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 I was coming home from a stressful day, but I managed to leave work early. I didn't tell my wife—I wanted to surprise her. But when I walked into the bedroom to chat with her, what I saw took me completely off guard.
She was naked, cheating on me with another man. My body started to heat with anger, but I clenched my fists forcing myself to stay calm. I turned to walk away, but then something sharp hit me. I touched my neck, and my fingers came away stained with blood. When I looked back, the man was smiling, while my wife seemed surprised but then smiled too.
I slowly collapsed to the floor, anger and disbelief overtaking me. My vision blurred, and as the air left my body, I closed my eyes, wishing for revenge.
When I woke, dizziness clouded my mind, but I managed to steady myself. As my surroundings came into focus, I saw a girl with black hair looking at me with concern.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
I was surprised but responded, "Just a bit tired".
She reached out her hand to help me stand. "I'm Fiona. What's your name?"
I looked at her and replied, "Finn."
"Nice name," she said with a smile. "It sounds nice."
We chatted for a while, joking around, before Fiona asked, "Want to come to my hut?"
"Sure, let's go," I agreed. To my surprise, it wasn't far—just a short walk before we arrived.
"Nice cottage," I said. "It's pretty cozy, but don't you get bored?"
She looked at me in surprise. "Not at all. I have two friends I hang out with. Come inside and meet them."
I followed her inside, and to my astonishment, I saw four gnomes sitting on a couch, laughing and joking with each other. They turned to look at me.
"Yo, Fiona, who's this guy and what's he doing here?" one of them asked.
"Oh, this is Finn," Fiona said. "I found him unconscious in the woods, and we're helping him recover."
"Nice to meet you all," I said, trying to sound confident, though I could sense their suspicion. I realized I needed to grow stronger—this body was weak.
After dinner with Fiona and the gnomes, she showed me to a room where I could sleep. I lay down, ready for the next day.
The next morning, I woke up tired but determined. "I can't let myself get lazy," I muttered to myself as I got out of bed. I walked into the kitchen to find Fiona cooking, while the gnomes tried (and failed) to help due to their height.
"Good morning, Fiona! Good morning, guys," I said.
Fiona turned around with a smile. "Good morning! How are you feeling today?"
"Pretty good," I answered.
She introduced the gnomes, starting with the youngest. "This is Jake."
"Hello, sir," Jake said.
"Here's the oldest, James," Fiona continued.
"Yo, how you doing?" James said with a grin.
"And this is the cutest, Jeremiah," Fiona finished.
"It's nice to meet you, sir," Jeremiah said, offering a polite nod.
I chuckled. "Nice to meet you all. I hope I won't be a bother." I bent down and gave each of them a fist bump, to my surprise, they all accepted with enthusiasm.
After breakfast, I stepped outside to begin my training. Push-ups, sit-ups, anything to increase my strength and endurance. The gnomes checked in on me every so often, with Jake asking, "Whoa, you're really strong! Aren't you tired?"
"Yes," I admitted, wiping sweat from my brow. "But I have to work hard if I want to protect myself in the future."
After a while, I jogged into the forest to build up my speed. I pushed myself until I felt m
y limits, then walked back to the hut, drenched in sweat.
I found Fiona washing clothes outside. Sneaking up behind her, I tickled her. She let out a surprised laugh.
"How are you doing, Fiona?" I asked, grinning.
"Well, I was washing clothes until you started tickling me," she said, still laughing. "But other than that, pretty good. How about you?"
"I'm good too," I replied.
We spent some time talking while she finished the laundry, and then we went inside to eat. James, the oldest gnome, looked at his food and said, "This tastes really good."
I chuckled, then asked, "Wait, how do you gnomes even eat? You're so small."
"We have a special area for food," he explained, and we all laughed together.
After finishing our meal, I went back to my room to sleep, feeling ready for whatever the next day would bring.