3

Two golden eyes blinked above me in bed. Claws delicately pricked my shoulders as the creature’s weight pressed on my body.

The oversized black cat I’d found in the lobby of my building last week sat in the middle of my chest, golden eyes wide and unblinking as it watched me wake up. Streams of sunlight hit the side of his eyes, making them appear to glow.

My mind was hazy from the dream I’d been having. However, the details were already sifting through my hands like sand. As I lost the specifics, I felt like I was losing something important–my stomach tightening, my chest aching. After a few seconds even that sensation was gone. The only thing left was knowing whatever dream I’d been having, had been a very good one indeed.

It was already midday, the sun high and large in the sky outside my bedroom window. I felt agitated as I threaded my fingers through the cat’s long fur. It purred on top of me as I tried to ignore my need to immediately get up and go.

My Greed was an annoying pest. It was tedious to be forever propelled towards amassing more wealth but I’d found ways to cope with that demand.

For some leprechauns, it became their demise, a sickness that drove them mad. More often it was the men who were struck with that affliction, becoming crooked-backed men obsessed with their pots of gold.

A part of me had already accepted I was predisposed to that end–that the early warning signs were already there. Just a matter of time before I couldn’t stop smiling on the Strip while screaming about my precious treasure. I needed a long-term solution, not this nickel dime bullshit I did every day and especially not the stupid ass fae-vapor I sucked into my lungs just to get a break every now and again.

“Off,” I insisted, trying to peel the cat off me. Its claws came out, pinching my skin in protest. “You little shit,” I huffed in warmth, picking it up and dropping it on the bed beside me before getting up. It gave me an angry meow, its tail flicking madly back and forth. The creature was odd. It had turned up out of the blue and practically demanded entrance into my life. It was the first time I’d lived with a cat. I had to assume watching my every move and disappearing for long periods was strange, but normal.

I’d planned on taking it easy today but there was a desire in the pit of my stomach and an itch under my skin. Seemed yesterday’s antics wouldn’t be enough to run over to today. I allowed myself one sigh of exhaustion before forcing myself to the bathroom. The cat padded after me, not letting me out of sight.

“You love being a leprechaun,” I reminded my reflection. And I did but there were some days I wished my Greed wasn’t so demanding. I was thirty-eight years old now and wanted a little more regularity. Was it too much to ask for a day off? Swallowing, I looked at the greening around my ears—the physical sign of unsatisfied Greed. The greening had started to happen over the past year and it was showing up more often.