Authors Note= I don't own any of the Characters from the movie, only Lena, her mother and father and any characters not featured in the movie.
I hope you guys enjoy, please R&R :)
I ran toward her house, my best friend, and practically my little sister, Chihiro's house.
My back felt warm as I ran and I was becoming exceedingly aware of the warm liquid that was running down the back of my legs.
I didn't want to get her involved, I never wanted her to know about this part of the world, but tonight I have no choice.
I have nowhere else to go.
Each tree seems dark and strange as I pass, every shadow an unknown threat.
It has been 2 years since I first met Chihiro, and I would have never guessed at that moment that two years down the line her home, her being, would be my safe haven.
She has become closest thing to a home for me.
That warm sunny Sunday a couple neighborhood boys trying to rob her of her cash had cornered her. I happened to be walking by and gave the boys a good thumping for their actions. After that she kept seeking me out, I tried to push her away, my mother was drinking more often and had a tendency to become more violent than usual.
The last thing I wanted was for the little 11-year-old girl I had saved to get hurt.
She wouldn't take no for an answer though, and after a while I finally gave in but still kept her away from my mother.
My home life was not happy, which was pretty usual in the part of town I lived in. It hadn't always been though; when my father was alive I remember our home was always bright and opening. When I was 6 though he disappeared, and still to this day there was no sign of him.
My mother had told me he had left us, that he didn't want me. Still a part of me could never believe that, all of my memories of my father were happy and blissful. I was his angel, his princess.
A couple days before his disappearance he had been acting strange, he was very shifty and constantly telling me that he would always be here…in my heart. The night before he disappeared he gave me an exquisite music box and told me to always keep it safe. That it was a part of him that would always be with me.
The box was just a little larger than my hands put together with long graceful carvings of wings and dragons on it's exterior in brilliant shades of green and blue. For the life of me I never found a way to open it and as the years passed it simply became the unopened treasure that always reminded me that my father loved me.
I never told the police or my mother what he had said, but I know she noticed his behavior.
As time went on things became worse without him there, she became mean and angry, always harsh with me because I looked so much like him.
She had short black hair and piercing blue eyes, while I had long straight brown hair that reached my lower back and deep brown eyes. To my knowledge I didn't bare any resemblance to my mother at all.
Things steadily got worse until she became violent towards me and my home life was simply a place for me to eat and sleep.
After becoming good friends with Chihiro, I took to spending many nights at her house, her parents didn't seem to mind, even though I was 14 and she was only 11. Each night I would beg for her to tell me her adventures in the spirit world. She had let it slip a couple times before and when she noticed that I didn't think she was crazy she began opening up and relishing the fact that she could talk to someone about her experiences.
That was something about her memories that never struck me as impossible, many times I almost felt a pulling sensation in the back of my memories when she spoke about the spirit world, that made me feel like I was constantly trying to remember something that always alluded my grasp.
She told me all about Yubaba, Zeniba, the bath house, and Lin. My favorite memories that she would tell me were the ones about Haku, or Kohaku River I found out was his real name. She would tell me that we were both like adopted siblings to her, that she wasn't an only child anymore; she had an older brother and an older sister.
He became the boy I dreamed about, like a person from a book that you would imagine over and over in your head.
The last few months though had been different, it was harder for me to get away and each time my mother seemed to be sinking deeper and deeper into her drunken stupors.
We didn't have much money, and lived in a more ragged part of the town where beatings and violence in families were more common. My speaking up I found, to adults seemed to do nothing but make things worse.
Tonight was no different; the only thing that had changed was the type of alcohol and my response time.
I wasn't fast enough tonight, and she was more alert. Her blows fell to my back, and the side of my face.
Nights like these were always the same, I would sneak out once my mother passed out rush over to Chihiro's to keep myself sane and hide my wounds while asking to use the restroom.
She knew what was going on but also understood that I wouldn't tell her anything; she always kept a full first aid kit handy in her bathroom for me.
My steps sounded so loud in my ears, each step taking me closer and yet draining me of more energy than usual.
Her house was dark except for her room, which was strange since it was around 1am. Rushing to her window, I quickly pulled my hooded jacket over my head pulling my hair back into a quick twist. I pulled the hood over the left side of my face where the bruises where already forming.
I pulled out the extra hand towel I had brought and made sure that I wouldn't track any blood into her room until I reached the bathroom.
I rapped on the window quietly, finally noticing the voices inside that suddenly hushed. I must be going crazy, because one of them sounded like a males voice.
There was some shuffling and finally I was Chihiro's sweet round face look outside the window and down at me. She smiled when she realized it was me and quickly opened the window.
"Lena, come in, come in. Are you alright?" Her high voice sounded, edged with concern as she took in my hoody. For her it was probably a telltale sign that I was hurt.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm sorry to bother you Chihiro, do you mind if I spend the night?" I asked hauling myself through the window.
I was surprised when I heard her pause for a minute. Looking at her, now that I had successfully climbed through the window I noticed her gaze was on the closet behind me.
I turned to follow her gaze and was suddenly snapped back as she started talking to me again.
"Oh, of course, sorry my head is all over the place tonight. Oh…wow, you…um need the use the restroom then don't you?" She said, her voice wavering slightly as I realized that my hoody had moved to bare the bruises on my face.
I nodded quickly and moved forward to give her a quick hug.
"You wouldn't happen to have large rolls of gauze though would you? If not it's fine, just wondering." I asked feeling my cheeks heat up, my back was worse than usual and this time I would need something to bind it up.
I could see the worry shining in her eyes, and almost let out an audible sigh of relief when she didn't ask about it and simply nodded rushing out of the room to get it for me.
Letting my shoulders relax, I pulled my hoody back and let my hair unwind itself.
Turning towards the closet, I jumped when a small deep sound and a slight shuffle escaped between the small gape between the door and the frame.
Taking a deep breath I walked towards it, looking curiously into the dark patch that had emitted the sound.
I jumped when Chihiro suddenly stepped out from nowhere and in front of the closet.
"Hey, you, umm I found you a bag of frozen peas for your eye as well, well get to it, I will be out her if you need me." She said suddenly pulling my arm to the bathroom door.
I sighed and let her pull me, I would find out what is going on after I was done making myself presentable.