Daisy Weal and the Grelflin
By
Robert A.V. Jacobs
Published by
Daisy Weal and the Grelflin
Copyright 2015 Robert A.V. Jacobs
Cover background image by Richard K Green
This is a Short Story based upon the Daisy Weal Series
Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This book is written in ‘English’ English, so there may be some differences in spelling to other international forms of English.
This book is a work of fiction and all characters are fictitious or are portrayed fictitiously. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental
Any internet sites that may be quoted in this book were accurate at the time of writing. No responsibility is accepted for any that cease to exist or discontinue the stated article.
Whether any scientific statements used in this book have any relationship with actual fact is most unlikely
Suitable for anyone from ten years of age
Also by Robert A.V. Jacobs
Children’s fiction, ten years upwards
Daisy Weal
Daisy Weal and the Monster
Daisy Weal and Sir Charles
Daisy Weal and the Last Crenian
Dauntless
The Adventures of Daisy Weal (Omnibus edition, containing four of the books in the series)
Young Adult and Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy
The Lost Starship
The Star Queen
Speaker (A collection of 29 short stories)
The Yellow Dragon
The Diamond Sword of Tor
Cardoney (Omnibus edition containing both The Yellow Dragon and The Diamond Sword of Tor)
Adult Science Fiction
As a Consequence
Taldi’na
Adult Detective/Political Thrillers
Dexxman
The Disappearance of Natalie Firth
Time to Die
Non-fiction
Sudoku, Food for the Mind
Daisy Weal and the Grelflin
A Daisy Weal Short Story.
A Note from the Author
This is just a short story from the Daisy Weal series, and if you want to stick it anywhere chronologically, it would fit neatly between chapters three and four of the first book in the series. It isn’t actually in any of the books, but if the idea had come to me earlier it just might have been. If you like it, I invite you to take a look at the rest of the series:
Daisy Weal
Daisy Weal and the Monster
Daisy Weal and Sir Charles
Daisy Weal and the last Crenian
Dauntless
These books are entirely suitable for anyone from ten years of age and upwards.
Table of Contents
A note from the Author
Chapter One
Chapter Two
About the Author
Chapter One
Legend has it that the world used to be teeming with Grelflins. You couldn’t go around a corner without bumping into one or stepping on another, but suddenly, in modern times, they disappeared. If you were one of the few people who could see them, and have ever wondered, which I am sure you must have at one time or another, why it is that you don’t see any around anymore; then listen up and I’ll tell you what happened.
It all came to a head one night when…
…Daisy was woken up by the sound of a bump. Even with the largely untapped superpowers that she had, at three and a half, bumps in the night still concerned her. Marjorie, her mum, had told her that Goblins, Elves, Trolls and Bogey men were just stories, but she was still very young, so how could she be sure? Her mother had read many stories to her, so she was quite familiar with the way that the book characters reacted to things that go bump in the night. Usually they screamed and cowered in a corner somewhere, but Daisy was curious, and for the moment at least, all her fears were forgotten.
She quietly slipped her legs out of bed and stood up listening intently, and yes there it was again, a distinct and definite bump. Despite the power that she knew she had, a ghostly shiver ran up her spine. For a moment, she was actually scared, but then she took a deep breath, pulled herself together, and started to look around to find the source of the bump.
She suppressed a giggle as she saw the large backside poking out of a cupboard in the corner of the room. It was a temptation too far for a three and a half year old, and she held up two fingers and concentrated. She found the place she was looking for in her mind, and an arc of electricity crackled between her fingers. She let it dance across her fingers, building to an intensity that satisfied her belief that while not fatal, it would do the trick.
She flicked her hand, and the room lit up as a bolt of lightning flashed from her fingers and impacted upon the backside. A truly horrendous yell resulted, followed by the crack of a head hitting the underside of the cupboard’s top.
Daisy was startled from her delight at the success of the flash, when the door to the room burst open, and Marjorie almost flew in,
“What’s happening? What’s going on Daisy?” her mother gasped, “I heard a yell and a crash.”
“Not a lot Mum,” she replied, grinning and turning towards the cupboard, “It was just this back…”
Her voice trailed off as she realised that the cupboard door was neatly closed and the backside was missing. For a second or so, she wondered what was happening, but then not wanting too many questions for which she had no answers, she quickly changed her story.
“I must have been dreaming,” she lied hastily, “and fell out of bed.”
“Well that’s a first, but as long as you’re OK.” said Marjorie, not convinced, but unwilling to make an issue of it at this time of night, “Don’t make a habit of it though, or we might have to put your mattress on the floor.”
She came over, helped Daisy back into bed, and kissed her on the forehead.
“Goodnight, and try not to scare me to death again,” she said, crossed to the bedroom door, and softly closed it behind her as she left.
As soon as Daisy was sure that her mother was gone, she threw back the covers, got out of bed again, and re-focussed her attention on the cupboard.
“Well that wasn’t very friendly,” said the very strange looking figure that was sitting on the floor next to it.
It had a small wizened face, with long pointed ears, and an even longer pointed nose. Its teeth were large, uneven, but very sharp looking. The upper part of its body was quite thin, with long arms that ended in extraordinarily long hands and fingers, which seemed to have four joints instead of two. This contrasted however, with the huge bottom that it was sitting on. It was altogether a very strange sight indeed. She did wonder where he had disappeared to when her mother had come into the bedroom, but then she realised that normal humans did not see the same way that she did. The influence that her mother had on her, had temporarily overwhelmed her special senses, and she had not been able to see him either. It was certainly food for thought, and something that she would have to make an effort to overcome.
“What do you expect?” said Daisy, not in the least bit impressed, “What would you do, if a truly massive backside was poking out of your cupboard?”
“Well I wouldn’t go around chucking lightning bolts at it for a start,” he said indignantly, “you wouldn’t believe how much that smarts.”
“What apart from the fact that you couldn’t even if you wanted to, what were you doing in my cupboard anyway?” asked Daisy, feeling that it was an appropriate and reasonable thing to ask.
“Not only that,” he said, completely ignoring her question, “but you bu
rnt a hole in my pants.”
“I will singe the end of your nose,” declared Daisy, experimentally letting some sparks flash between her fingers, “if you don’t answer my question.”
“OK, OK let’s not be hasty,” he said hurriedly, “I was trying to find my way home.”
“A likely story,” said Daisy, “how could you possibly expect to find it in my cupboard?”
“Well that was the way I came in, so it seemed reasonable that it would be the way out. Really odd, it was easy coming in but the cupboard seemed much smaller when I tried to go back.”
To Daisy’s way of thinking, it would have been a perfectly acceptable explanation if it had not been for the obvious impossibility of negotiating that truly enormous bottom through the cupboard door. She let the sparks crackle louder.
“It’s true,” he said, starting to look worried and just a little frightened, “my bottom just suddenly got like this. It’s much smaller normally.”
“People’s bottoms do not, suddenly, change in size. Perhaps you had better tell me where you come from and what your name is?”
“Alright. But only if you promise to keep those sparks to yourself.”
He sounded sincere, so Daisy stopped the sparks and curled her fingers into a fist.
“Ok let’s hear it.”
“My name is Gedber Muckleberry. I am a Grelflin, and I come from Grelf.”
“That’s silly. My mum has read me stories about Elves, Goblins and Gremlins, but I have never heard of a Grelflin or anywhere called Grelf.”
“And you think I had heard of this place before today, or seen anyone like you before?” he asked indignantly, “You are really weird. You are just a little kid, but you talk like a grownup, and throw lightning around. Can all little kids do that here? This place hasn’t even got a skin, well not one I can find anyway.”
“You are starting to babble Gedber. Now calm down and tell me what happened.”
It was beginning to occur to Daisy that this odd creature had probably come from an ‘in-between’ place. From his obvious distress he had not come here deliberately, so some sort of accident must have happened. She also remembered how the milkman had changed when she had sent him into one, so perhaps everyone appeared differently when they were in another place. Maybe you became tuned to your native environment. She couldn’t know for sure, but it seemed like a good explanation for the changes to Gedber’s bottom.
“I was out walking by the edge of Grelf, minding my own business, when I saw a section of the skin that was not as opaque as the rest. It was sort of semi-transparent, like looking through a mist, and I could see things through it.
I went home and asked my mum, and she said that this place was called the world, and Grelflins used to visit it quite often until we found that too many of us were getting injured, by being bumped into or stamped on by the big people who couldn’t see us apparently. She said there were a few who could, but when they told anyone they were locked up. So we decided to seal up the door to Grelf and not leave it anymore. She said to stay away from the wall, but I went back and when I leaned on it for a better look and there was this terrible tearing sound. It gave way and I fell through into that cupboard,” gabbled Gedber, taking a deep breath.
“There was a door and Grelflins used to come here all the time?” asked Daisy in astonishment.
“Yes, but mum said that odd things happened to the Grelflins who stayed too long, so we didn’t, and most of your people couldn’t see us anyway.”
“Well that doesn’t matter anymore, we have to get you home,” said Daisy. “From what I can see, your bottom is still growing and it seems to be speeding up. There is no knowing what will happen if it doesn’t stop.”
“But I don’t know where home is, and I don’t want to be known as Gedber big bum,” he wailed, “and if this is one of those odd things that happen to us when we come here, it’s happening faster than mum said it would. She said we usually had two to three days.”
Daisy couldn’t think of a suitable reply. She had no idea what might have changed to cause the accelerated mutation, so she didn’t say anything.
“Let him see through your eyes,” whispered a voice in her head.
As yet Daisy hadn’t recognised these odd thoughts she kept getting as anything unusual. Several times in the past she had asked her mother something, and instead of receiving some helpful advice, her mother had asked,
“What does your conscience say?”
Since then, when she heard the voice, she just thought that it was her conscience talking to her, and made sure she listened. So she could be forgiven for thinking that it happened this way for everyone.
Taking Gedber’s long spidery hand into her tiny one, she helped him get to his feet and then parked his enormous bottom on her bed. The bed creaked ominously, but fortunately it was strongly made and didn’t collapse.
“I’m different to everyone else here.” she told him, “No-one else can do the things that I can do. It’s a mystery how it happened, so don’t ask. You come from an ‘In-between’ place I believe, well that’s what I call them anyway. There are lots of them. Other people can’t see them, but if I try hard I can, and shadows of things inside. But I wouldn’t know what to look for to find yours.”
“What can I do then?” He was getting really upset, with tears starting to form in his eyes, “My bottom feels so tight, I’m afraid it could explode at any minute.”
“Ooh Err!” exclaimed Daisy, “We can’t have that. It would take weeks to clear up the mess. Mum would definitely not be happy.”
“Thanks for the sympathy,” grumbled Gedber.
“Sorry, I was joking,” said Daisy contritely, “I can get into your mind and let you see through my eyes, and we might be able to find Grelf that way.”
“Can you? Can you really do that?” he was sounding distinctly happier.
“Well they do move about, but not very fast, so with a bit of luck yours could still be fairly close.”
She let her thoughts project outwards, until they encountered his mind. She was pleasantly surprised that it was quite ordinary, especially since she had been prepared for something peculiar. Sifting through the special places in her own mind, she quickly found the thoughts that she needed and started twisting them… then she reached for Gedber’s optic nerves and re-routed a copy of her own into them. It had to be a copy, or she would have suddenly found herself blind. Both of them could now see everything that she did.
“Wow!” Gedber exclaimed, “I can see through the walls, and there are loads of round globes floating about.”
“Those are the ‘in-between’ places,” explained Daisy.
“They don’t seem very big,” he replied, with a hint of disappointment in his voice.
“I know a lot of things that I don’t know how I know. Most of them I don’t understand, but more and more things become clear as I get older. So I’ll tell you what I know, but don’t expect me to understand. Apparently they exist in the fifth dimension, whatever that is, and as a consequence they are much bigger inside. I don’t how it works, but that is what my mind is telling me.”
“There.” he said, pointing excitedly towards the closest globe, “Look you can see the tear in the side.”
“Well you’ll have to forget the cupboard. It’s just as well that your trousers seem to be stretching along with your bottom, I’m not sure I could cope with that much bare backside.”
Suddenly the door burst open, and Marjorie came in, looking distinctly unhappy,
“Daisy what is all this…ARRRG,” she shouted as she suddenly spotted Gedber, “what is that?”
“That’s Gedber,” explained Daisy, “he is a Grelflin. He was here last time you came in, but you couldn’t see him then. Not quite sure why you can see him now,” she added.
“How does he get around with such an enormous backside?” Marjorie asked, her eyes widening as she stared at him.
“Oh no, not you as well,” sighed Gedber, “it’s bad
enough with kids, but you don’t expect it from adults.”
“I’m sorry Gedber. It was rude of me,” apologised Marjorie.
“Well at least you didn’t use it for lightning bolt target practice, like she did,” he replied petulantly.
“You didn’t see it sticking out of the cupboard mum,” explained Daisy, “it was an opportunity not to be missed…and I didn’t!” she giggled, “even burnt a hole in his pants.”
It was always a source of amusement for Marjorie that whenever her three and a half year old daughter said anything, there was no sign of baby talk, well not when anyone else was around there wasn’t, just normal adult conversation. And it was a marvel to her how Daisy managed to switch between the two so seamlessly, and so far had never slipped up, even with her father, who still had no idea of her powers. Apparently though, with this Gedber creature, Daisy saw no reason for secrecy.
“Am I mistaken,” she asked, peering closely at Gedber, “or is that backside still getting bigger?”
“Yes it is,” agreed Daisy, “and I’m getting worried that if I don’t hurry, I won’t get him back in time, and he could go off with a really nasty bang.”
“He wouldn’t, would he?” asked a truly horrified Marjorie.
“Well I like to think not,” said Daisy, “but with these in-between places you can never be sure.”
“Time is running out. You have to go now,” whispered the voice in her head again.
“I have to take him back mum,” she said. “so he can get back to normal.”
“OK Daisy.” Said Marjorie, quite unsure as to how Daisy intended to achieve this feat. “I’ll sit here on the bed and wait for you to get back.”
“Come stand with me Gedber,” instructed Daisy, and took hold of his trouser leg when he waddled over to stand as close as he could. She would have preferred holding his hand, but she couldn’t reach it.
She estimated that he had to be at least two and a half metres wide and was looking like a very large pear. Very thin at the top, and widening to very large at the bottom. He was really big. She was really little. So this was going to be hard. She closed her eyes and gathered her thoughts, and finding the ones she needed she twisted them into the special shape that would take her where she wanted to go.
Daisy launched, and Marjorie almost fell off the bed when her only daughter disappeared. She was shocked to the core. She had no idea that Daisy could do that. She had expected them to both sort of float away, but vanishing was something completely new. The only snag was that Gedber was still there.
Chapter Two