What the Leprechaun Said

This month's prompt at Absolute Write: Suggest-A-Prompt

We have so many good prompt ideas that don't get used, so it's now time to mix it up. Posters get to suggest a prompt for the next blogger in line! Be sure to list the prompt and credit the suggester in your post. My prompt is "What the Leprechaun Said". Thank you, Carol, for this great inspirational challenge!

All that gold...

"He's a legendary figure, Eric." Gracie pulled gently on her son's hand. "We're late. Maybe we can come back later and visit." They shopped every year on St. Patrick's Day because it was her sister's birthday and she always waited until the last minute. Previous years were much easier. Eric's curiosity about the world had grown and there never seemed to be enough time to explain everything.

Eric didn't budge. "Is he good or bad?"

"Well, lots of people think he's good because he brings good luck. That's why he's always around a pot of gold."

"But why does he look like that?"

"Like what, Eric?" Gracie peered at the leprechaun in the display window of Macy's department store, her patience wearing thin. The same leprechaun they put out every year stood in its designated spot, a smile plastered across his green, ceramic face, and his left ear chipped at the top, exposing the white plaster beneath the paint. His lifeless eyes stared out from behind the glass and his hand held up in a gesture, waving hello, or in Gracie’s case, goodbye.

Eric wriggled away from Gracie and approached the window, placing his greasy palms flat against it. "Where is it? Where's the gold you crazy lepachon. Gimme, grrrr!"

Gracie reached down and grabbed Eric by one hand, balancing her packages in the other. "Let's go, Eric."

Unwilling at first, Eric conceded, but kept his eyes on the leprechaun while they walked away.

"Mommy, does the lepachon know where the pot of gold is?" Eric asked while Gracie tucked him into bed that night. She wished she hadn't made him wear a green shirt today and she wished she hadn't mentioned anything about leprechauns, four leaf clovers, and pinching people who didn't wear the festive color.

The reflecting light of the moon beamed through the window, casting shadows on the opposite wall. A waving hand and the outline of the leprechaun and his chipped ear appeared briefly and faded from the shadowy wall.

"Some think so, Eric. But nobody ever really saw a real leprechaun. He's just a fairy-tale character."

"Is Santa Claus a fairy-tale character, mommy?"

"Eric, that's not the same thing, honey."

"But I never saw Santa Clause, and he brings me toys on Christmas. If I ask the lepachon for a pot of gold, do you think he would bring it to me since it's St. Patrick's Day?"

Gracie knew better than to continue this conversation. She kissed Eric on the forehead and turned off the bedside lamp. "Goodnight, Eric."

The night drew on and from the shadows, a whisper. "Psst, Eric..."

***

A searing pain in the pit of her gut woke Gracie in the middle of the night. Eric sat upon her, straddling her like a horse, wriggling a knife through her stomach. "Grrrr, gimme!"

Gracie gasped and grabbed at Eric's hands. The exiting blade sliced her palms open, "What are you doing, Eric!" The pain, the rush of adrenaline, and the warm blood seeping into her night gown, all indications she was not dreaming.

His lifeless eyes looked through her and he plunged the knife in again. "The gold is in there, mommy. It's what the lepachon said!"

THE END

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