I can’t express how excited I was to finally nab a work assignment that held promise to become a long-term success.

The job opening was on planet Zelen. The gnome that had been there decided she was more interested in becoming a chemist and had moved on to researching giant gas worlds. Just the thought of falling into those crushingly heavy, yet bottomless planets gave me nightmares. I thought she was crazy to give up a new and pristine assignment like Zelen, but that was just good luck for me.

Zelen was so early in its development that it was very similar to my memories of the Garden of Eden on planet Earth. It was located far across the universe from Earth, but otherwise there was little physical difference. The entire Round Woods felt familiar and comfortable to me from the first day. This made sense since I later learned that Zelen’s topography was designed using the rocky world template that had been perfected on Earth.

No wonder I was hired on Zelen, and also no surprise that I felt at home immediately.

At that time the planet was still in the middle stages of terraforming. Even at this point Zelen contained familiar climates: forested mountains to the north, plains and deserts to the west and tropical warmth to the south. To the east, grassy plains turned into windswept sand dunes before ending at a briny ocean.

Best of all, Zelen already contained numerous caretaking resident gnomes, so I would not be alone or have overwhelming responsibilities. With such diversity in the planet’s topography and also gnomish neighbors to meet, it wasn’t a planet where a gnome could be easily bored.

The specific area referenced in the job posting was called the Round Woods. The Woods got its name because it covers a large but roughly round expanse. I often call the Round Woods a garden, but it is actually a huge, stunningly beautiful realm of rolling hills, ancient forests, open meadows, luxurious fern lowlands and shadowy swamps. There are a wide variety of animals taking advantage of its excellent living conditions. The Round Woods has four seasons, but winters are short and kindly to the animals and plants.

My first day was very exciting. I transported onto Zelen and all of the gnomes and fairies from every sector of the planet were waiting to meet me. Each zone had its own gnome, nine in total. We would all work independently but meet for planning sessions and occasional projects, and of course to socialize.

I’m not sure if you’ve ever been met by an entire meadow full of magical beings, but it was quite a lot for this young gnome to take in. Magical beings don’t just shake hands and chat. They probe deeply into your psyche. They are prying into your motivations, your strengths, your weaknesses. Depending on the type of being, they can read your thoughts. It would be rude of me to probe them just as deeply, but at least it was acceptable for me to shield my most personal thoughts from their scrutiny.

We spent that first day observing and interacting with each other to get a sense of how I could add to the team. Even the planet itself was evaluating me and passing judgement. I did have an earnest desire to do well in my new job, so apparently that came across to everyone. I was accepted as a valuable member of the group.

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I would work most closely with two gnomes: Ondoe and Rau’u.

Ondoe was working to the west of me, in the plains and dry desert areas. He told me he loves the solitude of open, windswept areas. Ondoe was not only a xeriscape landscape expert but also an artist and sculptor. We struck up a strong friendship and I often help him build some of his larger sculptures.

Rau’u is the gnome who takes care of the eastern seashore. As it turns out, the flat, open area where ocean meets beach meets sky allows her to observe anybody who travels there. She has been a great resource and a wise friend. And just to note, since humanoids get only glimpses of us before we disappear into shrubbery, they tend to think every gnome is male. In fact, gnomes can be male or female. Our personalities vary a lot, but that is not associated with gender.

Gnomes walk softly and inconspicuously among the landscape. We labor conscientiously all day long, willingly spending our lives tending to the animals and plants in our care. On rare occasions we present ourselves as ferocious bears or similar frightening animals, but that is only to chase away danger. I admit that pretending to be a wild beast is a lot of fun, but it would be too attention-getting to indulge myself often.

There were many other beings, both magical and non-magical, to meet on that first day. In particular, there was a special type of being living in the Round Woods that I had never met before: the fairies.

Of course, I had heard of fairies and knew a bit about them. Fairies and gnomes are both a part of the light of the creator, so we had that much in common. But our energies are expressed in such different behaviors that we are almost opposite in nature. However, opposites can complement each other in the best way.

I was a bit shy meeting the fairies since I was so unfamiliar with them.

Fairies fly freely and rarely concern themselves with being unnoticeable. On Zelen their chosen size is a bit larger than dragonflies. They are just as silvery in appearance as dragonflies but much faster. Their wings make light buzzing noises as they soar along, and they are so nimble that they are out of sight almost before humanoid eyes register that they’ve even perceived them.

The fairies in the Round Woods have a feminine energy, and when they allow themselves to be seen, present themselves as female. They chitter and chirrup amongst themselves all day long. Their talk sounded like random birdlike noises to me on that first day, but I was so mistaken. I had a lot to learn.

A shared affection for caretaking the forests and meadows of a planet is what brings earth-loving gnomes into daily contact with high-flying fairies. We have the same interests in keeping a planet healthy and happy, so we have formed a strong alliance on many planets over the millions of years of our history.

Phyler was the leader of the fairy group. I was simply hoping to form a good working relationship with the fairies, but in time Phyler and I became close friends. I often walked through the Round Woods with Phyler sitting on my shoulder, chatting and gossiping and planning what needed to be done next.

Looking back, I had no idea we would all become such close friends. Together we established a strong community over many years and many lifetimes. We bonded through good times and bad.

I came to love my corner of the universe so much that eventually I decided to keep it as my permanent home. I revised my name to officially declare that I was done with temporary jobs and long-term assignments. I would not willingly leave Zelen for another world.

As we do in gnome culture, I changed my name to reflect my work status. I became not just Eden, but Eden of the Round Woods.