Just My Luck

After 150 years,I still can’t get over the fact that people still cave to fads.  I have lived in this country for a long time, but damn, be yourself. Too bad I can not be myself or at least my true self.  Now, that I said that, I must tell you who, or rather what I am.  I am a leprechaun.  Yes, one of the wee folk of myth and legend.      I’m not a typical one either.  My height is what makes me this way.  All the legends say that we are only as tall as six inches up to three feet tall.  Myself, I am five feet three.  Needless to say that my parents were a little surprised at how tall I grew to be.      Since my moving to this country, I have seen and done things that were so far from the life I came from.  Don’t get me wrong, nothing was illegal, at least not at the time.  I just had to leave Ireland.  My parents understood that I needed to live my life, but they never knew the real reason that I left.  I was just too ashamed to tell them, so with a little help, I was headed here.  A land of new possibilities and opportunities.  After all America was only a little over a hundred years or so.     You see, I found out that my powers are not just getting to my pot of gold, but I can turn people to stone or gold.  Just like Medusa could.  Only difference is, I don’t do it with my eyes, I do it with my touch.   The first time I discovered my power, I was fifteen.  I know not the best time to find that out.  Between hormones and being your typical youth, I could hurt someone.  And that's just what I did.      My first boyfriend and I were going at it pretty hot and heavy.  Back then, males ruled everything.  If a man wanted to screw around, it was his choice and his wife had no say in anything.  I knew I would get a label afterward, but I didn’t care.  Anyways, right when we were both at the edge, ready to c****x, it happened.  I literally turned him into a half stone half golden male.      Thankfully, my best friend was a dragon, who made him disappear.  He paid off my boyfriend’s family and told them that he was killed by a group of beggars.  Back in those days, this was not uncommon.  In case you are wondering, the dragon is named Al.  My whole life, it was he who protected me and it was Al that helped me that difficult night.      Al gave me help when I needed it and had never asked what exactly happened nor has he brought it up since.  It was that night that I knew I had to leave.  So, I went home, packed a bag and left for this country.  That was 150 years ago.     My name is Celina Caffney. Stephano Alfanso MacGregor here, but you can call me Al.      I am a dragon who has done some amazing things and some not so amazing things.  I have had some good times and not so good times.  One of my best memories is meeting Celina.    She was so beautiful and daring.  I was 800 years old then, yet, I looked like I was only five years old.  At least, as far as humans are concerned.  I say this so that I can give you a better understanding of how my species age.       Though, I have adapted to the changing mindsets of this new world.  But, that is only a part of my long story.  Take my given name for instance.  My first name denotes an Italian feel, while my last name denotes a Scottish or Irish background.  Truth is, I chose my name.      As the world developed around me, times that changed along with views, names became important.  So, I invented a combination.  Something that was unusual but common in this new world.  You see I was born in a time where dragons roamed the earth.  Which might make you think of the dinosaurs.  You would be very close in your assumptions.      Dragons were and are, close to dinosaurs for intents and purposes.  There is only one percent difference between our species.  That difference is in the brain.  We saw the end coming and we hid deep in the caves of the earth for a millennium.  Once the ice age ended and man came to be more, we arose.  Hence, the stories that came about.  Dragons soon became legends with the knights slaying out kind.  Which I hate to burst your bubble, but that isn’t even true.     The truth is, dragons, by that time, had learned how to look human and shift to what would help us.  Gold hoarding is true.  I myself, is worth more than any country’s total wealth.  Although, I don’t keep mine totally hidden.  Yes, dragons still hide their wealth in mythical caves protected by spells. But me, I prefer to spread out my money.  I donate to preserve human life, wildlife funds, and various other good deeds.     I suppose the good things I do ties back to the one event that has haunted me for two hundred years.  It is something that has made me try even harder to make up for it.  But let me leave this tangent for a while.      Getting back to Celina.  Ten years after we met, I helped her leave this country.  Back then it wasn’t uncommon for a girl to leave her parents home.  Usually, it was because she was going to her husband’s home instead.  For Celina, this was more out of a need to be afraid.  Her gift, or curse, terrified her so much that she had no choice but to run.  I knew that I had to help her somehow.  Helping her out of the country was the only way I could help her without revealing the truth to her.     The truth will come out but it is not what you may think it is.  Since that day, I have not seen her.  My heart yearns for her, but I know that I can not be with her ever again.  If I do, the truth will be revealed.  Not only about her destiny but mine as well. Friday, January 6, nine am.  I have been up most of the night.  Being who I am and what I am, luck never leaves me.  This whole week had been nothing but bad luck.  First, I lost a job that I needed, then I get told that my father had died.  What a week for a changeling.      But of course, I’m just not any changeling.  No, I am half dragon too.  Mother must have been under a freaking spell to screw a damn dragon.  My father was a nice enough one, but didn’t give two craps about me.     Once I was born, and a male, that of course changed everything.  Suddenly, he cared and wanted the best for me.  Me, Rowan Michael McMichael.  Now I am broke and a fatherless S.O.B.  Just shoot me.    I guess I have to go back home and figure out what to do now.  What the hell else can I do? My dad’s lawyer told me I had to come back since I was listed in his freaking will.  What the hell, I could use a good laugh.     Besides, what could my dad have to give me? A few bowling trophies or a few second place medals? Damn, they just called my flight.  Better get a move on, long journey and all.  Going home is not very easy and for me it is even harder.  Ever since my mom died, I haven't looked back.  She was the only one who kept me grounded.  Life went on, however, when all you really knew was one person, it stops for awhile.  My mom was my anchor in a very confusing world.  You see, I shifted into a dragon when I was five years old.  But i wasn't just any kind of dragon.  I was a golden dragon.      Golden dragons are said to be the most powerful of all the dragons.  It is said that ages ago, the last golden dragon,  who ruled all of dragon kind, had the ability to not only be a dragon, but anything it wanted to be.  Much like a changeling.  It had a mate that was the most powerful of the leprechauns as well.  Of course, like most legends, things get distorted.  Some say that the leprechaun was a male and some say it was a female.  Same goes for the dragon.  Either way, their love was destroyed be a jealous lover who wanted their powers.  I know sounds like a freaking movie of the week for all the chicks.  Only problem was, they were killed but not before a witch of all things, saved their souls.  The witch's spell stated that the two lovers would reunite once the golden dragon was reborn.  It will find it's mate and finally destroyed the evil villain for good.       Since I shifted into the golden colored dragon, my mom freaked out.  Apparently that is when she spoke to my father.  After the call, I finally met the i***t.  He lived in a s**t hole apartment on the west side of town.  The apartment was a one bedroom one bath that had looked like a pure rodent palace.  Only good thing about it was that he lived on the top floor.  Perfect for shifting into our dragons, except that I never had seen his.  He said that I was smaller and would fit better on the roof than him.  I bought that line until I was sixteen.  By then, I was considered an adult dragon and did not fill up the entire roof.  There was still at least four feet all around my dragon.  Again when I questioned my dad, he told me the same line as always.  He was too large to even fit up here.     After that, I stayed away and refused to be around him any longer.  He didn't even try to keep in touch.  One day he just left and I haven't seen him since.  Now I get a call that he is dead and I'm named in his will.  That was crazy.  Why would he care? The only one that truly loved me was my mom.  Of course, she died four years ago.  I still to this day could not figure out who paid off the bills, her funeral, and my tuition.   Maybe this lawyer can at least point me in the direction I need to go.  I hate mysteries, especially when it comes to my life.      As the plane landed, I knew something was off.  The town seemed different. Fresher, cleaner maybe.  There was something that I hadn't felt in a long time.  A sudden pull that was leading me somewhere to a place that would show me my destiny.  Or maybe to someone.