Length: 262 words
Demetri had dropped coins down the pipe for as long as he could remember. When he was a little boy, he thought the pipes in his building were magical tunnels to an underground world. He dropped them in one at a time and listened to them whistle and clang as they went down. The sounds seemed to stretch on for a very long time, linger on the edges of his hearing for one extended note, and then vanish into the darkness. The pipes at their building never clogged, so he knew the coins were getting where they needed to go. He contented himself with speculating what that place was, but he knew he would never get a chance to see it.
He was older now, an adult. He could remember those childhood fantasies very well, and the thought of them put a smile on his face. When he felt nostalgic, he would drop a coin or two down the pipes and listen to it travel.
One day, he woke to find a pile of coins under his pillow. The one on the top matched the coin he’d dropped down the night before, serial number and date and all. He couldn't remember every coin he'd ever dropped down the pipe, but he had a strong feeling that the rest of the pile was every single coin returned to him.
Excited, he rushed to the pipe ... and found a note sticking out the top. It said, "Thanks for the loan. I have repaid you in full. My debt to you is now absolved."
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