A Talisman Truce

Nora was ready to scream.

She’d walked into a changing room occupied by what must have been the world’s most precise joke. A man dressed as a leprechaun sitting on the changing room shelf, legs dangling in the air.

“Did ye not hear me? Occ-u-pied!”

From reflex Nora threw the talisman at the man, striking him in the forehead. The man turned to stone the second it hit him, the now-stone statue leaning forward to fall back onto the floor.

Panicked, Nora ran out of the changing room. She threw the shirt she’d been planning to try on and fled from the store. She nearly tripped over herself when a black cat appeared in front of her, scrambling to come to a stop –

A car ran a nearby stop sign seconds later, speeding through the street. Nora’s face went white when she realized the car would’ve ran into her if the black cat hadn’t stopped.

A green hat bobbed into view by her side, followed by a wrinkled hand holding up a familiar talisman with an emerald set in it.

“Alright.” He shoved the talisman into Nora’s hand, rubbing a fresh talisman -shaped mark on his forehead. “Let’s try this again.”

----

The guy was an actual leprechaun.

He chowed down on a cream-filled donut as the two walked down the street, introducing himself as ‘Sheamus’. “O’course, my real name’s a bit too hard for you trees o’people to say.”

Nora had her own maple donut, sticky with syrup. “How long have you been in our fountain?”

“‘Fore you were born.” The cream was sticking into his unkempt beard. “That talisman ye’re holdin’ turns my kind to stone when ye put it on our forehead.” He plucked the largest glob of cream out from his beard and flicked it away. “May I say, lass, you’ve got a problem.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“Yer a black void o’luck. It’s remarkable.” Sheamus chuckled. “I heard what ye said at the fountain. I can feel yer luck from here. It’s puttin’ all me feckin’ hairs on end. So I’m willin’ to make ye a deal.”

“A deal?”

Sheamus polished off his donut. “Forty-eight hours o’ luck, doled out at the discretion of yers’ truly. In return, you give me the talisman when the time’s up.”

Two days of good luck? So little time. But enough for something to break her way, maybe. She held out her hand. “Deal.”

Nora came to a stop in front of Sylvia’s house. “I need to go study for tomorrow’s test with Sylvia. Can I trust you not to cause trouble?”

“Oh, lass, ye can’t expect me not to want to explore after umpteen years o’ bein target practice for pigeons.”

She took that for a no, and began rubbing her sticky maple hands all over the talisman before shoving it into Sheamus’s hand and sticking it to his forehead – turning him into stone.

Nora was already running late and ran up to Sylvia’s front door, ringing the doorbell. She smiled when her friend answered. “Hey, sorry I’m late. You don’t happen to have a moist towelette or something?”

Sylvia let Nora in, closing the door behind her a bit too hard. The talisman slipped loose from Sheamus’s forehead, falling to the ground.

The reanimated Sheamus wiggled his fingers. “Oh. So I guess that’s how we’ll be playin’ it, then.”

-----

Sylvia’s room was as cozy as Nora remembered. Her computer rested on a small Swedish desk, next to a bed just snug enough for the two of them to lie down on together.

Nora’s eyes crossed as she turned the page of her Government textbook. “Why do there have to be so many Amendments?”

“Beats me,” said Sylvia. “But if you don’t pass this test, you won’t get a passing grade for the class.”

She had a point. Worse, if Nora didn’t pass Government she’d be held back and not graduate this year. Though with how college admissions were going, that wouldn’t be the end of the world.

“I need a break,” Nora groaned.

Sylvia smiled. “I can put something on for us. We should have some popcorn bags left.”

The moment Nora was left alone she jumped off the bed. “Ye know, it’s not good sport to leave me as a lawn decoration.” Sheamus sat on Sylvia’s desk, tossing the talisman onto the bed.

Nora groaned; she’d landed wrong. “You’re a literal pain in my neck,” she groaned. Slowly she pulled herself onto the bed and put the talisman on.

“And how’m I supposed to make ye lucky if I’ve a heart o’ stone?” Sheamus gave Nora the middle finger. “Didn’t think that one through, did ya?”

No, she had not.

Sylvia chose that moment to reenter, carrying a bowl full of freshly popped popcorn. “I hope you don’t mind, I added a bit of sea salt.” Her thick glasses peeked over the bowl’s contents. “Nora, why’s your head tilted like that?”

“I, uh, fell off the bed and strained my neck.” Best not to explain why. Especially since said reason had vanished.

“I’ll get a pillow for you.” Sylvia got onto the bed and started sorting through the pillows on it.

Wincing, Nora got onto the bed and put her head down. “Oh. Oh that’s a really comfy pillow.”

“O-Oh?!” squeaked Sylvia.

“Most comfy one I’ve ever had. Really does wonders.”

Sylvia blushed, not having the heart to tell her friend that said comfy pillow was her own chest. All she could do was position the bowl in a spot where she and Nora could both reach and crack open the laptop to put on something to watch.

Nora nuzzled into the ‘pillow’, still oblivious to what she was actually resting on. “You comfy?”

“Y-Yes,” Sylvia squeaked. Her glasses were fogging over as she accidentally put on the wrong movie.

Nora blinked as the movie’s opening sequence came up. “Wow, those gals are really holding hands, huh?”

“I-I can change it!”

“Don’t.” Nora smiled. “I’m interested.”

Sylvia’s glasses were completely fogged over now.

Neither noticed a wrinkled hand reach into the bowl and pull out a handful of popcorn. Sheamus started chowing down on the snack with a knowing grin.