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The Unfeeling. That is what I called April 2 ever since the incident. The events of that day will forever be burned into my memory. How else can I title the events that ripped one of my five senses from my being? The Fickle Fate Day? The Karmic Comic Day. No, The Unfeeling is the best descriptor.
The day dawned bright and clear with calls of the songbirds returning from their winter haven. The early flowers seemed to preen under the warm sunlight and show off their Sunday best. A slight breeze rustled the emerging blades of grass and the sweet scent of life permeated the air Ah, life was good. Walking through the meadow with nothing more on my mind than enjoyment of my surrounding, I did not notice the small man sitting in the middle of a ring of two-foot tall mushrooms. He was no higher than my waist and completely dressed in hunter green garb. On his head was a cone shaped hat that wilted to the right side giving him a comical look. He smiled at me and said, “Top o’ the morn to you lass.” To which I replied, “And to you kind sir.”
The little man jumped up and looked me over quite thoroughly before he quip, “Ye are a brawny lass, now ain’t ye?” Brawny lass? What does that mean? “I am not sure what you mean, but I thank you for the compliment,” but I still did not know if it was one or not. He motioned for me to come closer and I leaned down to be on his eye level. Suddenly he grabbed my hair and flipped me to the ground inside the circle, and would not let go.
“What are you doing,” I cried with alarm.
“I need to be freed from my chains and I need you to do it.”
“Why didn’t you just ask? I might have helped you.”
“I couldn’t take the chance, lass. The Witch in the Woods has imprisoned me here for fifty years. You are the first to see and talk to me.”
“Let me go. I will help you but you must let me go.”
“I will … after you carry me out of the ring.”
“Tell me why she put you here?”
“I was walking along on a beautiful day like today when she tricked me into the circle. She said the only way free was finding a mortal who would lift me out. I found you, or should I say, you found me.”
“Very well, I will lift you out. Hold on as I get up.”
“Careful, lass, you do not want to crush any of the mushrooms,” he cautioned.
“Why? They are just mushrooms. Very tall, but still just fungus”
“They are enchanted by the witch. Be very sure of your footing.”
“Is that why you did not leave? You are too short to step over?” I asked.
“Aye, lass. Now let’s be a’ going.”
I carefully stood up and stepped over the fungus fence carrying the little man on my back. Once we were safely out, I gently let him down. “There you are, free at last.”
“Thank you, kind lass. If there is anything you want, call my name and I will come,” and with that he skipped away into the far woods, without telling me his name. Turning around to look once more at the circle, I spied a small glittering object in the center. Stepping closer I tried to reach over and pick it up, but stumbled and grabbed one of the mushrooms to break my fall. Immediately the Witch of the Woods appeared.
“What have you done?” she cried, “You let that odious gnome out? Now you will pay the price he should have paid.”
“What price are you talking about?” I argued.
“He was to give up of the sense of touch or stay in the ring forever, since he used that sense to pick the pockets of all who came near. There was no way he could escape without breaking one of the sentinels. But you must have lifted him over; therefore he escaped paying the price.”
With that, she circled her staff in the air three times and brought it down on my shoulder. However, I did not feel it. I did not feel anything, not the grass under my hands, not the breeze on my face, not the sunshine on my face. I felt nothing at all. The day was April 2, The Unfeeling.
