Grundle

Aaron Delcourt 1B
 * Grundle**

The sunlight was strong when Grundle woke up. His window lined up perfectly to see the sunset. The pink sky would become a dark violet in only about ten minutes. He sat up suddenly and looked around his room. It was small, but homely, and well furnished. He was grateful to live in the astronomy tower. Sleeping through the daylight to observe the sky, at night, was well worth having a small room. Sometimes he would think back to how life was, before the astronomy tower.

Grundle’s parents were a quiet couple. They didn’t do much for fun and they weren’t particularly interesting people. They weren’t poor or rich, just average. It was Grundle’s brother, William, who called them, “Our perfect motivator. Surely, we won’t end up like them, tired and old.”

William liked to speak ill of the people around him. He usually didn’t do it directly, but it was a sure bet that if someone was absent, tactless insult was on the menu. Grundle didn’t hate William, but he didn’t enjoy his company either. When they both lived with their parents, tolerating William’s manners was not a simple task. He longed for the day that they would receive separate schooling. It wasn’t until Grundle was seventeen, and William had left home to begin working on the trade route to Envelo, that he received his welcome changed.

It was a hot day and his father had sent him to the blacksmith for some nails. Houses could be seen periodically throughout the farmland along long dirt roads. To a passer-by, like Grundle, they seemed only to serve as a separation between his parent’s cottage and Bargus, the port city of Lunaria. The sky was clear, and with no clouds to conceal the surface of Chimeria above, he could enjoy the view. “I wonder what it’s like up there,” he said to nobody in particular.

“Awfully crowded, if you ask me.”

Grundle jumped. Staring up at him was a dwarf. He was about four feet tall, and had a long, gray beard. He didn’t look very fast, and seeing as how short his legs were, it was remarkable that Grundle didn’t notice him approaching. He must have seen Grundle’s surprise, because he added, “I’m much quicker on my feet here.

You see, Lunaria happens to be smaller than the land above.”

“I don’t seem to follow,” Grundle responded.

“Why, gravity of course!,” the dwarf exclaimed. His face expressed both confusion from Grundle’s response and delight from the chance to explain. “Gravity is the force that keeps you from falling into the skies, when you take a step! The gravitational difference between us and them,” the dwarf gestured to the sky, “isn’t all that noticeable. I’m still a horrid sprinter, I’m afraid.”

The dwarf was enjoying this almost one way conversation a bit too much, but nevertheless Grundle liked dwarf’s attitude. “I rather enjoy the subject of science. Is there anything else you can teach me?”

So, he and the dwarf named Kröm walked and discussed the various fields of study. It wasn’t long before they were having full lessons and finally the day came when Grundle moved into the city with Kröm to become his apprentice.

Each night Grundle would meet Kröm in the observation room of the astronomy tower where they could see the sky. He learned about the stars, planets, mechanics, and all sorts of other subjects. Grundle couldn’t be happier and just as always he left the room, three years later, eager for another lesson.