A Different Kind of Treasure

Maggie hobbled about the open field picking anything that caught her eye and depositing it into her little wicker basket. Her mother, who had dozed off in a hammock nearby, had given her a very important task. It was Maggie’s job to gather the flowers for the new vase they had found at the flea market earlier that morning. The contents of Maggie’s basket thus far were a bright and cheerful mix of purple, blue, and yellow blooms. She was exceedingly proud of her selections thus far. The bright smile of Maggie’s mother was an exceptionally radiant thing, and it was something Maggie was very eager to be the cause of once more. This arrangement would, Maggie was sure, be her best work yet.

Maggie pulled up a large clump of purple flowers. To her surprise, her flowers seemed to be wiggling. Closer inspection revealed a very tiny man peeking out from between the stems. Maggie wasn’t quite sure what to make of her unintended find, but before she had a chance to remember her manners and ask for his name, he bit her. Luckily, as he was very tiny, his bite didn’t actually hurt. It did however startle Maggie just enough that she dropped him into her basket, where he landed with a rather undignified thud.

He stood up and rubbed his sore rump. Maggie hadn’t meant to upset him. She couldn’t understand anything he was saying, she didn’t even recognize the language, but she could tell he wasn’t very happy with her. He kept grunting and waving his arms about in agitation. Just as Maggie was opening her mouth to apologize for dropping him, he disappeared with a loud pop. Maggie blinked, not quite sure anymore whether she could trust her eyes.

In the spot where the man had been, a tiny ball of light and colors was beginning to form. Maggie watched wide eyed as the colors swirled and grew. Branches of color started shooting up into the blue sky above her. They followed one after the other until they finally calmed and combined to form a giant rainbow.

Maggie could hardly contain her excitement, her mother had told her stories about things like this. She couldn't help but feel rather special for managing to catch something as rare as a leprechaun completely by accident.

Maggie reached towards the rainbow curiously and the colors parted around her hand like mist. She felt lighter. She looked down and realized she was floating ever so slightly above the ground. She felt something tugging her forward. She clutched her basket tight as an invisible force pulled her through the air, following the arching trail of color.

Maggie giggled as the world raced by beneath her. She flew over her field and the surrounding forest. She glided past rivers and mountains until she broke through the ceiling of clouds. Slowly, she began to descend towards the rainbows end. To her delight, she found that she could stand on the soft wispy clouds under her feet. Barely able to keep herself from skipping the whole way, she traversed the rest of the short distance to where the rainbow and cloud touched.

There, at the base of the rainbow, was the most beautiful flower she had ever seen. It’s full curling petals shifted slowly between every color Maggie could imagine, and quite a few she could not. It was surrounded on all sides by giant piles of coins. Maggie stared at the flower, completely transfixed. She imagined herself presenting her mother with a brilliant bouquet with this flower as its centerpiece. Maggie slowly reached for the flower, slightly nervous to touch something so perfect and delicate.

Maggie heard the same loud pop as before, and felt a weight on her head. The leprechaun sprung out of her curls and onto the cloud between her small hand and the flower. The leprechaun made eye contact with Maggie for a moment, and then his gaze followed her outstretched hand to the flower. The leprechaun let out a gleeful laugh. He snapped his fingers and the piles of coins fell unceremoniously through the clouds. He picked the flower and placed it carefully in Maggie’s basket.

Before Maggie had the chance to thank him, she heard a loud pop. This time it was her that had moved, and not the leprechaun. She found herself floating a few feet above her field. She was suspended in the air for only a moment before falling to the ground, and landing with a rather undignified thud.

Maggie stood up, basket in hand, and bounded excitedly towards her home. She threw open the front door and raced straight to the kitchen. She saw the pretty crystal vase sitting on the center of the table. She placed her basket on the table beside it and then clambered up onto a wooden chair. With her work space in order, she set about arranging her flowers carefully. She was more particular this time than usual. The gift from the leprechaun deserved nothing less than her very best effort.

When Maggie was satisfied with what she had created, she carried it carefully to her still sleeping mother. She was far to excited to wait for her mother to wake up on her own, so Maggie gently nudged her arm with her hand. Her mother’s eyes fluttered open slowly and landed on the flowers. A sleepy smile illuminated her face. She scooped Maggie up in her arms and thanked her for the flowers. The two rocked back and forth in the hammock while Maggie recounted every detail she could recall about the leprechaun and his gift.

This is my entry for a contest hosted by @mctiller, if you want to join in the fun you can find it here:
https://steemit.com/twentyfourhourshortstory/@mctiller/writers-win-5-steem-july-10-twenty-four-hour-short-story-contest-a-little-girl-picking-flowers-accidentally-picks-up-a

Photo is by Mina-Marie Michell from Pexels. It is free for personal and commercial use and you can find it here:
https://www.pexels.com/photo/beautiful-environment-field-flora-570041/