Tired Eyes

Chapter 4: Wicked Thing

The sound of a soft, almost calm roll of thunder could be heard in the distance. The clouds hung low, casting a shadow that reached to the horizon. The fog had finally cleared up and morning had come about an hour or two ago, but there wasn't a sound to be heard. The atmosphere was dreadful and silent, aside from the sound of grass swaying in the breeze.

"See that field over there, lad? The one with the daisies? That's where my home is. Once we're there, I can tell you exactly where the gold is." Gaiste explained.
"Okay.... but I'm still watching you, ya know. Don't try anything funny,"

The leprechaun shook his head with a look of genuine pity.
"Kid... you need to give up the act... I'm sorry, but you're not nearly as tough as you're trying to be. Remember what I said about not lying to yourself?"
"I don't need another lecture... Especially from someone like you."
There was a moment of silence between us while we headed toward the field.
"Hey Noah... You talk about me like I'm evil or like I can't be trusted... but when you really take a look at things, who seems like the bad guy here?"
"It's not gonna work, Gaiste. I'm not listening."
"Just think about it for a sec." he said, leaning his arm on my hand. "you're threatening and ordering around someone smaller than you and not even showing an ounce of trust. I offered you some of my gold and told you how much potential you have... yet you won't do so much as let me walk on my own?"
"Shut it. This is a trick and you know it."
"This isn't about whether I'm tricking you or not. I'm telling you to take a moment to reflect on what's happening. You're bullying someone weaker than you and forcing them to give you something you want... If I didn't know any better, I'd say that's greed, Noah."

I gritted my teeth. "I said shut up!"
"I offered some of my fortune to you because I thought you were responsible enough. I thought I would be sharing my gold with someone selfless and trustworthy. You may claim to have a low opinion of yourself, but you sure do act all high and mighty around the people you're bigger than."
"Gaiste... I'm warning you..." my grip tightened.
"That's why you're afraid of Yess growing up, isn't it? You're scared that one day she'll be better than you and no one will care about you anymore, right? The thought of someone so young that has so much more talent than you just terrifies you, doesn't it?"

At that point, I had lost all sense of control. I stopped walking and squeezed the leprechaun in my hand and brought him close to my face. "You don't know a sinlge thing about me, got it?! So quit trying to get inside my head and say things that aren't true!!!"

When I saw Gaiste gasping for air, I immediately realized what I was doing. I loosened my grip and he started to breathe again. "Ya know something kid...? You think that I'm the liar and the troublemaker... but you have told more lies than I have ever since we met. Maybe I don't know you that well, but you do. So stop trying to be something you're not."

I wanted to think he was wrong. I wanted to not trust him and tell him that he was a liar... but I couldn't. Gaiste spoke the whole truth. I am greedy. I am scared of being forgotten once Yessie grows up. I'm not the person I want to be.

As I started to calm down, droplets of water rained down from the sky. I sighed. "I'm sorry... I've been a total jerk. I shouldn't have done that..." He averted his eyes.
"The gold's close by. We're almost to the field. Let's hurry up so we can get out of this rain,"
"Y-yeah..."

In seconds, we stood surrounded by white, frail daisies. For as far as the eye could see, a seemingly endless land of pure, white flowers. They contrasted nicely with the gray sky that loomed above. I looked at Gaiste in my hand and sighed. I placed him on the ground and released him. "Lead the way," I said. He looked up at me with a smile.
"Yeah... follow me,"

--

He led me through the field for fifteen minutes until we finally arrived at our destination. It was a daisy that looked just like any other. It had the same snowy color to its petals and had an average green stem. "This is the place," Gaiste said. "the gold is buried directly under this flower. A two foot hole should be enough to--"
"Huh? Buried?" I cut him off.
"Yes, under this daisy. Why?"
"You never said anything about it being underground!"
"Are you sure? I could have sworn I mentioned it,"
"No, you didn't!" I grunted. "Now I'm gonna have to go all the way back and get a shovel!"

Gaiste looked at the ground. "Should start heading back then...?"
"No. I'm going back. You're not coming, you filthy liar!"
"Noah, look, I'm sorry. I just forgot to mention it. There's no need to get worked up, it was an honest mistake."
"That's a lie too. You probably didn't tell me because you wanted to waste my time!"
"I just--"
"Stop. Just... stop..."

I knelt down and pushed him aside. From my pocket, I pulled out a blue ribbon that I took from home and tied it around the daisy to act as a marker. "I'm tying this around the flower so I can remember which one to dig under. When I turn my back, I never want to see you again, got it? I don't need you anymore."
"Noah, you're being irrational."
"Does it look like I care?"

I stood up and glared down at the inferior man. I didn't care about what was right or wrong anymore. I didn't care if it was just a mistake or not. I just wanted to get this over with. "I'm leaving," I started. "get out of my sight. And if you even think about removing that ribbon, I'll crush you beneath my foot, got it?"
Gaiste pulled down the brim of his hat. "...Ya know, lad... I really don't like selfish little brats... I just hope you know that greedy people like you never win in the end... One day, you will face the consequences of your actions... I'll make sure of it."

He put his hands in his pockets and walked into the grass. Before I knew it, he was gone. I stood there in the rain feeling nothing but hatred and spite. 'Never win in the end'. Was he trying to sound cool or something? I can't believe that someone could be as petty as him. At least I can rest easy knowing that I'm only a few minutes away from being rich and never have to think about him ever again.

I took one last look at the ribbon hanging from the daisy and rushed back in the direction of my house. I heeded no attention to the flowers below me that I trampled without thought. I left in my wake a trail of stomped on daisies that lay pathetically on the ground. In time, I finally reached my back yard. I headed to my mother's garden where a small spade was waiting. I grasped it and immediately turned the other way. It's mine... I thought. It's all mine...

I ran straight toward the flower field, once almost tripping over my own feet, and never let up speed. It was only when I reached the field that I was met with an inextinguishable rage. "No.... NOOOO!! WHAT DID YOU DO!?!? GAISTE YOU DEVIL, GET BACK HERE! COME BACK HERE AND FIX THIS RIGHT NOW!!!"

Before me was the exact same field of identical daisies, but with one major difference. The single blue ribbon that I had tied around the flower... was suddenly present on every other daisy in the field. Each and every one had the same ribbon tied around it the exact same way. For miles and miles on out was a sea of green, white... and blue. I dropped to my knees and stared blankly at the ground.

"It's gone now... I'll never be able to find it...." I mumbled. "Maybe.... maybe I shouldn't have acted that way... maybe I shouldn't have gotten selfish..."

I thought back on what I had just said. "No.... it's not my fault.... it's his. That dirty, wicked thing lied to me and tricked me. He thinks that I'm stupid and that he can trick me so easily... but he's wrong.... I'll just keep digging... I'll dig up every last flower and tear this entire field apart until I find that gold. I've come too far to just give up... I will get what's mine."

I stuck my spade into the ground and got to work.