~Afterstory~

Author's note: When I was a child, I asked my mother what "spirited away" meant. As a native from Japan, her version was that when the gods really loved a living being, they blessed them by carrying them away from the cruel world, deemed to be just as bad as hell to the celestials. This is my version of what happened after the story ended.

Chihiro woke up in the retirement home feeling like she was missing something. Something very important. Something she could never forget...

It has been nearly eighty years since she returned from the bathhouse and Chihiro had settled down. She went to school, graduated college, got an ordinary job and had a few boyfriends, but Chihiro never married. There was this one boy that still lingered in her heart. The boy she had met when she was still a young girl. The boy that had saved her twice. The boy she can never again tell him how much she loved him. That boy was the cause of all her loneliness, yet he was the boy she would give up everything for.

Things happen in eighty years. Her family. Gone. All her friends. Dead. Chihiro was the last one. Chihiro was all alone. She carried the burden of their memories. Soon, it would be someone else's turn to carry the memory of her.

Chihiro could barely move her legs anymore. All Chihiro saw was darkness. She was blind. She stayed in her bed everyday, every minute , every second. However, today seemed different. Chihiro felt something. Her soul had felt lighter than ever before, ready to leave her body. It was finally time to go. To move on. But before she can rest in peace, she must see him. The boy.

" May I get some help?" Chihiro called.

A young women Chihiro had never heard before came in.

" Yes Miss Ogino. How may I assist you?" responded the new worker.

" Please get me a wheelchair. I am going to go somewhere," Chihiro said.

" Oh..But Miss Ogino... your health..." answered the worried worker.

" It is okay. I'm still young at heart!" she replied half-jokingly.

"Besides, I am lying on my death bed. Before I pass, there is something that must be done." Chihiro solemnly added.

" But Miss Ogino.. what if.."

"Let her be," someone cut in. The chief helper stepped into the room.

"Ma'am! What do you mean let her be? She's, she's..."

" It's no use, rookie. Once Chihiro sets her mind on something, there's no stopping her."

" Thank you," Chihiro responded gratefully. Then she announced,

" Please take me to the Kohaku River!"

It took a while, but Chihiro, the assistant head and the new worker finally reached their destination. To Chihiro, this would be her last.

The assistant helped Chihiro sit in the wheelchair and pushed her towards the river and stopped a few steps away from the water.

" Please leave me alone for a while," Chihiro said.

" Newbie, lets go," the Head said.

" Yes ma'am."

When Chihiro was left alone, she gazed at the river from her wheelchair. This river had almost killed her, for once she slipped into the river and nearly drowned, yet Chihiro felt an undying devotion towards the Kohaku River.

All she could see was darkness. As she listened to the sound of the river, Chihiro reminisced in the memories of the Spirit World. All the friends she made.

Suddenly, she saw a light. Before she knew it, she saw her surroundings. It was the Kohaku river. Across the river was the bridge to the bathhouse. The bridge to the spirit world. Chihiro jumped out of the wheelchair, and peered in the river. She saw the reflection of herself eighty years ago. Her skin was no longer wrinkly and old but young. Her hair was healthy and free of white hairs. What held her hair up was the hairband her friends had spun for her. The hairband had protected her throughout the years and stayed in her hair until the day Chihiro's hair thinned out. She then wore it like a bracelet.

Chihiro remained in disbelief until she heard a familiar voice. It belonged to a boy.

"Chihiro..." the voice had said.

This voice... Chihiro thought. She finally remembered who it belonged to.

" Haku! Haku! Haku, where are you?!" Chihiro screamed out.

Haku appeared above the river and reached out his hand.

" Chihiro..."

" Haku! Haku! I missed you! I missed you so much!"

Chihiro took his hand and they hugged, on top of the water. They hugged what

seemed like forever. Chihiro started crying. Haku wiped away her tears gently and said,

" Chihiro, lets go."

" Haku... I love you."

Haku smiled and responded,

" I love you too Chihiro."

The two smiled and laughed while walking across the river hand-in-hand to the bridge, leaving behind the wheelchair. They would live together happily in the Spirit World and this would be our last time ever seeing Chihiro again. Even after they left, their laughter can still be heard if you listen carefully.

When the assistant came up to check on Chihiro, she gasped.

" Miss Ogino! Miss Ogino! Where are you!?" she yelled out frantically.

The chief assistant stepped up behind her.

" Oh no, Chief! Miss Ogino.. She's gone! I.. I don't know where she went! Wait... Please don't tell me she drowned in the river! Oh no! We have to go get help! We need to call the ambulance! The police! Somebody!" the assistant said, panicking.

"Calm down newbie. Indeed Chihiro is gone..."

Then she laughed and added,

" Chihiro was spirited away..."