I'm not looking forward to going to the bathhouse. Yubaba is sure to throw a fit, but I can't fix this problem myself. I've tried.
And something draws me. The scent of a river. But it's a scent I haven't smelled in a long while. How strange.
My heart sinks as the shops and restaurants close at my approach. It only confirms what my numbed senses cannot tell me.
I have become a disgusting monster.
Yubaba's frogs await me at the bridge, trying to tell me that the bathhouse is closed. I can see for myself the lights, and the smokestack is putting out smoke from the boiler room. I won't be deterred. I gain some little amusement from seeing one of the frogs faint at my smell. But only a little.
I push my way into the bathhouse. Yubaba herself is there to greet me. And a young human girl. The scent of the lost river is strong around her.
I hold out a slimy tentacle.
"Take the nice customer's money, Sen," Yubaba instructs the girl.
I almost feel bad dropping the sludge with gold coins into the girl's hands, but Yubaba will not dirty her own.
"Don't just stand there, Sen," the old witch says. "Take our guest back to the bath."
"Yes, ma'am," the girl squeaks.
I like her.
I follow her, my ponderous girth brushing against the walls around me. I long for the sky, for the lithe quicksilver shape that is my truth. Soon now, I shall return to myself and the thought quickens my heart.
I follow the girl into the bathing room, then hurry past her and slide head first into the huge tub. Surely, this will cleanse me. But as I emerge from the water I find I am unchanged.
Still filthy.
I lean over the edge of the tub and moan. The foulness of my breath nearly knocks the girl over, but she is stalwart.
She makes her way through the sludge that had spilled from the tub to pick up a little basin. It is full of bath tokens. She is far from graceful or efficient as she attempts to get more water for me, but she doesn't give up and presently, hot scented water is cascading over my body. Still with no effect on the muck imprisoning me.
To my dismay, the girl falls into the tub with me, head first in the sludge. I grasp her in a slimy tentacle and lift her free of the goo. She spits water and I see that she is all right. Now, time to get to business. I hold her to my side, again smelling the sweet river scent. I feel her searching touch, and she finds the root of the problem.
"There's a thorn in his side!" she yells over the rushing water.
A thorn.
I wish.
A thorn I could manage.
An older woman, Lin, the girl calls her, is now here to help. And . . . Yubaba. The witch of the bathhouse throws a rope to the girl.
"Tie that around the thorn. This is no ordinary stink spirit."
I sigh and relax. Soon I will be freed.
The rope is tied, and the whole of the bathhouse staff appears at Yubaba's command to help.
They heave, and the horrible pressure that has kept me trapped begins to ease fractionally.
"Pull!" Yubaba commands.
They heave again.
"It's a bike!" the girl, Sen, calls.
I grimace, feeling the pressure of a decade begin to lift.
It's much more than just a bike.
Another heave.
More trash and greasy grimy filth squirts free.
"Heave!"
The dam trapping me breaks.
Bikes.
Broken toys.
Shredded tires.
Trash and refuse of years spills from my body.
The sludgy outrush threatens to knock Sen over and bury her, but I wrap her in my shining coils and keep her safe. She seems unafraid and the scent of the lost river fills my nose.
"Well done," I murmur to her, and place a ball of special herbs into her hands.
I withdraw my coils and leave her standing on the edge of the tub untouched by the filth that covers the floor of the bathhouse.
For a moment, I luxuriate in the hot scented water. I revel in the feel of water against my body, instead of muck. In gratitude, I've left an extra present for Yubaba and her workers. I wonder if they'll-
"Gold!"
Ah, yes. They noticed.
"Quiet, you idiots!" Yubaba snarls. "Our guest is still here. Sen, you're in our guest's way."
The girl bows and clambers off the tub. Such a respectful girl. Perhaps our paths will cross again. The thought makes me smile. I hope we may share river stories, and she can tell me of the scent that clings to her, though it has disappeared from her world.
The water around me begins to roil as I prepare to take my leave. With an explosion and an exultant laugh, I burst free of the tub.
"Open the door!" Yubaba calls.
I leave the building in a rush of water and soar joyusly into the air, and through the huge main gates. The sound of the other spirits cheering recedes as I leave the bathhouse behind. There are still bits of trash in my body, but that will not change until the humans clean my river. For now I am content to be recognizable again.