<center>((OoC: This is really long. Whee. ^^ Sorry about that, I love RPing and this is the cutest idea! [And I'm tryin' to make your jobs interesting. ~.^ lol] I think, that when my lotto is over, I will be donating some of my left over profit to the charity... It's just such a neat little idea. ^^ ))
"Here's a penny for your thoughts, a quarter for the call, and all of your mamma's love," she sang softly to herself as she walked down the stairs of her new apartment. She had recently moved away from home for college. She had lived with her parents for 18 years, her whole life. Or rather, she had lived with her mother for 18 years. Her father died just days before her 15th birthday. She had been heartbroken and spent her birthday in her room, staring at the blank that held nothing but a picture of her and her Dad. Since the loss, though, her mother and her had grown quite close.
Today was the four year anniversary of her father's death, and she would be 19 in a few days. The girl's name was Karissa and she was on her way to the graveyard where her father was buried and then to her mother's house... The place she had grown up. She hadn't moved far away from home so that she could be with her mother when they needed each other. Neither of them had recovered totally from the loss.
Karissa walked down the street alone, mostly keeping her emerald green eyes on the paved walkway, only flicking them up to avoid the occasional collision. Her dark chocolate brown hair blew in the soft breeze that ruffled the leaves on the trees in the town square. Karissa had walked through town square millions of times before, the same path as this for nothing more than the usual fresh breath of air. Her hands were in her coat pockets, gently her fingers ran over a single quarter and penny that she never spent. No matter how desperate she was. Her mother had given her the penny and quarter when she moved out.
Ever since Karissa was little her favorite song had been the one she was singing on the way out the door earlier. Her mother knew this and had wrote Karissa a small note on a piece of stationary and neatly taped the coins to it, discretely sticking it in one of her suitcases. Karissa discovered the note while unpacking and it had brought tears to her eyes. Since then, she never went outside the apartment without them.
As Karissa's gaze stayed on the ground, a shiny object caught her eye. It was a brand new penny that seemed to have fallen out of someone's pocket. She looked around briefly and then back at the coin; it was face up. Her father had always believed that pennies, that were face up when found, were good luck. She simply smiled and reached a hand out, bending down and picking up the coin. She looked at it for a minute, gently running her thumb over the face. The look in her eyes was like a small child who was mesmerized by the new-found 'wealth'.
Across the street, in the middle of town square, was a beautiful marble fountain. There were four angels pouring water out of jugs which they where holding. On the top, there was also a larger bowl with a single sprout, much like a scaled down geyser, that filled the larger bottom part of the fountain with a waterfall like effect in the space between the four angels.
She approached the fountain and saw a plate on the fountain's marble edge that was engraved with the following in gold lettering:
Henry the duck was traveling through Italy when he found a fountain. He had traveled the world in search of something that would tell him who he was. Hearing of the story of the lucky fountain, Henry tossed an old and worn out penny into it. As the penny landed in the fountain it sensed Henry's heart and immediately adopted him as it's own. He became, Henry the Lucky Duck. The wish bringer to those who visit the well. As people toss pennies into the fountain, Henry the Lucky Duck finds that special one, and blesses that person with a gift.
Karissa smiled at this and tilted her head a little, still palming the penny she had picked up from the ground minutes earlier. She looked at it for a minute and a ray of sun lightly glinted off the face, it caused a smile on her face. "It's worth a shot..." she said and stepped to the side of the plaque, looking into the water. She could see her reflection as it rippled slightly from the water pouring into the fountain from the angel above her. She closed her eyes and stood up straight, still lightly stroking the penny with her thumb.
"This one's for you, Dad..." she said, lightly flicking the penny into the water. She heard the 'bloop' of the penny dropping into the water and she smiled, opening her eyes just in time to see it land in the fountain. She smiled widely watching it.
Karissa made her way to the graveyard, laying down flowers she had bought and staying for a while and thinking in the quiet of the grassy fields, telling her father the story of the penny and the fountain. She left once again with a smile, kissing her fingers and placing them on her father's grave. Continuing to her mother's house, she knocked on the door and spent the rest of the evening talking to her mother. She told her mother, too, of the penny and the fountain.
"... And Mom... The penny landed face up in the fountain..." Karissa said smiling.
