"the Unicorn" by Derek E. Dykes

In the middle of a busy city sat a house. Not just any house, mind you; it was Branwyn's house. She lived there with her mother and father, who treated her very well. She was happy , living in the old house, but she wished that they didn't live in the city. It was too noisy, too dusty, too mucky....you get the idea. Branwyn loved the outdoors, but she couldn't play outside a lot, because of the city. So often was the day the Branwyn sat in her room, playing and dreaming, wishing something wondrous would happen.

Branwyn's room was comfortable. Not too extravagant, because her parents didn't have a lot of money, but it was comfortable. In one corner of the room was her closet. Mom always called it her faerie closet, because it was small , and kinda' dark, but seemed to fit just right with the world that was Branwyn's room. Sometimes, as she sat playing, Branwyn could almost hear things moving around in her closet.....but she never paid them much attention. She knew that if she did have little people in her closet, it was best to let them come to her. Mom and Dad told her that faeries were easily scarred away, and if she ever wanted to see them, she needed to not surprise them, so she was content to wait.

So, one warm summer afternoon, Branwyn sat on her bed, playing with her dolls and trucks and anything else that struck her fancy. The sounds of nearby traffic thundered by, sometimes shaking the house with bass.
"I wish the birds would sing today" Branwyn said to herself, as she hopped off the bed to look out of the window. The bird bath was empty....the bird feeder was empty....and so was Branwyn's heart. She loved her Mom and Dad very much, but she couldn't understand why they had to live here. She could almost feel the wind blowing past her as she ran though the fields in her mind. She could smell the flowers and the trees as she strolled though her memories of the distant woods. And as she sat back down on her bed, thinking of things and places she couldn't go, Branwyn began to softly cry.

The room grew suddenly quiet as Branwyn's tears rolled down her cheeks. She looked up, realizing that she could no longer hear cars and trucks speeding by outside. But before she could move , she heard something from her closet. In the quiet of her room, she thought she heard a call for help.
"Let me out, Please!" , a muffled voice cried. Branwyn hopped down from her bed and slowly approached the closet door.
"Please, I've been here so long.... please let me out!", the voice cried softly.
By now, Branwyn's small hands were trembling with excitement and fear. The tears had dried and were long forgotten as she reached up for the knob of her little faerie closet. With a twist of the knob and a pull of the door, Branwyn looked into.... darkness. There was nothing there.

Branwyn backed away from her closet. " I know I heard something," she thought to herself. She started to turn away , when she heard the voice again.
"I can hear you out there! Please, let me out!", the voice said. Looking again into the darkness of her closet, Branwyn started searching. Along the back wall, her small hands found a crack that she'd never noticed before. She pulled and tugged, and soon, the crack began to open, almost like a door. Suddenly, the back wall gave way, and dust and clothes and toys flew in every direction; Branwyn along with them! When all had settled down, she looked up from where she'd landed, and beheld something she'd never seen before.

Stepping out of the closet was a small man, about two and a half feet tall. He had a green velvet coat, and wore a green hat with a buckle on it. A small beard hugged his chin, and a tiny pipe sat comfortably between his teeth.
"If I didn't know better," the little girl said, " I'd say you were a leprechaun".
"..And that being the case, who says you should know better", the wee man inquired. " I am , as they put it, a man of the little people, the wee folk, etc ...etc...etc... I am indeed a leprechaun, my good child. "
"What on Earth were you doing in my closet, Mr. Leprechaun, sir?", Branwyn asked politely.
"Well, now, that be a tale in itself," the small man said, stretching his legs across the room, and lighting his pipe. " About, oh, I guess it 'twas about a hunerd year ago, I had a spell put on me by a priest. He was doin his best to get rid o' me, but he found, as most people do, that it's very hard to catch and hold a leprechaun".
"That's what my mother says," Branwyn interjected."And she and Dad say that I should always respect the faery folk.....would you like some tea?"
"Oh, what a wonderful child! No, thank ya sweetheart. I donna want your mother to see me"
"But why not?" Branwyn asked innocently." Momma wouldn't hurt you".
" I know, I know, my dear. But, as you can guess, after a hunerd year in the back of a closet, I'm about ready to get back to my pot o' gold. I know that blasted priest never found it!", laughed the leprechaun.
"OK," Branwyn sniffled. "If you must be off, then you must be off," she said as her face fell.
"Aye, I must be off....but not before I grant the wee lass who let me out a wish!", the leprechaun declared.
"Now, My dear, what kinda' wish shall it be? Do you want love everlasting"
"I have that already," Branwyn replied, thinking of her loving mother and father.
"Well, then, how about a pony?", asked the leprechaun.
Branwyn walked over to her bedroom window and pulled aside the drapes. Only fifty feet away were cars and trucks zooming by. All along the house, plants had been dying because of the exhaust from the vehicles constant passing by.

The leprechaun looked sadly at the little girl, and he saw what was in her heart. He knew that she longed for the outdoors; for a place she and her parents could live peacefully, with nature.

"I'll tell ya what Ima gonna do, " the leprechaun said. " I'm gonna give you a very special pony, and the promise that you'll have a place to put him". The leprechaun blew a puff of smoke, and out of the smoke came a tiny unicorn. "This," he pointed out, "is a magical beastie. He doesn't need much tending, but you make a wish holding his horn, and you wish it with love in your heart, and I guarantee your wish will come true!"
Branwyn's eyes lit up like a solstice tree when she saw the tiny unicorn walk up to her. She picked him up , and held him close, saying, " Thank you, thank you thank you, Mr. Leprechaun! I promise I'll make it a good wish!"
" I'm sure now," the little man in green said, "that I couldn't have made a better choice of young ladies to find me! Fare thee well, little Branwyn!", he said . And as he touched the side of his nose, he was gone.

Branwyn found herself suddenly getting sleepy. So, with her new-found unicorn, she crawled up into her bed, put her hands on his shining horn, and the two of them went to sleep, dreaming dreams of nice homes and open fields.
***
Mom had to tell Branwyn the good news.
As she opened the door to her daughters room, she noticed the child on the bed, fast asleep with a new, stuffed unicorn.
"Derek must have bought it for her", she thought as she walked up to her little girls bed.
"Branwyn, honey....wake up love," mom softly said.
Branwyn's little eyes opened in the dim light on the evening. "I guess I fell asleep talking to the leprechaun," Branwyn stated, looking up at her mother.
"Leprechaun?", mom asked." When did you see a leprechaun?"
"It was this afternoon. mom!", Branwyn shouted, suddenly awake. "I found him in the back of my closet!"
As she hopped off the bed, unicorn in hand, Branwyn noticed something strange. All the mess that had been left by her visitor was gone.
"Did you clean up after him , mommy?"
Mom was still confused. "No, hon...I didn't. But I have some wonderful news".
Branwyn climbed up on the bed next to her mom, still holding her unicorn."OK, Mom....what's up?" she asked.
"Dad just called. He's been offered a job across the bay. That means that we'll be making enough to afford the house and land we wanted to buy!"
Branwyn scratched her head." ...so we'll be moving to a different city?" she asked sadly.
"No, Sweetie..... we're going to move to the country", mom said happily. "We're moving out to a place where you can run in the woods, and talk to the birds, and if you want....we'll even have room for a pony!"
Branwyn exploded with excitement! Never was there a happier child than her. In an instant, she knew that all her hopes and wished had been answered.
"Thank you, mommy," Branwyn said, hugging her mother as tightly as she could.
Her mom got up to leave, but stopped by the bedroom door.
"Branwyn.....do you smell pipe smoke?" she asked. "And what was all this about a leprechaun?"
Branwyn looked over at the closet , hanging open, in perfect condition. "Maybe it didn't happen", she thought. Then she noticed a tug from her arms. As she looked down at the stuffed unicorn...it gave her a wink!
"It's a long story", Branwyn answered. "I'll tell you later..."