The Castle in the Sky

Chapter 7

The egg sizzled and crackled in the pan as Pazu divided it into two.

"Sheeta!" He called. "It's time for breakfast!"

He put each half onto a plate. Not hearing Sheeta's footsteps, Pazu looked to the ladder. He climbed down it, confused to see her staring at his table full of all things Laputa. Why would she be interested in things like that?

Sheeta glanced over at him, but then turned back to the pictures. Pazu came up next to her.

"My father took that picture from an airship. He loved to fly." Pazu said seriously noticing how intently Sheeta stared at it. "It's Laputa." He added for clarification. "The floating island."

"An island that floats in the sky?" Sheeta finally said.

"Yep." Pazu said, his hands on his hips. "Most people think it's just a legend, but my dad saw it." He pointed to a picture with a huge blimp on it, with a face next to it. The face was male, with a cap covering his short cut brown hair. He also had a brown mustache. Sheeta could only assume it was his father.

"That's a picture of the airship." Pazu said. "Lightning was striking all over the place, nearly hitting it." Pazu continued. "It was just my dad and his partner up there. At first it was the scariest thing ever, all the dark and the rain, until suddenly the darkness turned into sky-blue. The rain and the lighting stopped and all there was, was fluffy white clouds and a beautiful blue sky." Pazu paused. "And then they saw it. A castle just floating in the sky. They say it was the most amazing thing they had ever seen. My father rushed to get a picture of it, but only managed to snap this picture." Pazu gestured to it. 

"But take a look at this, Sheeta." He continued, picking up a red-binded journal, handing it to her.  "Father kept a journal and he made all sorts of drawings of Laputa, see?" Pazu pointed to one drawing. "There it is. He drew the castle and what he thought the people were like." Pazu flipped through more pages. "He was sure the castle was filled with treasure, but nobody believed him."

Sheeta continued to look at the journal.
"Called him a liar." Pazu fiddled with a wind up plane. "Being called a liar is what killed him." Pazu winds up the plane and watches it fly about the room before landing softly to the ground. "M

"But I am going to prove that my dad was no liar, Sheeta." Pazu lowered his eyes. "As soon as I'm done building this plane." He put a hand on the nose of the structure. "I'm gonna take off and find Laputa myself."

Suddenly, Pazu and Sheeta heard the squeaky sound of wheels desperately needing oil, as they crunched against the gravel road.

Sheeta whipped around and saw a little buggy, driven by two familiar men in pink suits with purple top hats. A very familiar woman with dull pink braids sticking out the side of her head, peeked around the corner of the buggy.
She glanced around mischievously, her eyes slanted. 

Sheeta whimpered and started backing away from the window.

"Wow." Pazu said doing the opposite of Sheeta. "A real automobile! You don't see many of those around here."

"Those people are pirates, Pazu." Sheeta said seriously, her eyes wide. She watched them get out of the automobile. "They're the ones who attacked the airships."

Pazu looked at the pirates coming towards the house, then back at Sheeta.

"They're probably after you."
Sheeta took another step back.

"Come on." Pazu said, his eyebrows knitted.

The two pirates who came out of the car, split up. One came to the front door, the other went to the back door below. The first pirate strutted up to the door, just about to knock, when the door flew open and Pazu and Sheeta flew out.