A/N: I've done some editing to this, not much but I decided that this story could be something amazing if I don't rush it! So heavy editing to the first chapter will be a must. I hope you all enjoy the read.

This is set after the events of the movie takes place, a few years later.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Spirited Away, I just screw them up for entertainment purposes.

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The Other Side of Life

Prologue

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She stood on the bank of the river, watching the churning water full of mud and debris. The rain poured down on her head, plastering her brunette hair to her forehead, to her face as thunder crackled around her and lightning lit up the dark clouds above.

She leaned closer, reaching down to touch the water like she had so many times before, for comfort, for something, anything that felt right, but her reflection didn't stare back at her this time. The water wasn't that crystalline blue that she remembered from when she was a child and as she looked deeper she saw a creature rise up out of the water, the face of it illuminated briefly by another flash of lightning. A scream of terror caught in her throat as thunder boomed around her and she closed her eyes tightly, covering her ears with her hands but she didn't lean back.

'Take me.' The thought whispered through her head, heard barely by the sound of her pounding heartbeat in her ears.

She didn't have to look again to realize it was just a contorted limb from a tree and she shook the fear out of herself as she forced her eyes back open; fear wouldn't help her here.

Tears were washed away with the rain, a sob threatening to bubble up as she twisted her hands in her shirt, a sparkling purple hair band clenched in the palm of her right hand protectively.

Time was running out. There wasn't enough time to sit there and mourn, to feel sorry for herself, there wasn't enough time to be afraid. Taking in a few deep gulps of air she tasted the rain on her tongue and heard their voices in the distance.

They were coming for her.

"Chihiro! Chihiro Kawa!" They called to her, flashlights flickering past, around her, looking through the pouring rain, looking for her.

She looked back towards the lights and her already pounding heart beat even harder, causing her breath to come out harshly.

She couldn't back down now, they'd take her, they'd lock her up. She just had to close her eyes, she just had to let go.

"Chihiro!" She heard their footsteps now, heard the crackling of their radios as they relayed to others that she had been found, that the run away girl was about to be caught.

Taking a deep breath she turned her eyes back to the violent, dirty water and shivered hard as she let go of her shirt, arms hanging limply by her side.

"No matter what, I have to go back there." She whispered fiercely as she squeezed her eyes shut, taking a deep breath and jumped into the roaring river.

A/N: Very short, but once again, a prologue! I have this whole thing planned out, so let me know if you like it or are interested in seeing what's going on and I'll be happy to post more!

…Nuclotei