Two very contrasting pieces with a common theme, and I think both are quite sad. An interesting read nonetheless and about the right length I’d say (for me anyway).
In shrinking fantasy fiction, I think what dictates whether a story will work for the reader is the chosen size scale, which was too small for me in this case. That’s no criticism of the writing or the theme of course, it’s just a personal thing (and why many of Minimizer’s stories didn’t grab me for the same reason). I’m aware that many people DO like small size scales, so I’m sure you’ll be just fine with this one.
Bottom line is, did you enjoy writing it? You should always write to please yourself, regardless of anything else.