It was nighttime. The town was filled with busy people talking and working nonstop. Everyday was like this on earth. People had to work day and night, just for food in their stomach and a roof above their heads. The people led a simple life. Everyone was friendly to each other. It was a peaceful town.
A young boy walked toward the man in the store. "Two bowls of soups, please," he said.
"Pasu! Working overtime again?" the man in the store asked. He handed Pasu the bowls of soup.
"Yes, my boss thinks we can find gold in the mines," Pasu answered.
"Well, if that is true, remember to leave some for me," the man laughed.
"I'll remember!" Pasu said, and walked back to the mine.
Pasu was an orphan. His mother died after he was born. His father had raised Pasu all on his own. But he died when Pasu was six years old. Pasu was raised by Uncle Miller, a friend of his father's, who worked at the mine. He called his father's friend the ‘boss'. Uncle Miller had treated Pasu as if Pasu was his real son. He taught Pasu how to take care of the mine, how to be an engineer, and how to look after himself.
Time had passed by very quickly. Pasu was now seventeen years old. He was tall, with short black hair and dark-brown eyes. He was a simple boy, or a man, as he began to call himself. Everyone in town knew Pasu, for Pasu had always helped them with their mechanical troubles. Pasu always had a positive attitude, and a good sense of humour, which was why he had many friends in the town.
Pasu walked over the rolling hills towards the mine. I hope we can rest early tonight, he thought, I am about to fall asleep right here on the hills.
He looked up at the sky, and saw a shooting star. I could make a wish, he thought. Pasu put his hands together and bent down his head.
"I wish I could be in a place no one has ever been, where I would live there with someone very close to me, so I would never be lonely again," he said to himself.
He looked up again, and saw something falling slowly in the sky. A fairy, he thought, to grant my wish!
He ran toward the falling object. It was a girl. A pretty one, too, he thought. The girl was floating in the sky. He waited for awhile till her body reached the ground. Pasu stared at the girl. He touched her long black hair, and stared at her features. She was wearing a long dark blue dress. On her neck was a necklace, clinging onto a small piece of stone. On the stone was a symbol, with lines shaped like candle holder.
What should I do with her? Pasu thought, I know, I could ask Uncle Miller.
Pasu picked the girl up in his arms, and carried her to the mine. He placed her on a wooden chair.
"Pasu! Did you buy my soup?" Uncle Miller asked.
"Yes, boss," Pasu answered, "and I found a girl, she..."
Pasu was interrupted by the noise of a moving cart coming out of the cave. "Did you find anything, men?" Uncle Miller asked the men coming out of the cave.
"Nothing. Nothing but rocks and rocks. Maybe if we go deeper, we can find something," a miner said.
"All right, we will try again tomorrow. Good night, men," Uncle Miller said. The miners grumbled to themselves and headed back home.
Uncle Miller said to Pasu, "Pasu, clean up the place, and don't forget to oil the run-down engine."
"But Uncle Miller, there is a girl..." Pasu said.
"We are all tired, Pasu, I will see you tomorrow," Uncle Miller said tiredly. He picked up his bowl of soup and walked in the direction of the town.
Pasu looked at the girl lying on the ground. I guess she can sleep in my house tonight, he thought, and started sweeping the ground.
* * * *
The sun shone through the windows of the little house near the mine. The sun's rays reached Pasu's face. "No, not morning already," he moaned. He opened his eyes and felt a stab of pain in his back.
"Ouch!" he said. He rubbed his sore back. He looked up and saw the girl asleep on his bed. "I remember, I slept on the floor the whole night, no wonder my back hurts," he said.
He got up and went out to the well near his house. He picked a bucket and drew some water from the well. He carried the bucket of water, and went back into the house. He poured the water into a large bowl, and washed his face. Then he picked up his trumpet and climbed up to the roof.
He reached for some seeds next to the bird cage. He opened the bird cage. The birds flew out of the cage to the sky. Pasu opened his hands filled with the seeds. The birds flew back to Pasu and ate the seeds from his hands. Pasu laughed. He liked the feeling of the birds surrounding him.
When the birds finished eating, Pasu got out his trumpet and blew through it. He enjoyed playing music early in the morning. It gave him a sense of freshness.
The noise woke the sleeping girl in his bed. The girl opened her eyes and looked around her. Where am I? she thought. She heard the sound of the trumpet. She got up from the bed and followed it to the roof. She saw a boy about her age, blowing the trumpet to the rolling mountains and hills before him.
Pasu sensed the girl, he turned around and smiled at her.
"Hi, I am Pasu. Have you slept well last night?" he asked the girl.
"Where...where am I?" the girl asked.
"You are at my house. You fell from the sky last night. Luckily, I caught you and brought you here," Pasu explained, "What is your name?"
"My name is Shita," the girl answered.
"That's a pretty name. Anyways, why did you fall from the sky?" Pasu asked, "I mean, how did you get up there anyways?"
"I was kidnapped by the some men, I don't know who they were. They took my necklace and put me on the airship with them. I don't know what they want from me," Shita said.
"Wow, that's too bad for you. But you're safe here. No one will know you are here," Pasu said, "But what about your parents? Do they know you are here?"
"My parents died many years ago, my grandmother took care of me. But she died last year, too. So I live in my neighbour's house," Shita said.
"So we're both orphans," Pasu said, "Hey! Are you hungry? I'll cook you some breakfast."
"Thanks," Shita said.
They took the stairway down the roof into the kitchen.
"I can cook here. You can look around the house if you want," Pasu said. He took out some eggs and started frying them.
Shita went down to the basement. She looked around the small room. She saw maps, pictures, and models of airplanes. She caught sight of a small photograph of a land, surrounded by clouds. She read the caption at the bottom.
"Laputa," she read slowly. How come this word sound so familiar? she thought.
Pasu peeked through the stairway and saw Shita staring at the photograph.
"My father took that picture," he said, "He was a pilot. Once, he got lost in the air, and saw an island, just floating in the clouds."
Pasu walked down the stairs and stood next to Shita. He pulled a book out of the shelf and shuffled through it.
"My father said it was called Laputa, because he read of the legend in one of his books. People still refer to it as only a legend. But my father really saw it!" Pasu said, "There is no one living there anymore. But supposedly, there's a lot of treasures there. Look, my father also drew pictures of what he thought Laputa might look like: houses, roads and even a castle."
"What happened to your father then?" asked Shita.
Pasu turned his back to Shita. "No one believed in his story, so he died soon after," Pasu said sadly.
"I'm sorry," Shita said, and touched Pasu's arm softly.
Pasu took a deep breath. "Well, I was very young then, but I got over it," he said brightly, "I said to myself, I have to see Laputa with my own eyes, so I can prove that my father's right."
He looked at Shita, whose face was ghostly white.
"Are you okay, Shita?" Pasu asked.
They heard a noise from outside. Pasu and Shita looked out the window. They saw an old car, with five big men, and a pink-haired woman.
"No one drives that kind of car anymore!" Pasu exclaimed.
"They're here for me!" Shita cried, and looked around the room for protection.
Pasu paused for a moment. "I know a way, come with me," he quickly said. They ran to Pasu's bedroom. Pasu pulled some clothes from his closet and said, "Wear these, they'll think you're a boy."
* * * *
Outside the house, the five men were having difficulty getting our of the car. The big woman gave them a big push, and the men all fell off the car. These men were air pirates. They were thieves, stealer of jewels and treasures. This woman was the one who tried to kidnap Shita from the ship.
"Momma, we've tried every house in this town. The girl's just not here," one of the men said.
"Well, keep look'in! I know she's here!" Big Momma said, "Go on, knock on the door!"
The two men, Louie and Charles, grumbled and walked to the door. Louie was big, fat and had a slow sense of things, while Charles was short, skinny, but had only one eye. Louie knocked on the door, and waited. Charles knocked again, and signed.
"Momma, there's no one here," said Louie.
Suddenly, the door opened. Two boys with hats and school bags rushed out.
"Hey, watch it, kid!" Charles cried.
"Sorry, sir! We're late for school!" one of the boys said. The two boys ran toward the direction of the town.
"It's no use, Momma! The girl's not here!" Louie exclaimed.
"We'll try the other side of the town," Big Momma said, "Start the engine!"
"Wait, Momma!" they both cried, running after the car.
* * * *
"We did it, we tricked them!" Shita said.
"I knew this would work! Let's go to my boss's house. We will be safe there," Pasu said.
Suddenly, they stopped running. They saw two other men walking on the street, just like the ones they bumped into.
"Oh no! What should we do?" Shita said.
"Let's just run pass them. They wouldn't notice us!" Pasu said.
Pasu and Shita continued running, they past the two big men. Shita's foot tripped on a rock. She landed on the ground and screamed. Her hat dropped, and her long black hair fell on her shoulders.
The two men heard Shita's scream, and turned around. They saw a long black-hair head.
"It's her!" Charles cried.
"Wasn't she a boy before?" Louie asked, scratching his head.
"No, idiot! She's dressed as a boy! Catch her!" Charles cried.
Pasu helped Shita stand up.
"How did they get here so fast?" Pasu said breathlessly.
"They have a car, remember?" Shita said.
They ran to Pasu's boss's house. Pasu knocked on his door.
"Uncle Miller! Help!" Pasu cried.
The door opened. Uncle Miller stepped out of the house.
"Good morning, Pasu! Why the big noise?" Uncle Miller said.
"Boss, those two men are after us!" Pasu said.
Uncle Miller's wife came out of the house and looked at Pasu and Shita.
"Who's she?" she asked.
"She's...," Pasu could not think of the right word.
"Your girlfriend, perhaps?" Uncle Miller's wife said, hiding a smile.
"You're not getting away, you little brats!" Charles man said. He ran to Pasu and Shita, and grabbed Shita by the sleeve of her shirt.
"Don't you dare touch her!" Uncle Miller said to the man. Charles let Shita go. Uncle Miller's wife pulled Pasu and Shita into the house.
"You guys leave through the backdoor," she said. "But I have to fight with boss!" Pasu said.
"Don't you have to protect you girlfriend?" Uncle Miller's wife asked with a smirk. Pasu looked at Shita. He took her hand, and they both ran out through the backdoor. In the front of the house, Uncle Miller and big Louie were starting a fight. People from the street were yelling and cheering.
"Who the heck are you guys?" Uncle Miller asked roughly. His fist went straight to the Louie's face.
"Ohhh! We're the Tiger Moth," Louie said angrily. He raised his fist and punched Uncle Miller's stomach.
"Owww!" Uncle Miler exclaimed. They continued punching and hitting each other until Louie fell on the ground.
"Yea!" the crowd cried. Uncle Miller let out a loud laugh. Master's wife looked at her husband. "
Keep on fighting," she said, "but don't think I'm going to bend that shirt for you." Master looked at his shirt and pants, they were all ripped. Suddenly, a car flew through the crowd. "Hurry up and get in!" Big Momma cried.
"What about the girl?" Louie asked. "She sneaked through the back door," another pirate named Henri said. Louie and Charles hurried to get in the car. The car drove away quickly, leaving the crowd throwing stones at it.
* * * *
Pasu and Shita ran toward the railway, and saw a train coming forth.
"Uncle Charlie!" Pasu waved. Pasu ran after the running train, held on to the rail, and pulled himself onto the steps. He let out a hand to Shita, and pulled her onto the train.
"Pasu!" the old man called from the train, "What are you doing here?"
"We're being followed by these big, weird men," Pasu said. He and Shita skipped carts and jumped into the head of the train, where Uncle Charlie was.
"They're air pirates," Shita said. "Air pirates!" Uncle Charlie said, "Well, you learn something new everyday!" "They're air pirates? No wonder one of the them has only one eye!" Pasu said. "
Well, whoever they are, they're coming right this way!" Uncle Charlie said, looking over his head. Pasu and Shita looked behind them, and saw Big Momma and her gang in their car, on the railway after them!
"How did they get here?" Pasu asked.
"They've been after my necklace for a long time," Shita explained.
"I guess they are really pirates. But your necklace is only a simple jewellery. Why would they want something like that?" Pasu said.
"That is what I don't understand. They are not the only ones who are after my necklace. The men with dark glasses are also after it, too," Shita said.
"Dark glasses?" Pasu asked. He pulled his sleeves up and said, "Come on, let's get this train moving!" Pasu helped Uncle Charlie shove firewood into the train's burning fireplace. He pulled on the string hanging from the top of the train. A loud sound and a cloud of smoke blasted from the train's chimney.
"We're going faster!" Pasu said.
"They're getting closer, too!" Shita cried. She saw Big Momma and the rest of the pirates jump on the train, just a few carts behind her. Pasu went to the train's window, and crawled out. He got down to the set of chains on the bottom of the train. He separated the head of the train from the carts. The carts started slowing down, and the head of the train kept going faster. "We got rid of them!" Pasu said.
"Look ahead of you!" Uncle Charlie said. Pasu and Shita turned their heads, and saw a huge tank on the railway just before them. Oh no, Shita thought.
"The army!" Pasu cried, "Let's get them to help us!"
"Wait, Pasu!" Shita cried after him. The train slowly ran, and came to a stop. Pasu jumped from the door and ran to the tank.
"Pasu, don't!" Shita cried, and ran after him. The tank door opened, and out came two men with dark glasses and long black coats.
"Sir, we have a problem," Pasu said breathlessly. "
We can help you with that," one of the men said. He walked past Pasu towards Shita.
"They're after me, too, Pasu!" Shita said, and started running to the other direction. The two dark men ran after Shita. Pasu got the message, and tripped the two men with his foot. Shita continued escaping, and saw Big Momma on her car, driving towards her.
"Pasu!" she cried. Pasu ran to Shita, and let out a gasp when he saw Big Momma.
"What should we do?" Shita asked. Pasu looked around them. They were in the middle of a railway, at a height of fifty feet high from the ground. Pasu looked back at Shita, and then looked down to the black hole far beneath him.
"We have to jump," Pasu said. He held Shita's hand and they both jumped off the tracks. The moving tank and Big Momma's car crashed into the train in the middle. It let out a big explosion.
* * * *
Pasu and Shita were falling into empty space. Suddenly, a bright light shone from Shita's necklace. They stopped falling, and began floating in the sky.
"Look at the necklace. It's shining. I think it saved us, Shita. It has special powers," Pasu said. He turned Shita around happily. Shita laughed.
"It saved me twice already," she said. They floated down into a hollow dark hole in the ground. Pasu and Shita landed underground. The light from Shita's necklace began to disappear.
"Oh no, the light's disappearing!" Shita said.
"Don't worry," Pasu said. He went to his backpack and pulled out a match and a candle. He lighted the match on the candle. The space between them brightened again.
"How come you had a candle in your bag?" Shita asked.
"I always carry one around," Pasu said, "I work in the mine, remember?" Shita smiled. They walked forward in the cave until they came to a little lake. "
Let's stop here," Pasu said. They sat down on the ground. Shita went to the little lake, and drew some water with her hands. She bent her head down and drank from it.
"Come eat, Shita!" Pasu said. He went into his backpack and pulled out two wrapped sandwiches he had prepared that morning.
"You brought food, too!" Shita said, amazed. They started eating and talking excitedly. Suddenly, they heard a noise.
"Shhh, listen," Pasu whispered. The noise continued. It was the noise of footsteps. Someone was in the cave, walking toward them. Shita felt scared and held onto the Pasu's hands. Pasu held his candle toward him and tried to see who was there.
"Pasu!" the mystery voice called. Pasu looked carefully at the man, his face turned to a smile.
"It's Old Man Frank!" Pasu said. He got up and walked toward the old man.
"What are you doing here, sir?" he asked.
"Well, last night, I heard the rocks calling for me. It's weird, you know. It has been a long time since the rocks talked to me," Old Man Frank said.
"You mean the rocks in this cave?" Shita asked wondrously. Old Man Frank looked at Shita and sat down.
"A friend of yours, Pasu?" he asked, giving Pasu a wink. Pasu face grew red.
"Her name is Shita," he said. He sat down with Shita and Old Man Frank.
"My father and grandfather were geologists. They studied rocks, so I study rocks," Old Man Frank explained, "Last night, the rocks were calling me, telling me to get down here. So here I am."
"You can talk to rocks?" Shita asked wondrously.
Literally, yes," the old man answered. He got out a hammer from his bag and took a rock from the ground. He hit the rock with the hammer. The rock split into two, and a light shone from the middle of the rocks. Then, the light dimmed.
"What is it?" Pasu asked excitedly.
"All the rocks in this cave have levistone veins inside them. But when they are exposed to air, the light vanished, and they become ordinary rocks," Old Man Frank said. He blew the light off Pasu's candle, everything became dark. Pasu felt something bright shining at him, and looked up. All the rocks in the cave were shining with a dimmed blue light. It was like looking up at the stars at night. There were million dots of light in the cave.
"This is beautiful," Shita whispered. She felt something hot on her neck. She pulled out her necklace. The necklace gave out a very bright blue light, brightening the cave. Old Man Frank looked incrediously at the small blue stone.
"Shita, how did you get this beautiful levistone?" he asked. He reached forward and touched the stone. It was burning hot. He quickly took his hand away.
"This was from my mother, before she died. It was an ancient treasure passed on for many generations," Shita explained.
"This is a pure levistone crystal. They don't make these stones anymore. You see, inside the stone is a crystal. This crystal can make a person fly," Old Man Frank said, "I heard from my father that only the people of Laputa produce this kind of stone."
"Laputa?" Pasu said.
"Yes, I heard that they can produce a levistone so large that it made a city fly in the air," Old Man Frank said. Shita's faced turned ghostly white again. How come that word sound so familiar, she thought, I know I have heard it before. But where?
"Shita, are you okay?" Pasu asked. He was very excited.
"Yes," Shita said faintly.
"We're going to Laputa!" Pasu cried, "We have to find out how you got this stone." He laughed happily and jumped for joy. "
My grandfather once told me, when the rocks are noisy, it is because Laputa is over the mines. The flying levistone has some sort of power over these rocks," Old Man Frank. Shita put the necklace back and looked at Old Man Frank. Old Man Frank did not look happy. He said to Shita,
"This levistone is very dangerous, Shita. It may bring some bad luck to you, or it may bring you good fortune. Be careful with it. You too, Pasu." He got up. He turned his head back again, and said, "Remember, this stone was made by human hands. Humans cannot defeat nature." He shook his head slowly, and muttered something to himself. He began to walk back the way he came from. Pasu and Shita looked at each other in surprise.
"Was it something I said?" Pasu asked.
"I don't know. Let's get out of this cave," Shita said.
* * * *
Pasu and Shita left the cave, and walked on a big hill full of long grass and trees. Pasu looked at the white, puffy clouds above him.
"Look at the sky, Shita. Behind the peaks of those clouds, where nothing can be seen, is the floating island of Laputa," Pasu said excitedly, "Remember what Old Man Frank said? Laputa is right above us!" He waited for an excited response from Shita. But there was only silence.
"What's the matter, Shita?" he said.
"I don't know, I feel so frightened. Big Momma and the army are still after me. They will never stop chasing me until they get this stone," Shita said sadly.
"Don't feel sad," Pasu said. He held Shita's hand and took a step close to her.
"Whatever happens, I will always be at your side, and I will always protect you." But Shita still felt uneasy. Pasu noticed that. He looked at her eyes and asked, "Is something still bothering you?" Shita nodded. "There's something I have not told you," she said, "and I think you should know it."
"What's that?" Pasu asked. He hoped whatever it was, it was not something bad. Is Shita sick? he thought, Is something bad going to happen to her?
"You see, Pasu," Shita explained, "Shita is just my nickname. When this stone was passed on to me, I inherited an old, secret family name. My real name is Leshita Taralelu Laputa." Pasu replied after her, "Leshita Tara... Laputa. Laputa?" he looked alarmed.
"Yes, Laputa. I think I am a big part of this Laputa search. And my necklace. Remember what Old Man Frank said? He told us only the people of Laputa produce this kind of stone. And I am the only one who can control it!" Shita said.
"That...that means you're from Laputa!" Pasu exclaimed. He jumped up for joy, "It's true! Laputa is not just a legend! There really is a castle in the sky!" They both heard a loud crash. They turned their backs, and saw a plane landing on the grass just behind them.
"It's the army!" Shita yelled. "Run for it!" Pasu cried.
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