End of the Rainbow

“I am not a child! Take me out of this baby seat! The feisty Leprechaun kicked and shouted. 

“Ow! What the hell is your problem!?” Rubbing her elbow, Kat slapped him. “Look, do you want my help because you can get out of my car!?” Kat screamed. The feisty Leprechaun sat there contemplating his options. “Really? Are you seriously thinking it over? The police, CIA, and half of Texas are looking for you! Look at you! You look like a weird child dressed as a medieval hobo on Halloween! You stick out.”

Crossing his arms, defeated, he replied, “You’re only helping me for my schillings.”

“I’m sorry, your what?” Kat responded with a furrowed brow.

“My gold,” he sighed, still looking around for the latch to release himself. Kat rubbed the sides of her temple and replied, “Hey, I put you in that baby seat to try and fool the cops if we get pulled over. So, you can quit looking for a way to get out. Do you know what they’ll do to you if they catch you?”

“Who?” He responded.

“Everyone that’s looking for you! They’ll take your gold. Then they will hold you in some facility, asking questions to see where you got this gold from and if there’s more. I don’t want to see you held captive while they keep your gold.” The Leprechaun had his head down while fiddling with his torn vest. Kat lifted his chin to meet her eyes. “Hey, I’m Kat. What’s your name?

“I’m Mikk Loosepence.”

A huge smile spread over her face as she blurted out, ”Mikk!? That’s not a real Leprechaun name! And Loosepence!? Do you mean to tell me you’re always losing money!? What kind of Leprechaun is that careless!? Kat hollered in between laughs.

“What do you mean by losing money?” He asked.

“I mean your name, loosepence. It means loose coins, as in you lose money. How in the world did you get that name!?

Mikk sternly said, “All Leprechaun’s names are chosen for us.”

In defense, Kat held her hands up, “ok, ok, I’m sorry. So where do I need to take you, Mikk?

Mikk rolled his eyes, and in an exasperated breath, he answered, “To the end of the rainbow.”

Mikk glared at Kat, and Kat stared back blankly. Then, a slow smile crept over her face before she exploded with laughter. After a while, Kat wiped the tears of joy from her eyes and replied, ”Mikky, my guy, tell me, how do I get you to the end of the rainbow?” First, Mikk dug into his pants pocket; then, he checked the other side. His eyes got wide as he dug in both pockets again. Then he checked his vest pocket and mumbled, “No, no! Please, where could it be?

“What? What happened? Kat asked.

"I. It must be here. I don’t know the way without it. But, in the wrong hands, it will bring trouble!” Mikk cried out.

"Mikk, calm down, dude. What are you trying to say? Use your words, little buddy.”

“Call me Mikk, not little buddy! And my map! My map isn’t here! I need it! Mikk yelled.

“How come you don’t know how to get to the end of the rainbow if you’re a true Leprechaun?” Kat asked teasingly.

“I am a true Leprechaun! There are different entryways to them, and I made a map of all of them. I always keep it in my pants pockets. It should be here.”

“Ok, well, most likely, you dropped it while running. So, it could be anywhere by now. Let’s just go to my house so we can eat and re-group. I’m sure my fiancé cooked something. She’s always cooking.”

Mikk nodded excitedly, “I could eat! I’m hungry!

Kat shook her head, closed the car door then went around to get in. As she pulled onto the road, she was fiddling with the satellite radio buttons, looking for some good music. Kat swerved the car a few times. Then, as she found a good station and began to nod her head to the music, she saw flashing red and blue lights in the rearview mirror. Kat had a sinking feeling. She looked back at Mikk. Kat hit a button on the dash, and a voice came through the car. “Hey, babe!” Listen, meet me at school!” Kat shouted.

“Babe, what-”

“No time, meet me at school! Oh, and bring food!” Kat yelled and hit the end button on the dash.