This is, quite possibly, the cheesiest short story ever to be written, but I really enjoyed reading it and reliving the memories it was based off. This story is based on an idea I heard about in Wyoming. People go to train tracks and place pennies on the tracks to be flattened but the trains as they pass by. If you find you penny after it shoots out from under the train, your wish will come true. Romantic, huh? If you're in the mood for a cheesy love story, read on!

LIVE FOREVER


The orange streetlights and the low hanging moon reflected the glassy train tracks as the couple slowly walked toward them. Their laughs echoed across each other and rose above the dark night sky. Off to the right a tunnel appeared through the rocky mountain, an orange beacon through the darkness. He smiled with her and pulled her close. Their footsteps crushed gravel underfoot.
“How many times have you been here?” she asked as she shivered slightly.
“I come here all the time. It’s not like there’s anything else to do in this town.” He replied with a small laugh. He pulled his right hand over his body and took hers, leaving his left arm around her shoulders.
“It’s really… peaceful here. Like I’m the only person on the planet. I can come here and be completely alone. That’s why I like it here,” said Daniel, the boy. He sighed and looked across the tracks into the street beyond the fence. The street glowed yellow.
The girl, Rachel, looked up at him, “How many other people have you taken here?”
“You’re the first,” he replied, “D’you feel lucky?” She stared deep into his eyes, filling them full of meaning, then she smiled a crooked smile and said, “Yes. I do.” Daniel laughed and kissed her. A sweet kiss, nothing but love. They kept walking and reached the train tracks. Daniel pulled away from Rachel and reached into his pocket.
“Are you ready for this?” he asked.
“Y…Yes?” she hesitated. Daniel pulled his hand from his pocket and opened it. In his hand lay two pennies.
“They’re wish pennies.” Daniel said, pushing his hand toward her.
“What do I do with them?” asked Rachel, confused.
“You wish with them, silly!” Daniel laughed “You put them on the tracks and make a wish as the train goes by. Then, if you find your penny, your wish comes true!” Rachel smiled. Daniel handed her one of the pennies and grabbed her hand, leading her across two of the four sets of tracks.
“Ok, we gotta wait here and see which tracks the train’s coming down, because honestly, the longer we stay here, the better chance we have of being arrested.”
“What?” Rachel exclaimed, “This is illegal?”
“I know, it’s insane.” Daniel agreed. Daniel sat down on the tracks, the cold steel chilling him. Rachel coughed. Daniel looked up and gave her a confused look. Rachel gestured to the tracks and coughed again.
“Oh!” Daniel laughed. He pulled off his jacket and laid it on the tracks at her feet. She laughed and curtsied at Daniel, then turned and sat on the tracks. She rested her head on her shoulder and sighed.
“What?” Daniel asked with a small smile. She turned her head and looked at him.
“Nothing. Nothing at all.” Daniel smiled and stuck an arm behind her back and looked out onto the abandoned buildings in front of them.
“This used to be the busiest strip around,” he said, “I guess this was a big attraction for locals. There was a movie theater and an ice cream parlor and everything! Now it’s so peaceful. Like the buildings one day all said ‘We’ve had enough!’ And no one came back.”
“Wouldn’t that be nice?” asked Rachel, “To tell the world ‘I’ve had enough!’ And just be done, live in happiness forever?”
“You have no idea,” answered Daniel. He sighed then starting humming. Rachel started singing along with him:
“Buffalo gal, can you come out tonight, can you come out tonight, can you come out tonight?” Daniel smiled and looked down at Rachel. She looked back, then reached down and grabbed his large rough hand and put her hand inside. It fit perfectly.
“Do you want the moon, Mary?” winked Daniel. Rachel smiled and teased him with a push of the shoulder. They sat, listening to the crickets and the lonely pigeons that lit up the night. Then moon overhead circled the earth, calming presence. Their heartbeat pulsed together, unknown even to them. Rachel shuffled closer. She fit perfectly under Daniel’s broad shoulder. She sighed again and looked up into Daniel’s eyes. Daniel laughed again.
“What is it?” he asked. She hesitated.
“Doesn’t this seem… almost too perfect?” she questioned, “Like, it’s so perfect it’ll never last? I mean, where’s the conflict? I know it’s hiding out there somewhere.” Daniel hesitated in turn, then asked her:
“Does there always have to be a conflict? I mean, I care about you, you care about me, isn’t that enough? I know this will last, Rachel. I love you, I will always love you. No matter how far away we are, whatever words I say, this perfect feeling will last. Because this story is already finished. We already resolved it.”
Rachel smiled. “I love you too. Forever. You’re perfect.” In the distance, a train whistle sounded. Daniel leapt to his feet, grabbing Rachel and pulling her up too.
“It’s coming, quick! We don’t want to miss it!” Rachel rolled the cool penny in her fingers once.
“What if I already have everything I want?” Rachel scoffed.
“I’m sure you can find something to wish about! Just think!” he winked. Rachel hesitated, then set her penny down determinedly. Daniel set his down and pulled Rachel away as the train grew louder in the distance. Another whistle sounded. The headlights on the train shouted its arrival to the couple.
“It’s gonna get real loud in a sec!” Daniel yelled over the dominating sound of the train.
“Really? I didn’t notice!” laughed Rachel. Daniel gave her a playful shove and turned toward the train as it raced by. With two small click’s! the pennies shot out from underneath the wheels of the train. The wind rushed around them, throwing their clothes in disarray over their bodies. Rachel shivered.
“You should have warned me about the freezing breeze!” Rachel shouted. Daniel smiled and mouthed the word ‘Sorry,’ then pulled her into an embrace. He ran his hands up and down her back for awhile, then his right hand reached up and cradled her head in his palm. He whispered in her ear, barely audible.
“What did you wish for?”
“I can’t tell you or it won’t come true,” she whispered back.
“I’ll tell you what I wished for if you tell me first,” he replied.
“Ok, if you insist,” she whispered sarcastically, “I wished… I wished I could be with you forever.” Daniel pulled her closer, tighter, sighing. He opened his mouth, then closed it, opened it once more.
“Me too.” The caboose of the train finally whizzed by and Daniel and Rachel were left in their embrace. Neither letting go. They held each other for a long time, making silent promises to each other through their touch.
“If only someone had a camera,” Rachel whispered shyly. Daniel laughed. He pulled away from the embrace and looked at her.
“You’re so beautiful,” he said. Rachel’s eyes started to tear up and she smiled. She could see the reflection of her tears in Daniel’s eyes as a single drop of water fell from Daniel’s eyes. He sniffled and wiped away the tear. Their love faded into the night, where they told the world ‘I’ve had enough! I want to live in happiness forever!’ Their laughs echoed off each other and faded into the buildings that surrounded the tracks. No need for conflict. The two were perfectly happy, perfectly resolved. They were with each other for the night, they laughed together forever. They both found their pennies.



Thanks for reading, I love you all!
-Michael Howell