Ah Ha!

Have you ever snored so loud that you wake yourself up? I just did. It is a possible side effect of whiskey drinking. I have gotten used to it.

Upon gaining control over the sounds of my sinuses, I listened. Silence. I turned over, started to relax again. That's when I heard the bottles clank.

My attention was grabbed. A charge ran through me. Adrenaline? All I know is that I suddenly felt alert and sober. Slowly, I peeked up over the boxes between me and the whiskey chest.

The lid to the chest was ajar. It was certainly more open that I recalled leaving it. I didn't see anyone in front of it or near it. Perhaps the bottles were just settling. While a logical conclusion, I still rose slowly, careful to be as quiet as I could manage as I approached the chest. At least I could prove to myself the status of the whiskey before I relaxed again.

The lid lifted with the slightest of squeaks. As it opened, a glow began to pour from the interior of the chest. Not the brightness of a light bulb but still the glow of illumination.

This glow emanated from a fungus, a mushroom tucked in the corner of the chest. I'd seen the type of thing before, from deep underground. They give off almost a blueish light.

Inside the chest was a small chap, about three times the height of the whiskey bottle from which he was slugging drinks down. He was dressed entirely in red: suit, shirt, jacket. Even his broad hat with the tall peak was red. He looked up at me and grinned. “Ah. Is this your drink then? Might I compliment you on your choice of beverages?”

A leprechaun has been drinking my whiskey! How about that?