The Rosemary’s Gnome

He’s chubby, he’s funny, but, most importantly, he’s really tiny.

If a few years ago, someone told me that I had a gnome in my garden, I wouldn’t have believed that person. I would’ve replied: “A gnome? And then what? Dragons? Come on, that’s silly!”.

I first spotted him 2 years ago. I was out to catch the slugs before they could damage my garden. I was usually listening to music while doing it but, this time, my phone was dead. I was catching the slugs eating my salads when I saw something moving in the corner of my eyes. I thought it was a mouse, but when I looked up, it was… A gnome. In my rosemary.

I have rosemary in my garden. And, at night, if you stay quiet, if you don’t move, you can see someone really special.

He’s living in my rosemary. He’s chubby, he’s funny, but, most importantly, he’s really tiny.

If I don’t move, if I stay quiet, I can see him going out. I can observe him, and realize how adorable he is. With his tiny, pointy nose. With his little green eyes. With his cute little hat. I can see him taking care of ̶m̶y̶ our plants. I can see him playing with fireflies. I can see him being alive. And it’s amazing.

One night, I was observing him, quietly, without moving. He was playing with a firefly when something incredible happened.

The gnome saw me.

I was hidden behind a tree, a few meters from his home. I could see something in his eyes, something that I had never seen before: fear. And I understand him. How would you feel if, suddenly, you realized that a giant was observing you?

I wanted to speak to him, to tell him not to worry, that I would never hurt him. But… What if he doesn’t understand? Those creatures probably speak a really ancient language.

We stared at each other, I was surprised, he was frightened. It felt exactly like an encounter with a deer (or any other animal). After what seemed to be years -even though it was only a few seconds, he ran away. I wanted to go after him, of course. But I knew that it would scare him even more. So I left. And, the next day, during the afternoon, I had to do some gardening. I stared at my rosemary for a few minutes, looking like a brain dead person, thinking about how I could earn his trust. Offering him a present? I don’t know what gnomes like.

Besides, aren’t gnomes supposed to live underground? Maybe they like jewels? But this one? If he’s living in the garden, he probably doesn’t like them that much. Maybe… Yes, maybe this might work.

I decided to offer him seeds so that he could grow plants by himself. I have a tiny fake treasure box in my old toys. Perfect for his size. I put the seeds on this box and placed him in front of my rosemary. I waited until it’s night. But this time, I observed him with a camera. Much more discreet.

The following day, in the afternoon, I went to check the camera.

Something weird happened again.

I saw the treasure box opening itself. The seeds flying around. But that’s it. No gnome. Well, I should have thought about it: it’s impossible to film that kind of creature. But from what I see, he enjoyed my present. The seeds were flying around as if someone was dancing while holding them. Good news.

He let the treasure box where it was. So I put some seeds on it again. I did this for one week. After that, I decided to observe him again, and maybe try to approach him.

That night, it was a month ago. I placed myself behind a tree, and I waited. I waited for two hours. I was starting to think that he wouldn’t go out when I saw his tittle hat. Then, I saw his little head. And finally, he came out of my rosemary. He looked excited about opening the treasure box. But when he opened it, he was disappointed: there was nothing.

I had the seeds in my hand. I quietly approached. He was so disappointed that he didn’t see me at first. But when we were about 2 meters apart, he saw me. He was scared, again. I decided to speak:

-Seeds. You want seeds, right? Here, they are in my hand.

He looked at me with curiosity in his eyes. I opened my hand. He looked at it and saw the seeds. For the first time in my life, I saw his smile. The cutest smile in the world. He was so adorable!

Finally, I was a few centimeters from him. I squatted and gently approached my hands. He was timid and he hesitated for a few seconds. But then, he took the seeds. I felt his tiny hands on mine. They were really soft and warm, but probably very strong too.

I was in awe. I mean, who wouldn’t?

After that, he showed me his garden, where he planted the seeds I gave him. He did an amazing job. Then he played with fireflies and I was even to play with them. It was incredible.

Since then, we play together every night. And if I miss one of our nightly appointment, I give him seeds so that he knows I didn’t forget him.

And you, do you have a gnome in your garden?