Once upon a time there was a man called Muska … ever since he had been bullied at school, he had dreamed of flying to the moon … and so he took over the legendary castle in the sky, the flying island of Laputa … just because he had the money and power …
“Laputa will live! I will return it to life and then set off my journey to the Moon! Laputa’s power is the dream of all mankind!“
… but two friends, who had discovered the island, too, didn’t share his dream …
“… a king without compassion does not deserve a kingdom … Now I understand why the people of Laputa vanished. There is a song from my home in the valley of Gondoa that explains everything. It says, ‘Take root in the ground, live in harmony with the wind, plant your seeds in the winter, and rejoice with the birds in the coming of spring.’ No matter how many weapons you have, no matter how great your technology might be, the world cannot live without love.”
The Castle in the Sky crumbled, becoming a celestial relic of bygone aspirations falling to the earthly realm …
And our heroes, Sheeta and Pazu … they felt sad at first and immediately longed for the old state, but they didn’t feel lonely, because they still had their friends on earth and each other …
And so together, they returned to their homes, where the news of their adventures and the wonders they had seen, quickly spread. And together with their communities, they thought of a way to build a new Laputa … perhaps with the help of the debris that had fallen from the sky … maybe they could use its tech to build new islands …
And so it was done …
Even Colonel Muska, who had landed in a giant pool of mud, found an island that he could contribute to. Where he could use his driven, impulsive nature for good, instead of destruction. And soon, hundreds of island were floating in the air.
And together, Pazu and Sheeta travelled the new islands, which were connected through bridges but still independent of one another, so that they could never be destroyed or conquered by anyone again … or, as Uncle Pom told them: “Listen, kids, no castle flies forever”, he said, “that’s the only thing I know. They all come down eventually. So one guy came up with the idea: why not connect’em? At least one will always stay a’flying, so the dream of Laputa will always stay afloat.”
And even though over time the both grew apart, Sheeta joined her own crew of pirates, while Pazu wanted to help build the flying island of his miner family, they still met often to travel the islands of Laputa.
And while their different alliances led to one or the other quarrel, they stayed livelong friends, always on the search for adventures and new shores to explore …
Based on the characters of Studio Ghibli’s “Laputa: Castle in the Sky”. Written by bluebbberry in November 2023, licensed under CC 4.0 Attribution.
Fungiverse Tales 