The Gnome and the Werewolf
It’s not easy being a garden gnome. They spend most of their lives standing outside, in all weather and temperatures, often getting bothered by cats and dogs that are suspicious of them, no matter how lifeless they stand. And they can only come to life on the three nights of a full moon – a bit like a werewolf actually. And as it happened, one particular werewolf was the owner of a gnome. This gnome – named Bob – had been purchased by the human Eric about twelve years previously, when Eric was fifty-five years old. In Eric’s younger days, he had been a dangerous hunter in his werewolf form, which is why he lived in some deep woods on the outskirts of a small town. As a human, he worked as a bus driver and had many friends in his community, but when the moon was full he stayed near his home in the woods and hunted anything that moved, be that a rabbit, fox or deer.
But as Eric got older he found that the hunting was getting harder and harder, and he had begun to enjoy it less and less. When he returned to his human form in the morning he always had lots of aches and pains in his muscles and joints. He grew tired of these aches. So one day he decided to buy himself a gnome, knowing full well that a gnome’s life cycle matched his own. So instead of going out hunting on full moon evenings, now he would stay at home with his gnome.
They did not become friends instantly though. Bob was initially very wary of Eric, thinking that at any moment he might give into his hunger and gobble him up in one bite. But Eric always resisted that urge. Over the years they became as close as two friends could be – they played chess and poker together, rocked out to heavy metal music and had many discussions about (magical) life in general. And Eric always took good care of Bob – when the moon was not full he kept him inside the house and far away from any nosy cats or dogs.
But one night, when Bob came to life for the first time that month, Eric was nowhere to be found. Not in the house, not outside anywhere near the house. Bob was a little worried, but thought that maybe Eric had just gone out hunting for old time’s sake. But in the morning he did not return. Now Bob was very worried. Was Eric hurt? Had he been caught and captured somehow? That evening he made a hard decision – he would go out looking for him, first in the woods around their home, then – if truly necessary – into the human town. Bob knew the risks. But he owed his friend too much to not at least try.
Will Bob find Eric in the woods? Or will he need to look for him in town?
Why hadn’t Eric come home?
What other characters might Bob meet whilst searching for Eric? And will those characters help or hinder him?