The Gnomes in Piney Woods WC 275

The Gnomes in Piney Woods

I’m taking my daily constitutional on the dirt track that encircles Piney Woods.

A gnome scampers out of the tree line. This stops me in my tracks.

“Do you want to know a secret?” he asks, barely above a whisper.

“Did you say a secret?”

“Yes!” he says and disappears into the forest.

“Wait!” I call out but to no avail.

Who doesn’t want to know a secret? I am just as nosey as the next person. But do I want to know badly enough to follow a strange gnome into the woods? I think not.

I walk on.

A gnome? Perhaps this is a dream? I pinch myself. No, I’m awake.

A second gnome scampers out of the woods and approaches me.

I stop.

“Did my friend tell you the secret? He wasn’t supposed to.”

“What is it?”

“So he didn’t. Good,” the second gnome says and scurries back into Piney Woods.

Now I’m curious, but also a bit wary. Piney Woods is rumored to be the home of evil spirits. Am I nosey enough to take the chance?

I fight the urge and continue my daily constitutional.

The first gnome scurries toward me again.

I stop.

“I thought for sure you’d want to know this secret. It does affect you, Camilla.”

“In what way?”

“Find out!” he says and disappears into the woods.

How does a gnome know my name?

I’m too old for this nonsense. I think my Piney Woods walking days are over.

What I don’t know can’t hurt me. Right?

I pick up the pace as I hurry toward home.

It can’t hurt me. Right?

Hello?