The role of Leprechaun in my life

                                                          The role of a Leprechaun in my life

I walked up to the podium with honor and delight as the CEO of my company stood with open arms to greet me and present me with an Excellence Award. The next moment, my eyes were open, Staring crossly at the bright cellphone screen, as I switched it off in a reflexive swing, unable to bear the blaring alarm. It was only when I stared at the date in the cellphone, did I realize, it was my marriage anniversary. I quickly hit upon a grand plan, of spending the day in the neighbouring Ireland. Having never really had a retreat since my marriage, I wanted to holiday with my business friends. But alas, I was compelled to go with my wife by my own conscience or guilt, I could tell apart.

My wife, who was never inquisitive, never spoke much. I wished, if ever she lived in the same world as mine, but she would take care of most of my needs and likings. Yet, my heart would never speak anything to me about her, my mind wouldn’t even want to indulge in a small chat, when I watch her engrossed in tidying the house daylong. We spent the day at an Irish castle, and their cultural festival. The dark of the night was glowing more with flashy green jacket-wearing Leprechauns, than the lights. I instantly took a liking at them, but unable to picture myself wearing a similar jacket in public, dropped the idea of buying the jacket as a souvenir.

The following day, I dreamt of a Leprechaun working in the dark. Amused, I crept in closely to find what he was doing. He was splintering an unearthly chain with a hammer. It all turned a nightmare, as I realized it was a matrimonial chain, my very own. I woke up with a jolt, and reflecting back on the dream, started counting how many compromises I had made, just to ensure the marriage dragged on, and how it could ever be fruitless. Suddenly, a thought struck me, about my wife sleeping beside me. I could not contemplate how many compromises she would have made, how her daily stream of endless efforts had knitted yarn to create a fabric holding us together. I was at a loss, I had never tried to understand her, never appreciate her efforts. I continued to have a similar nightmare for the whole month, only that it scared me less, as I daily made subtle efforts to fall in ‘sync’ with her. There was never a filmy romantic interlude, but I felt, I was patching it all up. I helped her in daily errands, and admiring her hard toil and efforts.

It was the month’s last night, as I ran through the same dream, but this time, the Leprechaun begged to give him respite from visiting my dreams, as he himself dreaded his own work; amazed, I asked for a wish, I asked for his wishes, for the marriage lasting forever. He took out a gold coin, in a manner, of bribing me to free him; and handed it to me, agreeing to the wish only if I sustained my efforts in caring about the marriage and my wife too. I opened my hand, as he vanished into thin air, it was just a leaf. I woke up, only to find my wife beside me, holding the same leaf, but made of crystal. It was a pendant she had bought for me as a souvenir from Ireland. She tied it around my neck, as she greeted me “Happy Birthday, dear”.

The End.

Word Count: 603