At The Bridge - Part 1
Summary: [Two-shot] "Meet me at the bridge. I'll be waiting."
Chihiro felt like her face was about to cramp up any time now.
"Say cheese!" she heard for about the thousandth time that day, and her friend threw an arm around her shoulder, posing for the photo. Chihiro followed suit, plastering a bright grin on her face. The camera flash went off, blinding her for a split second.
She had a dozen of weird blinking spots in her vision, and she blinked a few more times, hoping they would fade away soon. "Thank you!" Miko said as she hurried over to retrieve her camera from the kind stranger who had offered to help them take the photo. "Oh, this one looks good!" she grinned, animatedly waving for Chihiro to go over and take a look too.
Chihiro nodded in approval. "Could you send this to me later?"
"Sure thing!" Miko said, before scurrying off at the sound of her name being called by other friends. "See you later!" she called behind her back, and Chihiro waved at her, amused.
"Well, don't you look happy for someone who graduated with first-class honours," someone quipped sarcastically behind her.
Chihiro spun around, and grinned when she saw her friend, Rin holding a phone out to take a selfie. He took one without waiting for her to get ready, and the photo naturally turned out to be a goofy one where her eyes were half-closed and her mouth still wide open.
"Hey, I wasn't ready!" Chihiro complained, attempting to swipe his phone to take another one herself, but he was too tall and held the phone out of her reach. "This is definitely going on Instagram," he said smugly, and she glared at him. "Now now, don't look at me like that. It's graduation day, shouldn't you be going all about how you'll miss me and stuff?"
"Rin, we live just five minutes away from each other," Chihiro laughed, rolling her eyes. "But yes, I'll miss you very much when you go. Now can we please take a proper picture?"
He complied, and later they got someone else to take a photo for them too.
It was graduation day from college and everyone was busy taking photos with their friends and family. People all around her were either holding bouquets or balloons, and big groups of people were debating loudly about which poses to make for their photos. Chihiro was no exception - her friends and acquaintances were all congratulating her for graduating with first-class honors and as one of the top students in the university. She received various stalks of roses from her friends as well, since they knew it was her favorite, and Rin, her best friend, had actually gotten her a bouquet, much to her surprise.
"You actually got me a bouquet of roses?" she gasped, when he showed it to her. She hadn't noticed before since he had kept it hidden behind his back while they were taking their photos.
"I kind of felt bad for you since you'll probably never get a boyfriend who'll get you roses— ouch!"
She had smacked him on the arm and he rubbed the now reddening spot, glaring at her. "Some gratitude."
"You asked for it," she huffed, but smiled again when her eyes rested on the beautiful bouquet that he had given her. She brought it up and inhaled, relishing in the refreshing scent of the flowers. "But thanks, Rin. This is the second bouquet I've ever received," she smiled.
"As long as you like it," he grinned, opening his arms in a gesture for her to hug him. She gladly accepted, squeezing him tightly. She was going to miss him so, so much. He would be going to Scotland soon for further studies, so she wouldn't be able to see him for a long while after this.
"Thanks for everything, Rin. I'll miss you."
"Yeah, because you just can't live without me right?"
She was definitely not going to miss this side of him though.
She sniffled and he pulled away, knocking her lightly on the head with his fist. "H-Hey, this isn't the time to be a crybaby. Your dad is coming over here right now and he'll beat me up if he thinks that I made you cry."
"Technically you did," she chortled, punching him lightly in the chest before turning around to meet her parents. Much to her surprise, her father was holding a bouquet of roses in his arms and her mother was trailing behind him. Both looked immensely proud of her, and she grinned, running over to meet them. "Hey Mom, hey Dad."
"I'm so proud of my little girl," Akio said, hugging her tightly and pressing a kiss to her forehead.
"Hello, Mr. Ogino, Mrs. Ogino," Rin greeted as he walked over.
"Congratulations to you too, Rin," Yuko said, giving him a brief hug. "We were just talking to your parents. I think they're looking for you."
"Oh, then I'd better go. You know how my mom is... It was nice to see you," he smiled, before jogging off and waving to other friends of his who yelled his name in invitation for a photo.
"He got you roses too?" Akio grimaced. "That boy is always one step ahead. Don't tell me he's going to be your boyfriend, Chihiro."
"Now, now," Yuko chided, taking her husband's arm. "If they like each other I don't see why not."
"For the last time, Rin is just a friend," Chihiro sighed, taking the roses from her father. "And it's okay, Dad. This is my first bouquet from you, so it's just as special."
He raised an eyebrow. "Just as?"
"Fine, way more special. Happy?"
"Very." They laughed and he hugged her once more, before Yuko pulled her in for another hug.
Once the closing ceremony was over, Chihiro and her parents began the long drive back home. Chihiro sat in the back, absently playing with the bouquets and flowers that she had received, smiling to herself as she thought back to the first bouquet she had ever received, which was on the day she had to move to her current home town.
Too bad it had withered before she could even put them in a vase back in the new home at the time. She probably still had the card lying around somewhere though.
Chihiro eyed the bouquet that she had received from Rin, and found a little card in it that she hadn't noticed before. She took it, reading the short message on it: "To my best friend for six years and counting, thanks. You still owe me that meal, by the way. Your treat right? Love, your favorite."
She rolled her eyes. Typical Rin. She looked at the card again, wondering if he had written her name down somewhere. He didn't. For some reason, it reminded her of the card that she had received with her first bouquet - her name had been written on the top left-hand corner of the card in light pink. Not seeing her name on the card that Rin gave her felt somehow mildly unsettling. Strange that she would feel some sort of need to see her name on a card like that — it wasn't as if she would be forgetting her own name anytime soon.
She wondered how that elementary school friend of hers was doing now. Hopefully she was doing well and still remembered her. Maybe she should invite her out for a drink some time, just to catch up for a while.
Chihiro let a small sigh escape her and she looked out the window, observing the blur of skyscrapers and cement roads as her father drove. Pity, she thought to herself, as she always did whenever she observed her urban world. She tended to wonder a lot about how the industrialized areas looked before they were developed. Probably much greener and fresher than what it was now. She never actually recalled becoming an environmentalist because of some kind of revelation she received when she was younger — it had just happened. At some point in her childhood she couldn't stand seeing people litter or news of reservoirs or parks being reclaimed for urban redevelopment. She had even kicked up a huge fuss at home when she was about eleven or twelve about her parents not recycling enough or wasting resources.
"Just a head's up for you, Chihiro," Yuko spoke, breaking the silence in the car, "when we get home, be prepared to meet the neighbors."
Chihiro snapped her attention back to her mother quizzically. "Why?"
"Because they want you to spread your 'good fortune' to their children so they can do just as well as you," Yuko replied with an amused laugh. "I can't believe they're still going on about that whole 'favored by the gods' nonsense."
Chihiro grimaced. Not that again...
There was a famous rumor back in her home town that she and her family were specially favored by the gods. It had started because by some stroke of bad luck, the family had arrived for their move three weeks late, for absolutely no reason at all. The family could have sworn they had just been delayed for a short while because of a detour that Akio had insisted on taking while getting to their new home, and they couldn't recall anything in particularly that could have led to their disappearances for three whole weeks.
The neighbors hadn't exactly helped to allay their worries or confusion when they started this whole 'spirited away' theory, claiming that they had been spirited away by the gods living in the hills, and that they were probably specially favored by the gods to have made it back into this world alive.
Chihiro and her family would have denied all of this, since they didn't actually believe in these superstitious things, but there had been no reasonable or logical explanation for the absurd time gap in their move. The only way they could deal with it — or not to — was to simply forget about it and never mention the peculiar incident again. Akio and Yuko didn't feel a particular need to know, it seemed.
Chihiro did, however. She had always found herself inexplicably drawn to that incident and a need to get to the bottom of the whole mystery. A part of her knew that the logical thing, or perhaps the best thing to do, was to simply forget about it like her parents had. But a bigger part of her was somehow certain that she would be able to remember if she were to dig deep enough into her memories.
Then again, she had tried to remember for the past fourteen years, and nothing had come out of it.
She was starting to think that there was nothing for her to remember in the first place.
That night, Chihiro lay in bed, exhausted from her interactions with her neighbors. They had been very pleasant, congratulating her and even treating her and her family to home-cooked dishes as a gift. Of course, that also meant having to listen to their theories of her family being spirited away years back once more, and simply going along with whatever they were saying in order to remain polite. Some of her neighbors, like Mrs. Yamada, had even requested for Chihiro to put her hand on the heads of her children as a form of 'blessing', in hopes that some of her good fortune would spread to the children as well.
With a long sigh, Chihiro pulled the covers over herself and tried to get some shut-eye. She was finally alone in the haven of her room, and relished in the peace and quiet around her. It had been a terribly long day, and all she wanted to do was sleep in till noon the next day.
Her heavy eyelids fell close and it wasn't long before she drifted off to sleep.
Chihiro stirred, feeling a shiver go down her spine as she felt a gentle but chilling gust of wind brush against her face. Had she left the windows open before sleeping..? She was too tired to get up and check though.
Pulling the covers tighter around her, she shifted into a fetal position to warm herself up. She was so tired...
She was about to go back to sleep when she thought she heard someone's footsteps in the room.
Maybe it was her mom who had come to close the windows for her. What time was it, anyway?
She waited for the sound of the windows closing and for the wind to stop blowing against her, but nothing, even after a while. Puzzled, she was about to turn around when she felt a hand gently rest on her covers, right where her shoulder was.
"Meet me at the bridge," a deep voice that most definitely did not belong to her father or her mother whispered. "I have something for you."
Chihiro wanted to ask who it was, but her mouth remained shut and her body frozen in its place, from shock or fear she couldn't tell. Then as quickly as it had appeared, the weight of his hand vanished and the wind died down.
Chihiro's eyes shot open and she snapped up into sitting position on her bed. Her heart was racing in her chest and cold sweat lined her forehead and upper lip. What had that all been about? Was that a dream..?
She glanced over at the windows, and found that they were tightly shut. Yeah, definitely a dream. But, what a weird dream to have. Who was that guy anyway? She didn't even recognize that voice from anywhere.
But at the same time, she did.
...Was she even making sense?
'Just some late night thoughts with Chihiro at... three in the morning. Great.' She set her phone back down on the dresser and decided that she should just get back to sleep, since that had been nothing more than a mere dream. The only thing was, that dream had felt so... real.
There was something about that voice that just resonated with her. Something told her that she shouldknow that voice, and its owner. It was gentle, kind and didn't make her suspect him to be a burglar or a bad person in her dream at all. Her intuition told her that he could be trusted. What was it, exactly? Who was that man? Why had she dreamt of him?
And why was she analyzing the voice of a fictional man who had randomly appeared in her dreams?
With an almost inaudible groan, she lay back down, flipped the covers over her and resolved to go back to sleep.
However, she couldn't. As tired as she was, her mind was now actively thinking about the encounter she just had. She reached her hand up to touch her shoulder, where the man had touched. The gentle pressure of his hand against her shoulder through her blanket did not seem conjured up by her. She could still feel it there, and vividly remember how the wind in the room had seemed like it was whispering to her, beckoning to her.
He told her to meet her at the bridge... but what bridge? She didn't recall any bridges in the town in particular. What was he talking about?
Her ten-year-old self was leaning over the red railings of a bridge, straining to see the train that was passing by the tracks that were submerged in the crystal blue waters below. It looked as if it was gliding over the surface of the water. How amazing was that?
Just then, she heard footsteps on the wooden planks of the bridge and she turned to her right to see who it was. She was surprised to see another boy there, gaping at her and blinking as if to confirm if he was actually seeing her.
Chihiro frowned, opening her eyes. Was that the bridge that he was referring to? Was he that boy? She stared at the ceiling, as if it would offer her some answers.
What was that vision, anyway? She didn't recall ever going to a place like that, or seeing a train that traveled on water.
The brick wall. Through the tunnel.
The answer was somehow intuitive to her. Why there, of all places? That was where she and her parents had found themselves after the move, only to realize that three weeks had passed them by when they arrived at their new house.
"Meet me at the bridge."
Should she go?
Nah, that would be ridiculous. Going out at three in the morning because of a dream? How absurd. Not to mention, her parents would kill her if they found her going out at this time of night to such a remote area where questionable figures could be lurking.
Any sane person would choose to go back to sleep.
'I guess I'm not that sane after all,' Chihiro thought to herself as she started the engine in the car. Hopefully none of the neighbors were up at this time — if they knew about it, they would definitely mention something to her parents, and she had no reasonable excuse to cover up for this.
She just hoped that she wasn't doing this for nothing.
Chihiro turned on the headlights and drove down the hill. It was a quick drive down to the intersection point and she went down the path that her father had taken many years back. All she had to do was drive straight in, if she remembered correctly. The little shrines lining the side of the road was all she needed to confirm that she was on the right path and she drove in quickly, trying not to dwell on the fact that the place gave her the creeps, especially that weird statue that sat in the bushes by the side of the road.
The road began to get bumpy and she slowed down a little, grimacing as the car shook and bounced and she was knocked from side to side. Any more of this and she would accidentally swerve off and fall off the damn hill. How her father managed to drive so quickly without getting into an accident years back was a mystery to her, even if he was one of the best drivers she knew.
As she drove deeper into the hill, a growing heaviness and longing began to tug at her heart, weighing on her chest. Her intuition was right; this place probably held some answers for her.
Chihiro slowed the car down to a stop when she got closer to the brick wall, and turned off the engine. The car became quiet and she stepped out of the car, dismayed to discover how tall the grass was. It went all the way up to her mid-calf, and the soil was damp. She would have to wash the dirt off later.
The place was quiet and it was dark. There were no lamps around, nor did it seem like anyone would be able to hear her in the event that she was attacked and she attempted to scream for help. She trudged forward and came to a stop in front of the tunnel. It was pitch black inside, like a gaping black hole. The wind was picking up again, and she felt it blow towards the direction of the tunnel.
It was calling her in.
She was about to take a step in, when she paused and took a step back instead. This was a bad idea. This was insane. What was she even doing here? She was practically asking to be killed by a serial murderer or attacked by some criminal. Fear took over her and she hurried back to the car, wanting to get back home as soon as she could, back to the safety of her room under the covers where she could sleep all of this away. She might need to consider going for a check-up too, just in case there was something wrong with her brain.
Chihiro began to make her way back to her car, frustrated with herself for pulling this sort of stunt in the middle of the night. So much for graduating with first-class honors — she could be pretty stupid when she wanted to be.
Just then, she heard footsteps and the crunching of grass.
She wasn't alone anymore.
Fear spiked in her and she sprinted back, nearly slipping on the mud and tripping over rocks that she couldn't see, but thankfully the car was close and if she was fast enough she would be able to make it in and drive away from whoever this stranger was.
Her vision had adjusted to the darkness by now and she found the car door fairly easily. But just as she was about to open the door, she felt a hand grab her by the wrist. Instinctively she opened her mouth to scream, but any sound she made was muffled by a big, strong hand that clamped itself over her mouth almost immediately.
No good. There was no time to think. Chihiro knocked her head back, slamming her head into her attacker's nose. He groaned and his grip loosened on her considerably as he stumbled backwards from the shock. Able to free herself now, she drew her elbow back and jabbed it straight into his ribs with all the force she could muster, causing him to groan once more, louder this time. She heard a thud as he hit the ground, and with no time to lose, she hastily opened the door and got in, her shaky hands fumbling clumsily about for the key to start the engine.
She was about to close the door and drive the hell away from her attacker when she felt him pull it open, delaying her escape. Forget the door, she could close it later. She stepped on the pedal hard, hoping to speed her way out of there — even if that meant accidentally killing someone — only to find that it wouldn't budge.
Chihiro thought her heart would burst out of her chest at the rate it was beating. It hammered against her ribcage as she stepped on the pedal over and over again, only to panic even more each time when the car refused to move. What was wrong? The engine was on, and it was working fine just a few minutes ago! What was going on?
"I'm not going to hurt you," the man said, almost like a plea, as he groaned again and tried to catch his breath.
Yeah, right.
"Chihiro, stop. I'm not going to hurt you."
Did he just... call her name?
Chihiro paused whatever she was doing, and for the first time, looked in the stranger's direction to see who he was exactly. Her foot slowly lifted off the pedal as she found herself staring straight into a pair of dark green eyes that seemed to hold no animosity whatsoever towards her.
Chihiro remained silent, eyeing the man warily. He had dark hair that fell to his shoulders, and was dressed in a white tunic, so it was probably unlikely that he was some sort of thief, since no one in their right mind would attempt to rob someone wearing a shirt of that color.
Her breathing became slightly more even, although she was still panting from that ordeal and struggle earlier. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he said apologetically.
His voice... That was the voice she had heard in her dreams. The voice that had told her to come here in the first place.
"You..." she spoke, barely above a whisper, "Who are you?"
"I'm a friend," he said simply, opening the door wider and gesturing for her to step out.
Chihiro stared at the open door, wondering if she really should believe a guy who was out and about at this time of night, going around scaring women who passed by here.
Well, she had done lots of crazy things for one night. One more couldn't hurt.
Carefully she stepped out, but kept the door in between them so that she could get back into the driver's seat and speed off if the need arose.
"Chihiro," he called once more, his smile fading a little when he saw the door in between them. "You don't trust me?"
"Should I trust a guy who just grabbed me out of nowhere?" she shot back with a frown.
"I suppose that would be fair," he replied.
Chihiro cocked her head to a side as she scrutinized his features further. She couldn't make out all that much in the dark, but at least from her she could tell that he was quite handsome. He looked pretty decent, not at all like a suspicious person. Of course, she couldn't just judge a book by its cover. For all she knew, he had weird fetishes like rubbing his feet in the dirt or something.
But she could recognize his voice for some reason. Something told her that she should know him — but she didn't. It was strange that he knew her name, while she didn't know his.
Maybe he was a stalker?
The thought was dismissed quickly. She wasn't the kind of girl worth stalking.
"If I may ask, why did you come here at this time of night?" he spoke, breaking the silence.
"You called me here," she blurted without thinking. "I-I mean, I just dreamt of someone calling me here, but I guess it was a stupid idea to come out here at this time."
He nodded, not looking at her oddly as she thought he would for saying something as absurd as that. "It wasn't that stupid."
She cocked an eyebrow questioningly. "What?"
"I said that I have something for you, didn't I?" He proceeded to remove a pretty red rose that had been tucked in his belt behind him. He held it out to her, and she stared at it dumbly, watching to see what kind of trick he had up his sleeve with this "gift".
This night was getting stranger by the second.
"You like roses, don't you?"
"Why are you giving this to me?" she demanded, returning his gaze to him folding her arms across her chest. "Who are you? What do you want?" He held her gaze, his eyes unwavering. He knew her. He really did seem to know her, but... why was it that she couldn't remember him?
"I've... been waiting to meet you again for a long time, Chihiro," was all he had to offer in reply as his hand fell to his side, still holding the rose in it.
"You're not answering the question," she said. "What is your name?"
"I want you to remember it on your own," he answered. "Try to remember."
"I can't. I've never seen you before, or at least I don't think I have. When did we meet? How long ago was that?"
"When you were ten and had just moved to this town. I believe you were supposed to be on your way to your new home."
She drew in a sharp breath. "You mean... I was with you... those three weeks that passed without me or my parents knowing how or why?"
His expression was hard as he nodded. "Yes. Your parents will not be able to remember, but you can." Then he began to step away from her, walking in the direction of the tunnel.
"Wait, where are you going?" She ran after him. She needed to know who this person was and what he meant to her. Why was her heart aching so, when he turned around to leave?
Chihiro had so many questions swirling in her mind at the moment, but right then she was certain of one thing: she didn't want him to go.
"Meet me at the bridge when you remember. I'll be waiting."
"And what if I can't?" she asked, "Will I see you again?"
He paused right before entering and glanced over his shoulder with what seemed a smile. "Once you've met someone, you never really forget them. I'll see you soon, Chihiro."
With that, he vanished into the dark tunnel, leaving only the lone, red rose in his wake.
A/N: Making this a two-shot because obviously things can't just end here haha. Stay tuned!
Oh and in case any of you were wondering, no, Rin isn't Lin in disguise. I just like the name Rin lol.