The garden gnome had been enthroned at Dany’s for 26 years. Disappeared in October 2020, he sent her postcards of his travels. In December 2021, he returned with a small suitcase.
“Perhaps he had had enough of being confined to Brittany”, jokes Dany, 56, nevertheless saddened by the disappearance of the dean of the inhabitants of his garden. His dwarf had indeed been enthroned for twenty-six years alongside a frog and a toucan in the property of this medical secretary. “It was a doctor friend who gave it to me for my 30th birthday. At the time, he was an intern in the same hospital as me and wanted to thank me for having typed his thesis.” But in the fall of 2020, Dany notices that the pipe-smoking character, holding a book in his hand, has suddenly disappeared.
It was while opening her mail one morning in October that she discovered, amazed, her new adventures! “Hi family, I can’t stay anymore confined in the garden of the house. As soon as I can, I’ll send you my news, don’t blame me for leaving without warning, we’ll have a party when I get back. A thought to all of you and to the friends of the garden”writes the author of the message. “I was amazed…and amused too.”
“I hope you are not angry at my departure”
“I immediately thought it was an idea of one of our friends who has a habit of playing jokes on us. I called it using the soundtrack of the film Le Fabuleux Destin by Amélie Poulain as background music. In this feature film, the heroine’s father receives photos of his stolen garden gnome posing all over the world. But the friend in question assured me that he does not was for nothing.” And the postcards continue to arrive from all over the world, or almost.
All show the plastic figurine, 40 cm high, red cap screwed on the head, one day on a beach in Reunion surrounded by human friends in swimsuits, another posing in front of the panel of the Breton village of Le Fion , or at the entrance to a fictional village called Choux Bacquat (in reference to the character of Star Wars, Chewbacca). A short note sometimes accompanies these images. “I hope you are not sorry for my departure. My journey continues. […] I have dwarf friends who offer me a trip to Mauritius. I kiss you.” The last mail arrives dated January 23, 2021. The garden gnome poses near a young woman in a bathing suit baptized “Regina of Colombia”which he presents as his latest conquest: “My new girl and the woman of my life”.
“We really wonder who could have played this little joke on us”
Then nothing. Dany no longer receives any news. “I regularly looked out my window to see if he had reappeared. And when I went to the mailbox, I always wondered if there was a new card.” But the enigma remains. Despite the investigations of the medical secretary, it is impossible to know who is at the origin of this joke which lasted more than a year. The only certainty is that the letters are sent from Lorient and Vannes, a hundred kilometers from Dany’s house.
“We really wonder who could have done this to us. little joke. I have a feeling it’s someone I know, but who? I’ve already asked most of my friends the question.” It was not until December, for Christmas, that the dwarf returned home, with more baggage and full of adventures to tell.
Loading-widget
Subscribe to the Closermag.fr Newsletter to receive the latest news for free