GROUNDED THINGS
A SHORT STORY & A DRAWING
The following is an original short story I wrote back in 2023, inspired by an Inktober prompt word, CASTLE. I hope you enjoy it, but more than that, I would appreciate it if you could comment with your opinion, the way it’s written, the story, and what emotions it evokes. Thanks in advance.
I was just about to be done with my third cup; that’s how I knew the old man talking to me was real. I was broke then, so I could not afford another round unless I accepted his invitation, which I did not want because that meant only one thing.
“You’ve been stretching that beer for quite some time, lad!” he said.
I took my last sip. The bar was clearing out and would remain that way until the next wave of customers arrived. So, as I feared, the bartender brought him two cups. Once he grabbed one, he pushed the other one before me.
“Would you mind?” he said.
For some reason, with time, you learn to read some people after hearing them talk for a while, and this one seemed like the stubborn kind, but I was not in the mood for arguments either, or even worse, fist fights.
“Not at all,” I said.
“You know? Life’s been good to me.”
“I can see that! Cheers!”
“You having a bad day? Huh?”
I shrugged.
“Ha, ha, ha. I know the feeling!” he said.
“Well, you don’t seem like.”
“I was broke once, too, but many years ago, I found my type of business, a very unique one.”
“What do you do?”
“I am a master builder!”
“Hmmm? I know many of them, and they’re struggling.”
“Ah, but not me, my lad.” And he took a long sip of his cup. It was clear he wanted to be asked about it, so I continued playing his game.
“How come?”
“It’s the types of buildings I do that’s so rare, you know?”
“Are you a sculptor?”
“No, but I am associated with one, great animal sculptures he does. He works for me. A very talented artist, he is. I paid him well.”
“Oh, you work for the Count, then?”
“Oh, no. I worked for him in the past, but not anymore.”
“Well. The landlords and the church here pay pretty badly.”
“I know! My clients are foreigners!”
“So, what is it like to work for foreigners?”
“Ahhh! You have no idea! I would typically not say it to anyone. But you look like an honest lad.”
I laughed, I did not know that people looking like shit was a synonym for honesty.
“Believe me, lad, with time, you learn to read people. You understand me?” he said.
“You bet I do.” I took another sip.
“Well, my clients are pretty peculiar people. They are from some northern realm.”
“Really? What do they ask for?”
“A very specific type of building. This last one wanted me to build him another castle.”
“Hmmm. So you traveled to the North?”
“Oh no. He wanted to have his castle built here.”
“Hmmm, it must be a pretty small one then. Haven’t seen any new castles around.”
“Clever man! This castle he wanted was not as large as the Count’s; it was more like a tower. You know?”
“Oh.” I took another sip and wondered how much more I would bear this old man’s chat.
“Of course, I did not start making castles for them. The first time they hired me, they tested me! He wanted to find out if I was up to the task.”
“Well, I don’t blame them. A castle is not a cabin.”
“Ha, ha, ha. It certainly isn’t. But it’s funny because the test he gave me was something like a cabin. It was a bathroom!”
“How is a bathroom a test for a castle?”
“Forget about the bathroom. The test was about the foundation’s principle!”
“What do you mean?”
“You know? Even the most humble building, like a restroom cabin, relies on the ground to support it.”
“Yes, I get it.”
“Well. In these buildings, all the foundations rely not on the ground but on a single object!”
“An object on the ground?”
“Yes and no!”
I must have made the dumbest of faces because he laughed hard.
“This object is an orb, a sphere. It must be placed in the ground for practical purposes, but it’s not needed. This is done, so the workers don’t ask too many questions.”
“Questions about what?”
“About what happens when the building is complete!”
“What happens to it?”
“An orb replaces the ground!”
For a moment, I thought that maybe the drink had something weird. I wasn’t drunk, but this guy felt like he was convinced of what he was saying.
“Are you telling me all the building rests over an orb?”
He nodded, and he drank.
“What size is this thing?”
“Well, the one for the bathroom was pretty small, like a melon. The one for the castle was quite larger.”
“How come a building can rest over a small thing?”
“That’s the unique part! The orb replaces the ground! Everything in direct contact with it stands still as if it were stuck in the ground!”
“And how do you build these orbs?”
“I don’t. That is something only my client and the ones like him know how to craft.”
“They make them?”
“As far as I can tell.”
“I don’t understand. Why can’t they build the castles in the north? Why can’t they build the castles themselves?”
“Because they are not master builders.”
“Oh, I see. Just another bunch of noble snobs?”
“Oh, no. They are quite knowledgeable! But they are savvy on other things.” The man looked at the ceiling. “...They are like shamans!”
“Are they some sort of magicians?”
“I wouldn’t put it that way, more like alchemists, you’d say.”
“Alchemists? Can’t alchemists create all that they want?”
“It seems not. They can create their alchemy things, but when it comes to other stuff, they need an expert in each field, just like everybody else.”
“And when did you deliver this castle you are talking about?”
“Ah, last week! But I received the complete payment yesterday!” The man peeked at my cup, which he’d invited me to.
“Where is this castle? Can it be seen?”
“Maybe, but I don’t think so. My client particularly requested that we leave the area after we delivered it. So, even if I told you where it was, I am pretty sure it must have launched by now.”
“Launched?”
“Ha, ha, ha, ha. Yes, the castle takes off the ground!”
My face must have spoken for me.
“Are you ok?”
“Listen, old man, I am truly grateful for the free round. I really appreciate it. But I am not drunk enough to follow you on that one.”
The man’s face grinned. He stared me in the eyes.
“I don’t have any trouble inviting you to more rounds. I’ve been doing it all afternoon with every honest man I could spot. But I am an honest man as well, and if you only believe me after some more drinks, you are not really believing it, are you?”
I took a deep breath.
“Well, that’s fair. However, let’s face it, you are not precisely making too much sense.”
“Why not? Just because you’ve never heard of or seen a flying castle before?”
“Pretty much. That’s how we know we are adults and not children anymore,” I said without overthinking it.
He finished his cup with a gulp, but I could see sadness on his face. I felt like saying something. “I am sorry, man! You’re good folk, but I am broke; life’s not been good to me. I am not to fall easy on off-the-ground stuff. You understand?” I said.
“At least you’re honest! In that, I am never wrong about!” He stood up with some difficulty, then called the bartender. “One more to this good lad! Please!”
“Oh no, you don’t have to!”
“Oh, I do. Have another drink for all the grounded things that make us adults. Cheers!”
And he walked out of the place, leaving me alone in my favorite tavern corner. The tavern now felt even quieter, and, why not? lonely.
I took a sip of that untouched cup, and suddenly, a boy entered running through the door, as if he had seen a ghost, yelling to the bartender.
“It’s there! It’s there! We can see it now!”
The bartender got out with the boy, and the few other drinkers followed them. I could hear the voices, as if they were amazed by something. So, I got up and took my cup with me, I was about to step out when I stopped.
“What am I doing?“
So, I turned around and as I walked back to the bar, I felt a cool breeze coming through the window. I walked towards it, still sipping that last cup. I looked outside to the gray fields being combed by the wind, the old trees, hills, and the old town. All grounded things, and then I felt it, an unbearable urge to look up at the sky.
ABOUT THE DRAWING
It’s hard to pinpoint a single source for the idea of the floating castle. There have been many flying objects in the memorabilia of my golden age of video games, as well as in the fantastic animated films of Hayao Miyazaki. The truth is, the shape of the castle came first. Once it began to take form, I started imagining how it might work. Of course, it couldn’t be explained from a scientific or engineering point of view—so, as usual, I reached for a handful of fantasy dust. I imagined what it would be like to reveal the workings of the castle through the eyes of two characters. Needless to say, the flying castle is also an archetype for all those things I wish for, yet somehow feel are out of reach.
Like other drawings, this is the result of an iteration of simpler sketches, below, the first two exploration thumbnails, and the working sketch, where I found the final shape.
The version below is the one I made for Inktober 2023, though I wasn’t fully satisfied with how clean it looked and the windows.
Here’s one of the preliminary pencil sketches, before making the final adjustments during inking:
If you enjoyed this story and like my work, please consider liking, sharing, commenting, or buying me a coffee. I would greatly appreciate it. Until next time.
I love this story, Luis. To me it speaks of disillusionment, a turning away from the magic of every day and only seeing drudgery. And beautiful illustrations as well. 🤓