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fandomweekly2026-03-13 02:17 pm
badly_knitted) wrote in fandomweekly2026-03-13 02:17 pm
Entry tags:
[#292] A Day For A Daydream (Torchwood)
Theme Prompt: #292 – Daydreaming
Title: A Day For A Daydream
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating/Warnings: G
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 1000
Summary: It’s a perfect day for daydreaming, so that’s what Meriel is doing.
Some days were just made for daydreaming, for lying on the grass in the garden, even though it wasn’t REAL grass, and staring up at the fluffy little white clouds floating past in a blue sky, like woolly sheep that had lost their way, or simply didn’t care where they were going. Which was exactly the way REAL sheep were anyway, because sheep were sort of silly. If there weren’t fences and hedges, they would probably just keep wandering along, nibbling at grass, until they fell into the sea and drownded.
Anyway, Meriel wasn’t daydreaming about being a sheep, because that would be a waste of a good daydreaming day. Sheep were boring, and they were almost everywhere, so the world didn’t need any more sheep than it already had, although… Lambs were cute and funny, bouncing around in the fields, and Meriel did sometimes daydream about what it might be like to have four legs instead of only two. She’d be able to run SO FAST! But she still wouldn’t want to be a sheep, because she didn’t think sheep were very fast.
If she was going to have four legs, she’d want to be a fast animal, maybe a horse, or a wolf, or one of those big, thin, spotted chitters she’d seen on TV once. The ones that chased zebras and things. Only, she wouldn’t do that, because she wouldn’t want to kill zebras, or those deer things, and she REALLY wouldn’t want to eat them, without even cooking them first. Animals were so weird.
Meriel watched a seagull glide past overhead and smiled. Birds could be even faster than animals. That would be fun, floating on the wind, so high up that the people below looked as tiny as ants! If she was a bird, she could go ANYWHERE, fly right around the world without stopping, see simply EVERYTHING there was to see. That would be so much fun! As long as the wind wasn’t too strong, and her wings didn’t get tired. Just gliding wouldn’t be tiring though.
Or maybe she could be a fish, and swim way down deep in the sea, and look at all the strange things that lived down there. But she’d have to be careful, because there were a lot of really BIG fish in the sea, and if she was only a little one, she might get eaten. Of course, she could always be a mermaid, and wouldn’t that be wonderful? Then all the fish and the other sea creatures would have to do whatever she told them. She could swim with the dolphins and the seals, find pearls and precious jewels on the seabed, swim around in shipwrecks finding all kinds of treasures, then sit on a rock at sunset, combing her long, green hair. Or maybe it would be blue, or red, like Ariel’s.
Perhaps instead of any of those things, she would be an insect, a butterfly, fluttering on the breeze, or a bee, buzzing from flower to flower, or even an ant, although most people didn’t like ants and she might get stepped on, which would be bad. She didn’t think she’d like being a slug, or a snail, because they were so slimy and icky, and they moved so slowly. That would be awfully dull. It would take forever just to get across the garden path.
Anyway, slugs and snails got eaten by birds and frogs, and she wouldn’t want anything eating her. It wouldn’t be polite. They didn’t even ask first. Taddy always said if you wanted something, to eat or just because, you should never just take, you should always ask first. You might not always get what you wanted, and it was disappointing when someone said ‘no’, but no one got everything they wanted. Life wasn’t always fair; Meriel was only six, but she already knew that much.
Turning her head, Meriel watched the flowers nodding in the nearby flowerbed as bees buzzed among them. Did flowers think? Did they nod their heads as the bees buzzed past and wish that they’d be chosen? Did they tip their faces up to the sun and feel happy, then hang their heads in the rain and feel sad? And what about trees? They never went anywhere, they just grew where they were, while birds landed in their branches, and insects made their homes in them, and sometimes people climbed them… Her Taddy liked climbing trees, but they had to be really BIG trees.
There were so many things Meriel thought she might like to be, just for a little while, to find out what it felt like, but she thought maybe the nicest thing would be if she was a Fluff. She turned her head where it was resting on the warm, furry body of Nosy, her very bestest friend.
“Is it nice being a Fluff?”
“HUM!” Nosy said.
“I thought it must be. You’re so fluffy, and soft, but fast and strong as well. You can do almost ANYTHING!”
“MMMMM!” Nosy agreed.
“Do you ever wish you could be a human though, just for a little while?”
“Hmmmm.”
“It must be strange not having hands, or legs, but still, I think I’d like it.”
“Like what?”
Meriel turned to see her Taddy coming outside with lunch on a tray, sandwiches and fruit, and a salad for Nosy, and glasses of homemade lemonade, and a bowl or orange juice for Nosy, who thought lemons were too sour.
“Oh, I was just daydreaming about being a Fluff,” Meriel said, sitting up. “I think that might be fun.”
“I think everyone would like to be a Fluff. Maybe not all the time, but sometimes.” Meriel’s Taddy sat down on the pretend grass with her and Nosy, so they could all have their lunch together, like a picnic.
“D’you ever daydream, Taddy?”
“All the time, Princess. Well, not when I’m at work, but other times.” He smiled. “Where d’you think all your bedtime stories come from?”
The End
Anyway, Meriel wasn’t daydreaming about being a sheep, because that would be a waste of a good daydreaming day. Sheep were boring, and they were almost everywhere, so the world didn’t need any more sheep than it already had, although… Lambs were cute and funny, bouncing around in the fields, and Meriel did sometimes daydream about what it might be like to have four legs instead of only two. She’d be able to run SO FAST! But she still wouldn’t want to be a sheep, because she didn’t think sheep were very fast.
If she was going to have four legs, she’d want to be a fast animal, maybe a horse, or a wolf, or one of those big, thin, spotted chitters she’d seen on TV once. The ones that chased zebras and things. Only, she wouldn’t do that, because she wouldn’t want to kill zebras, or those deer things, and she REALLY wouldn’t want to eat them, without even cooking them first. Animals were so weird.
Meriel watched a seagull glide past overhead and smiled. Birds could be even faster than animals. That would be fun, floating on the wind, so high up that the people below looked as tiny as ants! If she was a bird, she could go ANYWHERE, fly right around the world without stopping, see simply EVERYTHING there was to see. That would be so much fun! As long as the wind wasn’t too strong, and her wings didn’t get tired. Just gliding wouldn’t be tiring though.
Or maybe she could be a fish, and swim way down deep in the sea, and look at all the strange things that lived down there. But she’d have to be careful, because there were a lot of really BIG fish in the sea, and if she was only a little one, she might get eaten. Of course, she could always be a mermaid, and wouldn’t that be wonderful? Then all the fish and the other sea creatures would have to do whatever she told them. She could swim with the dolphins and the seals, find pearls and precious jewels on the seabed, swim around in shipwrecks finding all kinds of treasures, then sit on a rock at sunset, combing her long, green hair. Or maybe it would be blue, or red, like Ariel’s.
Perhaps instead of any of those things, she would be an insect, a butterfly, fluttering on the breeze, or a bee, buzzing from flower to flower, or even an ant, although most people didn’t like ants and she might get stepped on, which would be bad. She didn’t think she’d like being a slug, or a snail, because they were so slimy and icky, and they moved so slowly. That would be awfully dull. It would take forever just to get across the garden path.
Anyway, slugs and snails got eaten by birds and frogs, and she wouldn’t want anything eating her. It wouldn’t be polite. They didn’t even ask first. Taddy always said if you wanted something, to eat or just because, you should never just take, you should always ask first. You might not always get what you wanted, and it was disappointing when someone said ‘no’, but no one got everything they wanted. Life wasn’t always fair; Meriel was only six, but she already knew that much.
Turning her head, Meriel watched the flowers nodding in the nearby flowerbed as bees buzzed among them. Did flowers think? Did they nod their heads as the bees buzzed past and wish that they’d be chosen? Did they tip their faces up to the sun and feel happy, then hang their heads in the rain and feel sad? And what about trees? They never went anywhere, they just grew where they were, while birds landed in their branches, and insects made their homes in them, and sometimes people climbed them… Her Taddy liked climbing trees, but they had to be really BIG trees.
There were so many things Meriel thought she might like to be, just for a little while, to find out what it felt like, but she thought maybe the nicest thing would be if she was a Fluff. She turned her head where it was resting on the warm, furry body of Nosy, her very bestest friend.
“Is it nice being a Fluff?”
“HUM!” Nosy said.
“I thought it must be. You’re so fluffy, and soft, but fast and strong as well. You can do almost ANYTHING!”
“MMMMM!” Nosy agreed.
“Do you ever wish you could be a human though, just for a little while?”
“Hmmmm.”
“It must be strange not having hands, or legs, but still, I think I’d like it.”
“Like what?”
Meriel turned to see her Taddy coming outside with lunch on a tray, sandwiches and fruit, and a salad for Nosy, and glasses of homemade lemonade, and a bowl or orange juice for Nosy, who thought lemons were too sour.
“Oh, I was just daydreaming about being a Fluff,” Meriel said, sitting up. “I think that might be fun.”
“I think everyone would like to be a Fluff. Maybe not all the time, but sometimes.” Meriel’s Taddy sat down on the pretend grass with her and Nosy, so they could all have their lunch together, like a picnic.
“D’you ever daydream, Taddy?”
“All the time, Princess. Well, not when I’m at work, but other times.” He smiled. “Where d’you think all your bedtime stories come from?”
The End