Year: 2019; Date: May 13.
“It’s like getting blood out of a stump,” Jason groused.
“Yeah, Mick is a Leprechaun of few words, for sure,” Hannah agreed. “At least when it comes to himself or anything about him. Otherwise, he’ll talk your ear off. It took Mom and Dad a year to get his name out of him, after all. And Eli’s mom, even with her persuasive ways and talents another year to pry loose a bit of his background.” She stood up on the Phoenix’s wing and craned her neck. Oskar was quite animated now, waving his hands around and pointing at Eli, who was staring at the ground, shoulders slumped over, looking so very sad.
Mick appeared unmoved. His hands were on his hips and his feet planted firmly on the ground slightly apart in his familiar pose of defiance. Their red, blond, and black heads stood out clearly in the bright spear of sunlight that suddenly broke through the scattered clouds, making the whole scene even more surreal, especially when Mick’s wings caught the light, scattering it up and down White road and halfway back up the path to the Phoenix.
She sat down again and wrapped her arms around her knees. “Do you think it’ll work? After all, it is our Birthday today. Maybe he’ll take that into account.”
“I wouldn’t count on it, Hannah. He’s pretty crafty. Mom and Dad could never outwit him.”
“But Eli’s going to appeal to his heart, Jason. We’ve never tried that before.”
“You’re assuming he has a normal one, Hannah.” He grinned at her. “Mick’s is definitely soft, but seems unaffected by sentiment where his privacy is concerned.”
They held their breath when Eli, with a flourish, finally handed him the package. They saw the smug look on Mick’s face disappear suddenly when the final shred of brown paper fell away, and the portrait was revealed. He wrapped his arms around it and slumped slowly to his knees. Eli and Oskar quickly sat down next to him and put their arms around him. He didn’t resist them.
Hannah looked wide-eyed at Jason. “It may have worked! He’s never let two of us that close to him before!”
They watched in silence for almost an hour. They could see that Mick was talking incessantly, and with the most uncharacteristically serious look on his face. It all finally came to an abrupt end when he suddenly stood up, grinned ear-to-ear, pulled Eli to her feet and kissed her suddenly on the cheek. He clutched the sturdy frame to his chest, lifted off like a butterfly and flew swiftly toward the western cliffs. He circled once over the Phoenix, gave them both a brief wave and a smile, and continued on his way.
Eli and Oskar couldn’t contain themselves. “We’ve won! He’s told us everything!” They hopped up on the Phoenix next to them, happy as clams.
“I doubt that, Eli. He’s older than you or even Sava. He couldn’t have told you everything.” Jason was justifiably skeptical. “I can’t believe the leopard has changed his spots so quickly. How do you know it wasn’t all just more blarney? He’s fooled your mom and dad many times with his tales. In fact, he enjoys telling the tale more than telling the truth.”
“Quit trying to sound like you’re so grown-up, Jason. It gets tiring.” Hannah slugged him on the arm. “You’re only 14, you know. Still a baby!”
“Well, you’re only just 12 today. Still a ‘tween’ for another year.
Eli grinned at Oskar. “After I gave him the picture, Mick said he could only tell us these things on Leprechaun Day, which just happens to be the same day as our birthdays. Any other day, his ‘lips are sealed’ no matter how much he might wish it otherwise. But if that’s true, why didn’t he tell us last year?”
“We didn’t ask him last year, Eli, at least not on your birthday.” Oskar reminded her. “We were all still a bit afraid of him since he was older and quicker than all of us but Jason. Hannah’s mom did most of the begging back then.”
“So then. Why do you believe him now, Eli? What’s different? Surely not just because of the picture … as beautiful as it is,” Jason added hastily, not wanting to hurt her feelings.
Eli grinned at him. “He said it looked just like his mother.” She paused,” But then he had to acknowledge that it had been a long time since he had last seen her, so he couldn’t be sure…” Her voice trailed off.
“I told you so! He fed you an hour’s worth of his best blarney,” Jason said, smugly.
“Then he told Eli that at least her heart was in the right place, and he appreciated her effort,” Oskar added. His mouth opened as he suddenly got it.
Jason said nothing. His smile just got bigger.
Hannah sighed resignedly. “You gave him something he liked, something from your heart, and he repaid the favor. If it makes you as happy as your gift made him, where’s the harm?” She smiled at Eli and put her arm around her.
Eli rolled her eyes. “How could I have fallen for it? Darn! If I could just read him, I’d know it all!”
“What did he tell you though? Remember, Mom and Dad figured out that a small bit that was buried in one of his longer tales was probably true.” Jason leaned forward excitedly. “Maybe we can figure out a bit more.”
“That’s right! Mom says that, for some reason, they think he can never return to Ireland. They’ve offered to fly him home many times, but he always comes up with a reason not to go, which is the only reason they believe he may have slipped a bit of the truth into his tall tales. In one of his old tales he said he couldn’t return because Saint Patrick’s curse, which ridded Ireland of the snakes, had inadvertently settled on him also, because he had always loved the snakes and took their side, cursing Saint Patrick for sending them away. His good friend, ‘Skippy,’ a Rock Python, was forced to leave and he was forced to go with him, never to return, separated from his dear family forever.”
Oskar scratched his head. “Well…this time he did say that centuries ago, he was cursed by a witch whose broom he had … accidently taken, and was banished from the island for 100 years, and that during all that time he would remain a 12-year-old Leprechaun, frozen in time, never to grow up or earn his pot of gold. He was told that he could return only after the 100 years was up and all his family had died of old age, but the instant his feet touched the sacred soil of Eire he would himself age and die in a matter of minutes, long before he could even visit the graves of his family, or meet his cousins, nieces and nephews. Then he hugged Eli’s portrait of his mother tightly against his chest and sighed deeply.”
“How very sad!” Hannah exclaimed.
“Blarney, Hannah. Just blarney!” Jason reminded her.
“But maybe…just maybe…there’s an element of truth there; maybe we have a new piece of the puzzle.” Eli’s eyes brightened. “He doesn’t age! There’s nothing in lore that says Leprechauns live forever.”
“Since this story mostly contradicts the first one, I don’t see how…” Oskar scratched his head.
“Don’t you see, Oskar? The common thread is that he can’t return to Ireland. And Mom and Dad have very carefully tested the first part of that theory on him. I think we’ve found the second part: he will die if he goes back. If I were banished and could never return here to our island, to Mom and Dad and all of you, I would be devastated! Poor Mick! It must be awful for him.”
“It could all be blarney, Eli. He’s been around for centuries. Don’t you think he could be fooling all of us, including your Mom and Dad? He’s a Leprechaun, remember? You can’t believe anything they say, if folklore has it right,” Jason argued.
Eli crossed her arms across her chest, defiantly. “I believe him. Mom sensed his heart the night they first met, and I think he told us the truth about this one thing, at least. I am my mother’s child, after all. I have what she was given by Sava. Don’t forget that!”
“I’m sure you’ll never let me, Eli,” he said sarcastically. But he knew she was probably right. She almost always was.
Oskar looked at his watch. “We’d better head back. We don’t want you two to be late for your own birthday party.” They hopped off the Phoenix and headed rapidly down White Road toward the compound.
§
“What are you thinking about, Oskar?” Eli put her arm around him and kissed him on the cheek. From their porch at the edge of the high meadow, she could see the children walking quickly down White road together, and glanced at Oskar’s watch.
“They’re the same age today that you and I were when we met.” He smiled gently at her. “In another eight years they will have caught up with us.” He grinned when the twins broke into a run toward the breakwater, long blond hair streaming behind them, quickly leaving the boys behind. “First, Jason. Then Oskar. Then Eli and Hannah, born on the same day, at the same minute, just as identical as you and your own soul mate.”
“And Sava has been telling us all, ‘I told you so,’ ever since. Even Papa and Jonathan have been hard-put to explain it all. And Mama’s wise enough to keep her mouth shut.” Eli chuckled to herself, remembering all the heated discussions between Sava, Jack, and Papa in the living room while she and Hannah listened from the kitchen, holding their sweet miracles in their arms, thinking about more important things.
“Are you two about ready to go?” Hannah stepped out on her porch, arms loaded with presents. Jack pulled up alongside the house in the Leaf, popped the trunk, and met Hannah halfway down the steps. “I can handle it, Jack,” Hannah said, a bit irritated. “Go help Eli.”
Jack held his hands up and backed off, grinning. “Just trying to help…” He stepped past her and headed down the porch towards Eli and Oskar.
Eli turned away from him, protecting her own armload of presents. “I can handle ours too, Jack. Why don’t you…make yourself useful and clean the windshield or kick the tires or something?”
Jack stood there with his mouth open for a second, then Eli and Hannah started laughing.
“Looks like they got you again, Jack.” Oskar slapped him on the back. “And I can’t thank you enough for taking some of their attention away from me.”
Jack sighed noisily. “You don’t know what it’s like living with a sociopathic telepath, Oskar. She not only attacks me when I’m not looking – like now – but she sneaks up on my thoughts when I’m alone in my office, walking along the seawall or even when I’m asleep…”
“I do not!”
“Then explain that strange dream I had the other night where you rescued me from a fire-breathing dragon and flew me back in your arms with those impossible pixie wings to your castle in Estonia!”
Eli giggled. “Lithuania. It was Lithuania.”
“So! It was a collaborative effort was it?” His eyes searched theirs for a moment, then settled on Oskar, the only other telepath in their foursome.
“I had nothing whatsoever to do with it, Jack! I promise!” Oskar backed away from him slowly.
“Humph!” Jack walked stiffly down the stairs, pointedly kicked all four tires, then settled into the driver’s seat. Hannah dumped the presents in the trunk, then slipped into the front seat next to him and kissed him on the cheek. “You didn’t seem to mind my rescuing you while you were dreaming.” She grinned at him.
“How could I possibly mind being rescued by my true love, no matter how unlikely the circumstances?”
“What do you mean?! You don’t think I could rescue you for real?” she slugged him on the shoulder.
“Well…you are a bit of a featherweight…”
She slugged him again.
“But if grit and determination were a realistic harbinger of success, I have no doubt you’d succeed.” He tensed up his arm for the anticipated rebuttal.
She eyed him suspiciously, then decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. “Okay, then.”
Eli and Oskar climbed into the back seat together, and they started off slowly down the narrow switchback toward the valley floor.
“Come on, Einstein!” Hannah shouted. Einstein fell in behind them and dutifully followed the Leaf around the first curve, when he suddenly spotted the twins running along the seawall. He quickly veered into the tall grass alongside the road, leaving a wide furrow behind him straight down the hill.
§
The six of them sat on the back porch together, savoring the relative peace and quiet they all knew would come to an abrupt end in a matter of minutes.
The children were on their way. They could feel them.
Elaine closed her eyes a moment and let the light of their happiness fill her mind. Hannah’s Oskar and Eli, just like their own Eli, wore their hearts on their sleeves and their gift allowed everyone else to share their hearts’ contents with them, often whether they wanted to or not.
“They’re amazing, aren’t they?” Richard said softly.
“Yes.” Elaine smiled at him. “And yet…”
“You need to stop worrying so much. They’ll be just fine. Jonathan’s final test results confirmed what we already suspected; Gudmund’s magic DNA sequence has successfully passed from Hannah to her children.” He groaned inwardly, realizing he had just given Sava an opening.
“So! You’ve finally accepted the supernatural aspect of Gudmund’s inspiration?”
“Not at all, Sava. It was just a figure of speech.”
“Well, frankly I’m still worried, Rich,” Elaine interjected. “Hannah having this gift alone is one thing. All her children and her children’s children inheriting it is quite another. What if, God forbid, one or more of their descendants for one reason or another isn’t as stable? These abilities, which by the way, seem even more pronounced in her children, could cause no end of trouble for humanity if used in the wrong way.”
Livia shook her head. “It can’t happen, Elaine. Haven’t you noticed how…different they are; even from Hannah?”
“What do you mean, Livia?”
“They’re both…kinder; gentler than any children I’ve known. Even our own Hannah. And at the same time, they have a kind of inner stability that makes them far less impressionable than most children their age. I first noticed it when they were each only three years old.”
“I call it the ‘liberal’ gene.” Nils grinned. “They both have a powerful sense of justice, almost unconditional compassion for the underdog, they tend to give most of their peers the benefit of the doubt, they don’t place a value on other’s lives based on their own prejudices or preconceptions, and have an uncanny ability to see and understand points of view significantly different from their own.” He paused, “And as far as I can tell, they are completely consistent in these behaviors. No exceptions; at least so far.”
“What about Eli’s temper, Nils? I’ve seen her get quite angry on occasion.”
“No matter how angry she gets, she never directs her rage at anyone, Elaine. It’s either directed at inanimate objects, at herself, or more commonly at the entire Universe.” He grinned, “Haven’t you noticed?”
“Perhaps. But she has a temper nonetheless. How does that fit into Sava’s theory of Hannah as the seed of mankind’s best hope for the future? Or, as Sava so enthusiastically put it, ‘…the ultimate triumph of man over his primeval origins, the ability for us to dispose of all the dark evolutionary baggage that was necessary for mankind to survive in the jungle, but whose very presence in a civilized and advanced society was now becoming a threat to our very existence.’ Did I get that right, Sava?”
He smiled at her. “The proof is in the pudding then, isn’t it? Her temper has never, I repeat, never been directed against anyone, even if they deserved it. What more do you need? Anger is a powerful motivator when kept under control. Eli knows it. It’s a part of her nature. Just ask her mother.” He slid his chair further into the shadows. He really didn’t want to have to put on the eliglass helmet until he absolutely had to. It always made him feel like a fish in a bowl.
They heard the gate bang open, and Eli and Hannah, out of breath, plopped down on the porch steps and were immediately pounced on by Einstein.
“Happy birthday, girls!” Richard swept them both up in his arms and hugged them tightly.
“That depends, Grandpa. What did you get us for our birthday?” Hannah grinned at him.
“Front row tickets to Justin Bieber’s world tour concert in London, of course.”
Eli and Hannah’s jaws dropped. “But Grandpa! Nobody likes him anymore! He’s an old married and divorced has-been now! He’s just out of rehab and still thinks he’s 16. And besides, we’re too old for him!” Hannah tried to sound upset, but failed miserably.
“She knows you’re putting her on, Rich. Give it up. Eli warned her you’d try something like that.” Elaine winked at her.
The Leaf pulled up on the lawn, and all four doors opened at once. Oskar and Jason followed it through the gate, popped the trunk and grabbed the presents.
Two hours of chaos and overindulging quickly followed.
§
Dinner was over, and the presents had all been opened. Livia put what was left of the cake in the refrigerator and the massive cleanup was almost completed.
Dad. Aren’t you going to…?
Soon, Oskar. Richard dragged the last bag of garbage around the corner to the trash compactor and tossed it in. The machine clucked a couple of times, then silently crushed it into a 3-inch cube and stacked it neatly with the others in the small cart.
He brushed off his hands, and strode purposefully up the stairs, grabbing Hannah and Eli firmly by the hands and leading them through the living room out onto the front porch. The others followed quietly behind, anticipating the wonderful surprise to come.
“You both are now twelve years old; a milestone for most children, and no less so for the two of you, even though you both already fly, much to your mothers’ chagrin. That was supposed to happen at 12, as you already know, but you both kind of…jumped the gun when you were ten, thereby destroying any hope of a family tradition being established for such things. Now all we have to look forward to is 18, when you both, heaven forbid, get drivers’ licenses. So we were left with a dilemma: What special thing your two grandmothers and grandfathers could give you on this special occasion that you don’t already have.
“Grandpa! Get to the point!” Hannah hopped nervously from one foot to the other, barely able to contain herself. Eli stood facing him, a crooked smile on her face and her arms folded across her chest, resisting the urge to just read him and be done with it. The day had been absolutely perfect so far. And no matter what Grandpa and Grandma gave them, she knew it would be wondrous. It always was.
“We know you can both fly. We also know you can both run like the wind, and swim like fish, with the help of Ejuice2. But there’s one thing you can’t do and have no possibility of doing without your new gift.”
“What, Grandpa?! What can’t we do?” Hannah grabbed his arm.
“Sail.”
“Sail? What do you mean?”
“You know, Hannah. Stay dry while you’re traveling by water. Sail.” He nodded toward the dock.
Eli gasped. “A sailboat! Oh Grandpa! A real sailboat?
“It’s a completely rebuilt Sadler 25, Eli,” Dawson said proudly. “I supervised its reconstruction, complete with a new inboard engine and LED running lights. And GPS in case you get lost; not an impossible scenario, knowing you four.”
“Come with us, Grandpa! You can teach us how to sail!” Hannah grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the steps.
“Not today, Hannah. I think you should all spend the rest of the day familiarizing yourselves with the boat, rigging, sails and engine before you sail off into the sunset. And, if you like, you can even sleep aboard tonight. We’ll take her out tomorrow morning.”
She beamed at him. “Okay, Grandpa, But you’ll come tomorrow, promise!”
“I promise. Unless you’d rather let Jason take you out. After all, he’s a pretty good sailor, at least in the Flying Junior.” He winked at Jason.
“But this is a real boat, Jason,” Eli teased. “I think I’d rather Grandpa took us out.” She dodged out of the way, narrowly avoiding being smacked on the arm. “But you and Oskar can come along if you wish. As long as you remember who’s boss.”
“And you can both sleep aboard tonight with us too. It’ll be great fun!” Hannah grabbed Jason’s arm and squeezed it tight.
“Go! What are you waiting for? A written invitation?” Elaine gave Hannah a gentle shove.
They scrambled off the porch, stumbled over one another on the stairs, and took off running. Jason easily gained the lead, but halted on the dock, bowed and ushered the girls aboard with a flourish.
“Are you sure you’re up to it, ‘Grandpa?’ You’re not getting any younger, you know,” Elaine teased.
“I’m not getting any older either, remember? If we could survive Eli and Oskar and handle all their baggage at the same time, their offspring will be a breeze.”
Eli rested her head on his shoulder. “I love you, Papa. Don’t you ever forget it. I don’t know what would have happened to Oskar and me if Oskar hadn’t decided to ask you for help. And Mama.” She put her arm around Elaine. “You were my very first soul mate. I knew it when you and I flew together the first time.”
“I love you, Butterfly. I’ve loved your ever since you got your back up in the vault when you thought your father was in danger. You were so cute, I couldn’t stand it.”
“Cute?! I wasn’t cute. I was dangerous,” she huffed.
“Yes. You were. But Oskar filled me in soon enough to avoid that test of wills. I often wondered who would have won that battle…” she winked at Eli.
“You would have won, Mama.” She whispered. “But I know you would have spared our lives. I just know it.”
They sat on the porch in silence, watching the children scrambling all over the boat like ants, raising and lowering the sails, taking turns starting, revving, and idling the engine, and turning the running lights on and off.
“We’re the older generation now, Nils. How does it feel?” Livia squeezed his hand.
“I don’t feel any different at all, Liv.”
Hannah, Jack and Jason sat down beside them, legs dangling off the porch.
Eli and Oskar grabbed a couple of chairs off the back porch and pulled them up next to Mama and Papa.
“Do you think we give them too much, Papa?” Eli asked.
“You’re asking the wrong person, Eli. Elaine?”
“As a rule, I don’t think so, Eli. Perhaps a bit on days like these, but you four have instilled in them all a solid sense of responsibility. And a sense of their duty to the future. There are hard days to come now that the secret is out, but I think they’ll be up to the challenge.”
“There you have it, Eli. If your mama thinks there’s hope for the future, we have nothing to worry about.” He kissed Elaine gently on the cheek.
She smiled at him, took his hand in hers and placed it over her heart.
Sava sat down next to Hannah. “What do you think, Hannah? Is your Eli everything you hoped for?”
“She is, Sava. I just hope she lives up to your expectations, whatever those are.” There was a twinkle in her eye.
“You’ll not get a fight out of me, Hannah. It’s bad luck to fight on Leprechaun Day, remember? And little Eli’s future is still there for me to dream about. The proof is in the pudding.”
“And so it is, Sava.” Hannah impulsively reached out as far as she could into their future. It was something she seldom did anymore, except when called upon by others. It seemed like cheating somehow. But on this special day, at this special time, she did it anyway.
She smiled to herself. So many wonderful surprises were in store for them all. And many of the best involved the Builderbriars and the demise of the modern Gilded Age. She thought about it for a bit, wondering if she should tell them or not…
“You look happy, Hannah,” Jack whispered. “Is there anything you want to tell me?”
Dear Jack! She put her arm around him. “Tonight, Jack. I’ll tell you tonight.”