I remember falling.

I screamed.

Then it was quiet.

Something caught me.

✦✧✦✧

I woke up. But I wished I hadn't.

There were blurry faces surrounding me, and soon they came into focus. They were gnomes. Blinking, living gnomes. They looked more realistic than the bearded small old men. More like tiny human beings. My mind was going for a loop at the highest speeds possible. I tried to back away, but I bumped into a tree. It was a very big tree. Why were the gnomes so big? The air seemed to hold its breath in anticipation. Then a boy in the crowd spoke gently. 

"It's okay. Calm down, we aren't going to hurt you."

I scrunched up and hid my face, hoping this was a nightmare. I could feel the stares of everyone carving into me.

"It's okay, you're fine. This is not a dream," Spoke the creature as if reading my thoughts, "Now what is your name?"

I looked up at him and stared. 

"Well hi, I'm Barry," He said.

"What's going on?" I whispered, unsure if I wanted to know the answer.

"Well, to put this as straightforward as possible, you're a gnome. Just wait, okay, you are going to be fine." Replied Barry.

This was crazy. I was going crazy. This wasn't happening, why was I here, why were they here?

"I am sure you have lots of questions, but they will have to wait. If you want answers, come with me." Barry said.

"Okay," I said. This was not okay. This was the opposite of okay. This couldn't be happening, I was freaking out. This made no sense, and everyone just seemed so fine with it, so accepting of this lifestyle I knew so little about. I didn't want to be like this for the rest of my life.

"So, what is your name?" Barry asked again.

"Chloe," I responded, trying to take in my surroundings. I couldn't even remember my last name. What was wrong with me?

We started walking around this apparently "normal-sized" tree that was huge to me, there was a door in the back. Inside the tree was a staircase, and multiple rooms. Bedroom, kitchen, and other rooms I had no idea the purpose of.

"You are going to be living with me for now. This is your room, do you like it?" Barry asked. 

The room that was mine was everything I had ever wanted, it was a dream come true. And thankfully, it was my size.

"Whoa," I said, how did they know what I liked? And why exactly was I sharing a house with this stranger?

"She sets it up," Barry said nonchalantly, "And you have been asleep for like a week. Oh, here is a mirror."

Who was She?

Barry handed me a small mirror. I looked, different. You could still recognize me, but it looked like I was polished, but still fleshy, my hair in two braids, with a small dress on. I turned my head to feel something scratch it; a tag.

"That is some basic information on you, your talents and hobbies, and such," Barry answered to my thoughts.

I continued to stare in the mirror after tugging the tag off and setting it down. I looked flawless, with my freckled face, dark green hazel eyes, and dark brown wavy hair. My skin seemed to still be a light tan, almost like Barry's. I decided to look around the room, which contained a silky canopy bed, desk, and books. So many books. Books I had read and loved, and some that I had wanted to read. It was a dream but a nightmare come true.

"Why is this happening?" I whispered almost to myself. This was like a nightmare that I couldn't escape, a trap that you were stuck in.

He said quickly, "Well um, that woman who lives in the house turns any kids that enter into her house or yard into gnomes. We don't know why."

"Why don't you leave?" I asked.

"We can only leave as humans, and we forget everything and everyone else forgets everything about us, so they don't notice we are gone."

"But there is a lot of fun stuff to do here!" He poorly saved.

"Tomorrow I can give you more of a tour," Barry promised, "I think you should just take in what you know right now."

I was silent. What more was there to know?

He left, and I laid down. I felt so clumsy, so cloddish. I stared at the ceiling and ran the information that I just gained through my head. I couldn't remember any part of my life. It was gone. I was trapped. Would people even care? What kind of person was I? All these questions, but no answer. An emptiness that had nothing to fill it. A tear fell down my cheek as I cried until morning.

~~~~~
Author's Note:

Here it begins! Please try my story out, and feel free to point out errors in it as you read, I'm sure things will pop up! Thank you for opening this story!