ALEX: The Arcane!

In the bygone days, an 8-year-old Irish boy named 'Alex Edward' lived in a dilapidated, thatched wooden cottage covered with grass and moss with his seanmháthair 'Mona' and máthair 'Olivia' whom he affectionately called 'mam' in the Thurles town. His athair 'Adrian' was a miner. 

His family used to tell him that he did not come back one day. Since then there has been no trace of him. Despite all these, the family used to live happily and had a strong belief that he would return one day. Alex had a great bond with his father since his birth. Whenever he felt lonely, he would go to his pop's cupboard, take out his photograph, in which he was standing in a coal mine with his hands and clothes all stained with his efforts, and would start crying. "Oh, daddy! It's been so long having seen you. When will you come?" he would say, holding the photo tightly to his heart. 

Alex was also a very generous and helpful child.  Whenever he saw someone in need, he would reach out to the person in whatever possible ways.

Ah! That reminds me of an incident with this boy in the 19th century. 

It was 17th March 1876, and Lá Fhéile Pádraig was being celebrated on the island. That day, the Irish citizens were busy preparing for the feast day. 

This Irish holiday has a lot of traditions to offer. Here is a list of some of the traditions:-

1. Watch Irish step dancers.

2.  Bake festive desserts.

3. Eat corned beef and cabbage.

4.  Participate in a teen race.

5. Make crafts.

6. Wear a ''Kiss Me, I'm Irish'' T-shirt.

7. Say ''Erin Go Bragh" which means "Ireland Forever".

Everyone enjoyed having these traditions. Olivia also baked green cupcakes and shamrock-shaped cookies as festive desserts. 

That day, Alex went out for a stroll in the evening and saw an old, poor saint dressed in torn hand-me-downs, holding a stick and with his back bent with a hump on it crossing the road as a slowpoke with a ve...e...r...y slow walking pace. In the midst of all this, eyes fell on a truck coming. It was going to hit the saint! He exclaimed "Truck! Truck! It's coming. Get aside!" warning him about the truck and asking him to move aside. But, he continued crossing and seemed as if he didn't hear. Alex then without thinking of himself ran to the old man and brought him aside to the road's pavement and saved his life. He was panting as he had staked his life in the mouth of death. Then, he looked at the man who had a weird smile on his face. The child felt strange at this moment. 

At this juncture, everything around got paused. The water dripping from a tap stood still in the air. The truck stopped. And now, he couldn't believe his eyes. The man transformed into Lord St. Patrick! It was him in disguise. He appeared before him. 

"Dear son!" he said softly. "I'm delighted with your generosity towards the people."

"I'm blessed to have your epiphany today. Please accept my salutations lord," he said as he touched their feet. Then, a remote control-like object appeared in Messiah's hand as he closed his eyes and chanted "Hallelujah!" 

"Beloved Alex," he said. "I'm handing over this world's remote control to you." And with that, he handed over the device to him. "World's remote control! What is this? How does it work and besides this why do I need it at all?" he murmured taking hold of the gadget. "Well, try pressing that blue button twice," said Lord. "This one?" Alex asked pointing towards the button which seemed like a 'play' button. "Yes, this one," said Lord with a bob. The moment Alex pressed it, everything revived back to its original state and when he re-pressed it, everything paused again. 

"Okay, so now I understand. It is basically a tool by which we can control the world, isn't it?" said Alex.

"Right!" Lord said and placed his hand above his head. "But, what I'll do of this? Why do I need it?" Ganesh asked. "I don't want any control over the world. You are the lord. You govern the world. And who can run this world better than you?" 

St. Patrick was moved by his words. "I'm impressed by your maturity of thoughts. They are as clean and high as a bright blue sky," he said. "Yes, you are right my boy. It's my responsibility. But, I just want to see from you how you'll make good use of this tool. I'd love to see how you apply your skills to achieve this. Now, I'm leaving it to you. I'm having great expectations from you. Remember try making good use of this device, somehow!" And with that, he smiled and vanished.

The moment Lord St Patrick disappeared once again everything around revived back to its original working state. Now Alex could see the truck going its way. Further, the water was ripping again into the tin can. It sounded Slap! Slap! Slap! Then in the midst of all this, he remembered the recent incident and the words of the Lord. He then subsequently made himself mused on what he should do now. "What did just happen now? Now how do I use this gadget well?" he pondered. Then he thought of his mother and that he should go and consult her about this. She always used to say that don't think about something so much that you end up getting upset, restless or too worried and that at that very moment don't hesitate in pouring your heart out to your loved ones so that everyone thinks together and in the end, the solution to the problem will definitely come out. And she would kiss his forehead. Alex was now missing his mother a lot. Tears started welling up in his eyes. Now he couldn't wait. As soon as he made his first two steps he remembered Messiah's words He told him not to tell anything about him not about the incident to anyone. Now Alex got worried. But then he exclaimed "I can't tell anything to my mom but I can certainly meet her. I'm really missing her it's been a long time since I am not at home. She must be worried about me." Then he quickly wiped his tears and rapidly ran to his home. Olivia was washing the dishes in the kitchen. He then embraced her by coming from behind and hugged her tightly with his little hands. Due to his short height and shorter stature compared to his mum, he was able to reach only up to her tummy. So mother lifted up him in her lap. Now that their heights were levelled, she said, "Yeah, now hug me as much as you want earlier you were hugging my tummy and not me!" Both of them burst into laughter at her hilarious words. On the other hand, the child in her mum's lap was whispering endearments and repeatedly kissing her 

It was such an emotional moment! Remembering the sight brings tears to my eyes. Then Olivia Gently took him down from her lap.  Where were you by the way? Tell me." She asked Alex as she pulled his right ear upwards. He yelled, "Aa! Aa! Mum, it's hurting. Please leave me. I haven't done anything." "Hmmm! Alright! Leaving you this time. Next time don't wander alone outside the house for so long. Take someone with you and return on time. I get worried about you," she explained. With that, she smiled and went to the bedroom. 

"Aah! Mom pulled the ear so hard. It's still hurting," Alex exclaimed as he felt a pain in his ear. Then, Olivia arrived back to the kitchen with a packet of Vanilla flavoured custard powder. "Jeepers! Today, we'll have custard in the dinner." He chucked rejoicing at the news. Then he began singing a song to express his elation, which he made at that very moment himself.

 "Today, we'll have custard, which has a colour like mustard. It gets prepared in our orchard. 

Oh, Custard! I love you, Custard!

My Custard! I love you, Custard!"

"Nice song! You made it right now, haven't you?" grandma beamed.

Ganesh giggled nodding his head. 

"Wash your hands and sit at the table." Instructed Olivia. 

He did the same as assigned by her mom. First, He went to the bathroom, and washed his hands in the wash basin with soap and water. In a matter of minutes, the House got filled with the sweet smell of Crème Anglaise. When the whiff of it entered Alex's nostrils and was inhaled by him, he couldn't wait. He was about to go and ask Olivia how much time it will still take. But just then, his mother came in with his favourite dish.  

"Grandma, do you know why I'm so happy?"

 He asked his grandmother smiling like a 'Cheshire Cat'. Yes, I know, my dear. Today, your favourite food 'Crème Anglaise' is going to be served for dinner. She replied with an Eskimo kiss grinning from ear to ear. ''Custard is ready!", she said as she presented 3 bowls of custard and one saucepan containing extra custard from which the epicures could pour more of it in their bowls.  

Then three of them prayed St. Patrick before eating. 

"On this St. Paddy's day, 

Bless us with good food

The gift 

Or gab and hearty laughter. 

May the Love and Joy, 

We share

 Be with us

 ever after.

 Amen!"

"Go raibh maith agat mama as Creme Anglaise a dhéanamh dúinn."Alex thanked his mother on his first bite. 

Alex was very happy at the moment. But don't you think that he was forgetting something? Well, let us see what happened next.  

That night Alex brushed his teeth and fell asleep on his aged, collapsible Lory Wall couch.  Then St. Paddy appeared in his dream and his fears from he began scolding him, "I had given you some errand. Have you forgotten it? I told you that I have great expectations from you, but you betrayed me!"

Alex woke up from the scary nightmare, and the last 3 words of God, echoed in his ear. Hearing such blood-curdling words of God and seeing him in his raging form, he awoke from the ephialtes and immediately sat up on the bed gasping for breath. He then remembered God and asked for forgiveness.  The next day, he went to the same place where he met with Saint Paddy in search of an opportunity. 

Then he saw some commotion in a mall a few distances away in the front. Later, it came to know that robbers had attacked. Everyone was worried. Thieves also had terrible weapons. 

The child believed that this was the time. This was some sign of the divine. He understood and immediately put the time back by 20 minutes by pressing the rewind button on the remote. Everything went behind except the one who was operating the device, that is, Alex, as shown by Saint Patrick. 

Now he had got time to do his work. He called the police. "Hello is it the County Tipperary's police there? We want immediate help. There's a shopping mall right here in the county, and that's the 'Thurles Shopping Centre'.  I have heard some thieves talking to loot here. Please come."

The police reached there. Now, during this time, a big mistake created the situation to be awry. As soon as the police arrived with their car, the thieves who were hiding ran away due to the sound of their car's loud horn. Now, this had to happen.  Knowingly or unknowingly, the police had eventually committed a misstep. "They! Just in five minutes, there will be loot," the child claimed. "How do you know?" Mr. Finn said as he stared askance at him. The boy got thinking about what should he do.  At that moment, the other people also came and gathered. There was confusion among people. Seeing the police people fell into a strange irony. The boisterous gathering was further calmed. It was the sergeant who said, "Sir, it's too late. Yet, there is no trace of the robbers or any robbery. He looked at the child. Is there any entertainment going on? Are you involved in some robbery and some real thief gang is still roaming somewhere else? What…" "Wait sir!" exclaimed the poor child. "No words!" the senior replied arrogantly. "We want your parents' contact number right now." The boy began speaking in a trembling voice, "52…08…123…52…8".This is my mother's number. His cadence could determine that he was about to cry. 

"And, what about father?"

"He is no more!"

"Oh, w…what! I…I…I am extremely sorry," the CP melted in no time, including his ego and certainly his diabolicalness. I am sorry for my rude demeanor." The crowd was then managed to send back by the team somehow and handled. 

Meanwhile, Mr. Finn made the boy and himself get ensconced on a bench nearby. He began discussing, "I am a very senior police officer, a Police Commissioner and also a devotee of St. Patrick.  I keep working hard all day.  Sorry, but I took that tiredness out on you, haha. "Come on! Tell me now, what's the matter? You can tell me." The child was horrified, but he thought for a moment, "This person is a devotee of St. Patrick." But then, the archetypes in his mind began to disturb him. He screamed and shut his ears as he said, "Oh, St. Paddy! Oh, St. Patrick! No, No…!" The CP replied, "It's sad because St. Paddy does not give his epiphany to anybody right from the festival till the 1st of July. He screamed once again, "Whoa! Wait, What!" "Mmmm, calm down! What is happening to you?" Are you okay?", the CP asked.

 At that moment, he asked the team to leave. "I think I will have more time with the kid. You must be tired. You all may go now. Thank you!" The team saluted and went. Meanwhile, when he turned back, he saw Alex fainted. "Get up, child. Get up!" cried CP. He took his water bottle and sprinkled some water on him. He woke up and started crying, "Please say that it was all a dream. Please! Is it you, mother?" He rubbed his eyes and saw Police Commissioner- Mr. Finn standing and saying that it is him. "Come on! First, calm down and then tell me something." He drank water and gasped as he gave the bottle to Finn and said "Thank you!"

"I am not able to understand what is happening to you ag…" Finn panicked until he was interrupted by an open-hand gesture. "Wait, sir. I am explaining everything to you." Alex took a short breath.

"It was St. Patrick's day…" He showed that remote to him. 

"This! This is the root of all the trouble!" He said pointing it atrociously. He was about to throw it but Finn stopped him. He said, "Wait, what are you doing? We have to find out if it wasn't St. Patrick behind all this then who gave you this remote which is indeed real, and why would he want you to make good use of this device?"

"Oh, yes sir! It's correct. It has become arcane and we have to solve it wisely." Alex said as he gave a high-five to Finn.

"Now, it's my time to leave. I will try to do some study and apprise everything to you. Come, tell me your address. I would drop you."

He then reached home safely in his car. Everything went normal in the house and at the end of the day, he could sleep comfortably unlike before. 

The next day, he dialled Finn's phone number. Let's read their conversation.

"Yes, Alex?'

"Sir, have you thought about it?"

"Yes, I wanted to ask some questions to you. Was anyone in your acquaintance or of your family associated with the profession of mining?"

Yes sir, my dad."

"And he isn't alive, right?"

"My family tells me that one day he never returned. God knows, what happened to him."

"Well, that means he could be alive as well."

"Sir, I didn't get it."

"You must have heard about gnomes and leprechauns. They are both said to live beneath the Earth. Your father might have entered their territory and they would have cursed your father into an entity that would work according to what they say!  And you certainly know leprechauns. I meant to say that they are very mischievous and tricky. I did a lot of research on them. They can be good or bad. So, maybe the bad leprechauns would have seized the opportunity of St. Patrick being slept in these days and did as I said.

"That means, my father is still alive! He…he is being used?' Alex broke down in tears.

"Yes, I don't know. I'm not sure but it might be possible." Finn asserted.

"For now, I have noted all the points," he added with copiousness in his thoughts and ideas.

"Sir, can we find out whether this is true or not?"

"Yes, it's possible. But, it might be a silly option. We might have to catch a leprechaun so that it offers you 3 wishes and you can ask your enigmas. And you know how much risk it is! Also, it's just a folktale. Leprechauns may not exist at all," Finn advised.

"Sir, there are many books related to this, like the book written by Addam Wallace named 'How to Catch a Leprechaun' available in the local libraries or the public one."

"Ok, then try it and come to my office tomorrow. Here is the address."

"Thank you, sir!"

And with that, the call ended.

"Oh, that was amazing! Interesting! He jumped and lay on the bed with a thrill and animation visible on his face, producing a thud sound. "Now, I can…" 

"Is everything okay dear?" Olivia called and asked. "Yes, mam. I'm okay. I am just playing on the bed," he replied. "Be careful," the voice came. "Yes, mum!" he assured.

"I have to take care that no one else gets to know about all this. Till the Time matter is not settled completely, I must keep this matter confined to me and the police team.

Meanwhile, he had a moment of epiphany. He realized that he had to search for the information. He told Mona and Olivia that he was going to the library to read some books. 

First, he went to the local libraries. Finally, he got some information there.

"Ummm…Is the book about Leprechauns available?', he asked the librarian.

"Yes, you will find it there under the board saying 'St. Paddy's Exclusive', the lady guided.

He took his time to gather some information. He noted his conclusions on a piece of paper. The next day, he met Mr. Finn and told him everything. He showed him his 4 methods to catch it written on the paper. He read the note "Come to me on Saturday. We will be on an expedition on the weekends." He said giving him a fist bump. "Carry some essentials like food, snacks, water, other needs and your mother's permission as well" he laughed. "I know how difficult it would be to deal with such situations at this age. All the best!"

"Same to you, sir," Alex wished. "Thank you once again." With that, he left for home.

Mona and Olivia got a little suspicious when the child was collecting and packing things and seemed a little worried. That day, his mother came to his room. The child stood in front of the bag hiding it. Seeing the panic on his face, the mother said, "Don't hide it. I know what you are hiding. Child, something is wrong! Mother and grandma have been noticing that since St. Patrick's day, you are very scared at the same time, you keep roaming outside. What is the matter? You can tell me. And you must!" "Sorry mom, but I can tell you half of it," he said to himself." "Mum actually… We catch leprechauns on the feast, don't we? So, I am going to catch them. I was just worried about that, hehe. And I am not alone. God is with me," he told impromptu.

"Mam, Alex isn't telling me. I can make out that he's lying. He was saying about catching leprechauns!" Olivia discussed this with Mona.

"Never mind, he's a kid. Nothing will happen. This is the age to have fun. He must be going to his friend's house. He will tell if something happens. You don't worry," Grandma consoled her in a feeble voice.

Even then. Olivia was feeling doubtful. She put a tracker on Alex's smartwatch and synced it with her device. He would always wear it when he used to go out as it was recently gifted to him on his birthday.

There was some relief now.

On Saturday, he was on a mission. He left for CP's office and from there, they left together for the Thurles Fairy ring. This ring is a large green circle located near the town of Thurles in County Tipperary, Ireland. It's located in a meadow named the "Gien of Cloongallon'.

"Leprechauns are known to burrow underground into a secret network of caves throughout Ireland," Finn explained to Alex while the journey. "They love music and might be heard playing the fiddle or the Irish harp, especially at night. The other sound they make is a "tap, tap" sound that occurs when they are making shoes. 

They reached the destination along with the police team in about 30 minutes by car. Everyone first started searching for a safe place. After that, they put up a tent there and comfortably started having lunch inside it.

 "I also read something very interesting about them," the child started delineating.

"Leprechauns are of 5 types. Leinster leprechauns like honey and aren't dressed too flamboyantly. The Ulster leprechauns are poets and healers. They wear pointed shoes. The Munster leprechaun has legendary drinking habits. The Meath ones are known for their diplomacy and chattiness. Last, but not least, the Connaught leprechaun is serious and industrious. They are the most secretive. 

"I think you match the traits of the 4th and 5th types!" Finn burst into laughter. 

They decided that they would lure them into a trap by various means. 

"We are lucky, as today is 'Leprechauns' Day' as well," the child said.

So, first, they built a trap using an empty cookie box which they emptied recently. They put a gold coin on top of the trap door made of felt and squeezed some available honey inside to make the trickster get stuck.

"When the leprechaun snatches the bait, it will fall down the hole and into the box," said the child. They waited and waited. They waited for almost an hour. 

"Oh! We could have made it more bright and decorated it with four-leaf clovers," Finn realized. "They are drawn to shiny things. We can wrap the sides with tin foil."

Fortunately, the foil was available with them but they had to find the clovers. 

Now, there is something mysterious which takes place in the upcoming moment. Let us find out.

While the ones involved in the search seemed to have been seen as a small dot on the horizon, the other careless policemen at the campsite took a nap. 

When they all came along with the clovers, they were shocked! The bait had been taken. The Leprechauns came!

"Sir, I could see some footprints, we should follow them," suggested the policemen.

Now, this was also a trick to waste their time. That's why they are called tricksters. At a point, the footprints got assimilated with the soil. At this time, they came back with frustration. They again prepared a trap and decorated it with the clovers this time.

'4'O clock to 6'O clock to 8'O clock! In this way, time was spent but there wasn't a glimpse of them. It got late at night, so they decided to return back and meet again tomorrow.

Now, I can feel those butterflies in your stomach. Let's see how Alex handles mom's anger.

Yes! Olivia had seen him going to the office first with the help of the tracker. She also detected some other people going to the Thurles fairy ring.

Surprisingly, he handled this situation as well; perhaps with the blessings of God. He simply said that the CP is a good friend of the librarian- Ms. Katherine and that He usually comes to an inspection in her library. So, he told that he came on the day he went to the library and got impressed by him and his love for the books leading to building a good acquaintance with him. So, today, he decided to ask him if he could accompany him.

Now, it was 18th May. As 'Leprechauns' Day' had passed, there were lesser chances that day for the leprechauns to be caught. Hence, they started thinking of some foolproof plans.

After a lot of effort, they finally spotted a trail of green glitter leading into and out of the trap and caught an Ulster leprechaun.

The moment came!

"For each petal on the shamrock, this brings a wish your way - Good health, good luck and happiness for today and every day" chanted the creature.

"Dear leprechaun, the mascot of St. Patrick's Day, you know everything. My first 2 wishes are enquiries in the form of questions. Please grant me their answers," Alex said.

"My first wish is that you tell me about who was that old man, who gave me that remote control?" 

"It was a gnome – 'Gingle' who wants to rule the Earth and live life like humans on it.", it answered.

"My 2nd wish is that you answer me why that gnome wanted me to make good use of the remote control?" Alex continued.

"One day, your father 'Adrian' was mining. He entered the gnomes' domain mistakenly. He was cursed to have been turned into a stone and said that you, that is, his son, will become our medium for us to be the ruler. And, hence he offered you the remote so that you can be tricked. First, they made you build faith in the first few uses. After the mall heist incident, the thieves who robbed deliberately in order to make you use it, changed all the buttons to 'delete' buttons, so that you get tempted to use it again and press the 'delete' button and the earth's surface gets deleted and bad gnomes can rule the Earth and experience everything which humans do."

After hearing all this, he became dumbfounded for a moment. He couldn't believe that he was getting tricked in such a way. 

He then said to Finn as he broke the remote control, "Sir, I told you. This is the root of all the trouble, but thanks for bringing me to all the conclusions." 

"Dear friend, my 3rd and last wish is that you liberate my father from the curse and present him here."

"Here, you go!" the leprechaun granted this wish by snapping his 2 fingers. 

"Dad! I can't believe you're here! Athair, you were cursed. It's your child Alex. Now, I am 8," the child got exhilarated to meet his father.

"Oh, Alex, it's you! How is Olivia and grandma? Which year is this?" Adrian bombarded.

"Athair, I'll tell you everything. First, let us go home," Alex said as he calmed him down.

He then thanked the leprechaun and certainly Mr. Finn. "Sir, it would not be possible without you. We finally solved the arcane! Thank you," Alex said and gave a high-five to him. Everyone went back and they lived happily ever after. 

Wait, do you think the story ends over here? Then, I must tell you that you should not. There is one scene left.

After June 1, St. Paddy, this time, not in disguise, hehe, gave his epiphany to the family. He then said, "Dear, devotees, I am impressed with you all. Alex, you were an industrious leprechaun in your previous life, while your father a cruel gnome. So, in this life, your friends ultimately helped you in need, whereas because of Adrian's, your father's wrongdoings, he got betrayed by his own people. Got something? This will be a lesson for all. This complete story will be written in the era we call 'Kali Yuga' and warn everyone about the terrible destruction that will come because of the imbalance in righteousness caused by humans. The 10th incarnation of Lord Vishnu of Indian mythology called the 'Kalki Avatar' will end the era. This story will not only warn the people but will also make them aware and provide resistance to their deeds which we call 'karma' in the Indian 'Hindu' mythology.