He walked almost without thinking as his feet carried him
down familiar trails. He passed through the clover field, over Cistern Brook,
and beyond the distillery where the air smelled malty of hops. He turned down a
path that skirted the edge of the forest. This was the far extreme of the
Common Land where the gnomes of Fairfield Meadow lived and worked. To his right
an old split rail fence guarded the boundary to the forest from adventurous teenagers
who might be tempted to explore. It had been constructed generations ago but
new planks marked where it had been repaired more recently. Aubrey remembered a
day in his youth when his friends had dared him to cross it and enter the
darkness of the woods. Despite their taunts, he never found the courage to set
foot beyond the fence.
As he was pondering these memories, he caught a glimpse of
movement out of the corner of his eye. A shadow moved. There was a rustle and a
passing breeze. Aubrey looked and directly in front of him sat an ominous
shadow on the fencepost.
“Whoooo are you?” a great voice boomed…
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