten.
Max wondered if his mother believed the same things. She never spoke of it and seemed not to take any interest in his father's stories. Did she believe in them, too, he wondered. He asked his father if she thought it wasn't a good idea, but not now. He knew doing so would stir up too much emotion in him. However, her loss inspired this quest and forced the two of them to come together. They were here now because of her. And they had their first coin, something that Max did not expect.
Finding all six coins would be a more significant challenge. The first one was relatively easy to find. The village elders had always told stories of a coin lying buried under the temple ruins on the lonely hill. Fortunately, Max's village resided in the flat plains of the realm, where there was only one hill with the ruins of a temple on it. It took only two days to walk at a comfortable pace, followed by about a week of shoveling and digging up the dirt underneath the ruins to find their prize. If only the others were so easy to find, their journey would be over in time.
However, the myths Jim had told his son spoke of locations in far-off lands filled with dangers and hardships to endure. They would need time and resources and be able to pay their way. Ultimately, there was no guarantee that they would find all the coins. Finding the first coin was easy enough, but this first success didn't correlate with their finding the second coin with such ease. The coin was easy enough to find but more challenging to keep. After all, it had almost taken Max as its' victim. Now, they had a coin that attracted unwanted attention. Others would soon learn what they had found and would be coming after them.
-
Max and his father made their way home. If they moved fast enough, they would return to the village within a two-day journey. Max knew it would be a long and grueling two-day journey, not because of the physical exertion, the expected bad weather, and the cold nights but because of his father. Jim was not one for conversation; while traveling, he would always remain silent and only speak when necessary. This irritated the boy immensely; he would have no one to talk to on the journey back and would have to fight the boredom and the isolation as much as he could.
There were questions to be asked. Max wanted to know many things, but he knew that asking his father questions, even the most basic, would result in scalding, sometimes verbal and sometimes physical. His father was known for chasing his son around with a stick. Jim was, however, too slow to chase his son, but he was a patient man. And if Max stood out of line, then the stick would come. It might not be on the same day or even a week, but his father would wait until the opportunity presented itself, and then he would strike hard enough to leave a mark for a few more days. Max would know why, and he would remember. And that is why their journey back to the village remained a silent one, but a painless one at that.