Just before Christmas one year, I was running the Lake Overstreet trails in Tallahassee and spotted a trail spur I had never seen before. My curiosity piqued, I followed the new path for about 100 yards to a clearing in front of a huge oak tree where I was shocked to find what looked like an enchanted Gnome village straight out of a story by the Brothers Grimm.

I stopped in my tracks and couldn’t do anything but gape at what I saw. It was the last thing I expected to see in those woods – and the most wonderful thing I had ever seen in those woods.

There was a bright red door nestled perfectly in the base of the tree – the entrance to a Gnome Home. A sign hanging from the door read, “Gnome for the Holidays” and there were poinsettias and green garland carefully placed around the tree’s trunk. Without words, whoever created this village had conveyed a captivating story of benevolent Gnomes who lived in a tree and wished good things for everyone who passed by.

A hollowed-out gourd had been crafted into a mailbox that held a bag of Post-it notes and a pen, so visitors could write notes to the gnomes and their fellow forest dwellers. Whimsical Christmas decorations hung playfully from nearby branches and everywhere I looked there were little elves, painted rocks with messages of love and good cheer, and other whimsical invitations to momentarily forget the seriousness of daily life.

I couldn’t wait to get home to share this incredible discovery with my running group and my family. I imagined the reaction my grandchildren would have when they walked down that little trail and stepped into the magical world of tree-dwelling protectors of the forest.

Every time my running group ran that trail, we would stop our run to soak up the magic – and feel thankful for the creative souls in our community who were inspired to create such a spontaneous oasis of hope and playfulness. We often brought forest-friendly gifts to decorate the tree and surrounding area and always admired the new, artfully crafted decorations others had added. Most were handmade from things found in the woods and all carried a recurring theme of love, kindness – and impishness.

I first discovered the enchanted gnome village in November 2021, while we were still in the throes of a global pandemic. The imaginary village seemed like the perfect antidote to the divisive issues being played out across the country at the time. It was an invitation to forget the anger, fear and accusations dominating the daily news cycles and escape momentarily to a place of peace, love and playfulness. A brilliant spot of hope in an otherwise dark time.

But then something unthinkable happened. We heard about it before we saw it, but the next time we ran that trail, the gnome village had been destroyed. The natural craft decorations, the donated gnomes and messages were gone. We were speechless. Who would destroy such a unique community treasure? Why? We couldn’t imagine what would motivate another human being to take out their anger so viciously on such a benign and uplifting testament to the positive value of shared creativity and collaboration.

Everyone had a theory about what had happened. Our running group challenged each other to write their own version of a plausible explanation in 563 words or less. The stories were entertaining, but the mystery remained unsolved.

Then we pledged to rebuild the Gnome village – determined not to let someone else’s anger extinguish the magic of that little enclave of enchantment. We carried various decorations every time we ran the trail and left them around the tree. My grandchildren hiked to the spot with a backpack filled with little gifts and carefully placed them among the branches.

But we were soon informed by the park staff that the Gnome village had to be shut down. Apparently, the park administrators had received complaints from certain individuals who found the Gnome village offensive and inappropriate. Huh?

The Gnome village is gone, but the excitement and magic we experienced because of it will remain one of my fondest memories of the pandemic years. It was a quiet act of joyful defiance committed in collaboration with park staff, trail runners and walkers of all ages and types. And although we can no longer visit the Gnome village, we will always remember what it stood for. In the words of Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s The Little Prince, “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:21