V Blop And The Black Orb

He rolled toward the water cup to check his reflection. The cup showed a round blue shape, bigger than before. His sides felt firm. His middle felt full of bright, fizzy power.

V Blop nudged the cup. It slid away with a soft scrape.

“I am stronger too.”

He wanted to test his new strength. Near the tree sat a smooth practice stone. Before eating, V Blop had only been able to push it a tiny bit. Now he pressed against it.

The stone rolled across the grass.

V Blop smiled and pushed again. The stone rolled farther, bumping gently against a root.

“Look at me!”

He gave one proud bounce. The bounce became a roll.

At first, V Blop rolled in a neat circle around the tree. The grass brushed his sides. Sunlight flashed between the leaves. He tried to turn left, then right.

Left worked.

Right worked.

Then the ground sloped down toward the camp gate.

V Blop rolled faster.

“Stop, please,” he said.

He pressed his bottom into the grass, but his larger body kept moving. His soft sides made a swish-swish sound as he rolled down the slope.

The gate grew closer.

V Blop tried to turn. He leaned left. He leaned right. He bumped one of the little stones, and it popped into the air before landing with a plop.

“Not that way!”

He rolled through the open gate.

The campyard disappeared behind him. Ahead was a wide path lined with tall grass and tiny yellow flowers. The path was safe, but it stretched farther than V Blop had ever gone by himself. His new size made each turn slow. His new strength made each roll strong.

He tried to stop beside a flat tree stump.

Bump!

The stump gave a small shake. V Blop bounced off it and rolled toward a patch of soft moss.

The moss slowed him for one moment.

Then his round body pushed through it.

“Help! I mean - wait! I can do this!”

V Blop tried to remember what he had done when he was small. He had leaned the way he wished to go. He had pushed his sides against the ground. He had stopped near stones and roots.

But now every move was bigger.

When he leaned left, he turned too far. When he leaned right, he rolled toward the flower patch. When he pressed down, he bounced.

He passed a little pond. Cool air brushed his face, and he heard frogs making soft plunking sounds. V Blop wanted to stop and look, but he was already rolling beyond it.

“I do not want to go so far!”

His voice sounded small, even though his body was growing bigger.

The path curved around a hill. V Blop rolled up the hill slowly. For a moment, he felt hopeful. The slope made him slow down.

He tucked himself low.

He stopped.

V Blop breathed out.

“I am safe,” he said. “I just need to stay still.”

A tiny pebble slipped under him.

V Blop rolled backward.

“No, no, no!”

He rolled down the hill, faster than before. The grass brushed his sides. The air rushed past his face. He saw the pond again, then the stump, then the yellow flowers.

V Blop tried to steer toward a wide bed of soft leaves. He leaned carefully.

This time, he turned just enough.

He rolled into the leaves with a great rustle and stopped.

For a moment, only the leaves moved.

V Blop peeked out. His body was dusty, but he was not hurt. The leaves were soft and smelled like rain.

He let out a long breath.

“That was not a good roll.”

A little sound came from the path.

“V Blop?”

Blop Mini rolled into view. Blop Mini was a small ball, much smaller than V Blop. A green scarf was tied around Blop Mini’s middle, and a tiny snack pouch bounced beside it.

Blop Mini stopped at the edge of the leaves.

“Are you stuck?” Blop Mini asked.

“I am not stuck,” V Blop said. “I am resting.”

Blop Mini looked at the wide trail V Blop had made through the grass. “You rolled all the way from camp.”

“I was practicing.”

“Were you practicing rolling away?”

V Blop looked down at the leaves. “No. I ate a snack. Then I got bigger. Then I got stronger. Then the ground decided where I went.”

Blop Mini rolled closer and gently touched V Blop’s side.

“You are very big now.”

“I know.” V Blop tried to roll out of the leaves. His body pushed against the soft pile, but he only wiggled in place. “I may also be too big.”

Blop Mini thought for a moment. “Maybe we can make a path home.”

V Blop looked at the long trail. “How?”

“Small pushes,” said Blop Mini. “Not big rolls.”

Blop Mini moved beside a flat stick and nudged it across the grass. The stick made a little line in the dirt.

“Follow the marks,” Blop Mini said. “Turn when the line turns.”

V Blop tried. He pushed against the leaves with one side. He rolled a few inches, then stopped.

“That was small,” he said.

“Good,” said Blop Mini. “Small is useful.”

Together, they made a path. Blop Mini moved sticks and pebbles into gentle markers. V Blop pushed himself a little at a time. When he began to roll too fast, Blop Mini called, “Lean left!” or “Press down!”

V Blop listened.

He rolled past the pond and stopped beside the stump. He rolled around the flower patch and stopped near the moss. Each stop took care and patience. Once, he went too far and brushed a clump of daisies, but the daisies only bobbed in the breeze.

At last, the camp gate came into view.

V Blop felt warm inside. “We are nearly home.”

“You are nearly home,” Blop Mini said. “I am helping.”

V Blop smiled. “Then we are nearly home together.”

Blop Mini rolled ahead and held the gate open. V Blop pressed down with all his strength. His large body moved through the opening and came to rest beside the blue blanket.

Thump.

The blanket puffed up around him.

V Blop looked at the campyard. The water cup was still safe. The tree still gave cool shade. The snack crumbs were gone. He had come back without breaking anything, but the path outside was covered with his wide rolling marks.

Blop Mini settled beside him.

“You got stronger,” Blop Mini said.

V Blop looked at his big round sides. “Yes. But I need to learn how to stop.”

“And how to turn.”

“And how not to roll through the gate.”

Blop Mini gave a tiny giggle. “That too.”

V Blop took a sip from the water cup. The water was cool and fresh. His body still felt full of power, but now he knew power needed care.

He looked toward the road beyond the camp. Tomorrow, he and Blop Mini would go on their school trip. They would visit an old temple with tall stones and quiet paths. V Blop had been excited to see it.

Now he imagined himself rolling down its steps.

“What if I cannot steer there?” he asked.

Blop Mini rested against his side. “We will practice before we go.”

V Blop glanced at the gentle marks leading from the gate to the leaves. He did not feel ready yet. He felt big, strong, and a little worried.

Still, he was home. The blanket was soft beneath him. The tree leaves whispered above. Blop Mini was close, and the campyard was calm.

V Blop tucked himself beside the blanket and closed his eyes.

Being strong was helpful, he decided, but learning to use strength safely was just as important.

End of chapter one. 4 more chapters and about 8,705 words in the full book.