A Dandelion Released in the Breeze

By Caspian Ashworth

This contemporary story is told through the eyes of a twelve-year old girl, who in spite of her battles with health, bullying, cricket and the mystery of the local river monster, manages to achieve beyond her wildest dreams on the very biggest stage. Set against an undercurrent of Sussex river folklore, the wider appeal of this witty and inspiring work satisfies our appetite for a puzzle and lends itself to an audience of both children and adults.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Jul 25, 2019
• ISBN: 9781728390949

Caspian Ashworth

Caspian Ashworth trained as a choirboy at Bath Abbey before gaining a PhD in Animal Physiology at Cambridge and working in the healthcare industry within the field of Endocrinology. He is a keen cricketer and naturalist and is also a member of the WWT and RSB in West Sussex, UK.

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Copyright © 2019 Caspian Ashworth. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 08/23/2019

ISBN: 978-1-7283-9095-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-7283-9094-9 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Beautiful as a dandelion, blossom golden in the green grass - this life can be!

Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950)

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Acknowledgement

This book is dedicated to the sound of the crickets in the grass; PG, Lucy & Diddy - the dandelion released in the breeze!

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Contents

Chapter 1   Monster

Chapter 2   Friend in Kind

Chapter 3   Cricket Match

Chapter 4   Dream

Chapter 5   Show

Chapter 6   Big Splash

1

Monster

WATCH OUT! The River Monster’s surging directly towards us! yelled Dad, Quick, Indigo! Hide!

My father dropped his binoculars and we jumped into the swaying bush behind. We were stranded on the river bank and completely exposed to the dangers of the wild river.

But, Dad? I cried, as I scanned the choppy water through the rustling leaves, "I can’t see any monster in the river!"

Dammit! he replied, emerging from the bush, It must have been another floating tree trunk surfing the waves again!

My father was a laboratory scientist with an obsession. He was convinced there was some kind of ‘Loch Ness Monster’ that haunted the river running by our cottage. We lived at the edge of a small town in Sussex called Arundel. The cottage looked out directly onto the River Arun which was one of the fastest flowing rivers in England. Most people in the town thought my father was a bit eccentric, but I still loved him to the Milky Way and back. He had character and was always interested in stuff. There also existed a local legend to back-up his theory.

According to ancient folklore, a mad Duke once lived in Arundel Castle around five hundred years ago during medieval times. It was said that the Duke kept a monster in the Castle moat to frighten off his enemies. But then disaster struck. Somehow the monster escaped and was last seen slithering into the wild River Arun.

Since those dark days of the middle ages, there had been numerous, inexplicable, riverside incidents involving missing cattle and sheep, and my father was determined to solve the mystery of the fabled River Monster. As the Chief Investigator, he therefore spent all his available free time in pursuit of this burning quest, and I, his twelve-year old daughter, was his devoted Junior Detective!

"Look, Indigo! There’s a