Eleanora was debating whether to stop off on her journey down to visit Hortensia and the Gnomes of the Forest and to spend some time with Hector. Visiting Hector required quite a lot of courage and stamina, and she wasn't quite sure that she could face what was involved in visiting him. Hector was her remarkable and somewhat unconventional brother - especially in his choice of home - for Hector lived in a city.
Of course we all know that gnomes can live happily in cities, but for a gnome with a wild and free way of life to voluntarily choose to go into the density of a city, requires a lot of independence of thought. Eleanora always visited at night, as just the thought of all the noise and dangers of surveillance cameras and the general speed of everyone rushing around - without anyone seeming to listen with their feet - well it could all be too much during the day. As it was, even at night she felt the crush of the sleeping humans' dreams lying densely in the air, 'no room for them to even dream freely ' she often thought.
Once when she was younger, she had hidden in a park until nightfall rather than risk become overwhelmed and confused. Hector had chuckled and come to rescue her from under what was a particularly beautiful camellia bush - people had remarked for weeks afterwards that they had never seen a camellia bush stay in such glorious flower for so long - a legacy that of her visit that Hector was still proud of.
Hector was an expert at abseiling and his merge and flow skills were second to none. He loved keeping his rhythm as he dashed about amongst all the different currents that he encountered on his daily rounds. He relished his job of encouraging nature, wherever possible, to flourish in abundance in the most unexpected places. He thought of himself as a front line Gnome Warrior, preserving the rights of nature amongst all the chaos of city life.
He lived on the balcony of a block of flats amongst a collection of cactus and geraniums (all gnomes have a soft spot for geraniums), his human was a wiry and gentle man who always dressed in black leather and rode a gleaming motor bike through the city traffic. Several times when going on longer trips with other humans on motor bikes, Hector had been tied onto the front of the motorbike and had enjoyed a thrilling escapade into unknown territories.
Eleanora decided to yield to her instincts and to have a brief stop for tea with Hector on her way South. In her heart she deeply admired and loved him in all his difference and courage. She packed some of her smoked cheeses and a new stone or two in some fresh moss in her basket. Blue stones, if used frequently, sometimes needed to return to their home and be renewed in the clear waters of the mountain pool. Over the years, Eleanora had become used to always being prepared with extra supplies. She also brought some twists of paper with the seeds of mountain gentians as presents. The vibrant blue of their Spring flowers always inspired hope in the hearts of winter weary gnomes.
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