Limits of a Cloud

We were excited to get down into the town. Our hearts were beating faster and faster as we came near the flashing lights of all the buildings. We went down the trails back from where the woods were and into the new area. My eyes bulged into amazement.

“Oh, wow! It’s much more than I’ve expected!” I gasped.

Kiru jumped up and down to the live music playing in the background. There seemed to be like a parade. There were lots of people and they were all laughing and enjoying themselves.

Zane grinned, “Man, I want to grab a bite of something.” He looked around, searching for any food stand. Luckily for him, they were everywhere.

“All we need is money, then we can be part of this,” Kierce observed some people giving a store clerk some coins. In exchange, they got what they wanted: a nice warm loaf of bread. I licked my lips and heard my stomached growled.

“Where are we gonna get money?”

“Beats me. We came here empty handed.”

Zane twitched, “Aw, but we can’t just die here in the middle of all the food! They look so delicious.” Our sweat dropped when we saw him drooling to the ground.

Kiru began to imitate him, “I know what you mean,” she said in a drowsy tone. “Look at the spaghetti and the pasta sauce sitting nicely on top of it. They never made anything like that at home. Oh, and the muffins and cakes! They looked as if they want us to come over and help them lick off the colorful frostings on top of them . . . Not to mention -”

“Kiru!” I shook her. “Snap out of it.”

“What? It’s not like I was really going to do it! Geez!” She promptly dropped the muffin back in its place. “Okay, let’s get out of here.”

I dragged her out the tempting bakery while I noticed Shamus still standing in one place. He looked immune to it all. I wonder. He seemed excited before we came here. He still followed us around the town as we gazed at more sights.

“Fascinating,” Shamus pointed out. I looked over at him. “I didn’t know people could build buildings as tall as this.” He looked up towards the sky, where the building stands. “I wonder what it will look like . . . Inside.”

I smiled. “We hardly knew any of this could happen. Our island seemed so small now that we’re standing here.” I picked up my pace, “Come on, Shamus, there’s more for us to see.”

He nodded and went along.

---

“How about that place?” Kiru jumped up. She was pointing at a nice rounded building entitled, PleasantBurg Inn. “Looks like a nice place to spend the night. What do you think?”

The rest of us cocked our heads.

“Um . . . Have you thought about the expense?” Zane asked, his arms crossed.

She frowned, “But then where are we going to sleep?!”

“Zane’s right,” Kierce added. “We have to find money for food too. Otherwise, we’ll have to continue pass this place.”

“But it looks so nice!”

Suddenly, the front door opened. A small girl ran out with her hands to her face. I could tell she has been crying for a long time. I wonder what could have upset her. Her tears fell behind her as she pushed passed Zane and ran out of sight.

“What was that about?” he questioned.

“Maybe she‘s one of the residents here.” I said.

Soon enough, a lady came out the door. She had a worried expression on her face. “My dear, Allie. Allie! Come back! Oh, I hope she doesn’t get herself into more trouble than it already is.”

A man came to her side. He set a hand on her shoulder, “Don’t worry. We’ll find her.”

“But, honey, it’s getting dark.”

“I know. Things will be okay.”

We were silent. The couple was still standing out the door. We were quite confused but a little aware of the matter. There was something that we could piece together. I looked around and saw all of them thinking. There was something we could do. We could take advantage of this situation. . . Somehow. . .

“I got it!” Kiru exclaimed.

Then we huddled in together.

“If that little girl is their daughter, then it is our mission to get her back. Her parents are worried sick about her and if we return her safe and sound, than the reward will be returned to us. They look like a wealthy couple and nice too. Maybe they’ll even give us money in return. To stay one night and even for food!”

Zane nodded, “Okay, I like it!”

I wasn’t certain, “But isn’t that like stealing? The money isn’t ours to begin with.”

“Noemi! It’s not stealing when you do good things to others first. Look, if we find their daughter, then they will return the favor. It’s as easy as that.”

Shamus just shrugged.

Kierce nodded, “I’ll go with it. It might work even.”

I looked back at Kiru. I wasn’t so sure about that plan. But if it backfires, then we’ll just act like we didn’t attempt anything. And if it worked, then we’ll live a day in luxury. I sighed. “Okay . . .I just can’t believe we’re all agreeing on Kiru’s plan.”

She grinned. “Okay, it’s mission time.”