Memories

Chihiro quickly sat up as the silvery streak of light from her dream replayed in her head. After realizing that it was not reality, Chihiro sighed and fell back into her light pastel blue pillow. Then she got up, slipped on her fuzzy slippers and went to the window. She opened the satin curtains and let the sunbeams pour onto the carpeted floor. She forcefully pushed the window open as a warm breeze blew in. Her hair was flying in the wind, she breathed in the warm summer air; in a few weeks, it would be the summer vacation. She gazed outside into the sparkling sea as it reflected off the sun, rising up in the horizon, it reminded her of the spirit world. She was not sure if she has ever been there, but memories from it kept coming back to her. ...Haku... She remembered everything about it, vivid scenes from the spirit world returned to her. ...Ohaku river... She let out a deep sigh. She missed the spirit world, even though she doesn't know if she has really been there, her mom told her she just ran off and they could not find her for a while. But that was two years ago. Chihiro , a familiar voice whispered to her in the wind. She was surprised and looked around for the person who called her, almost expecting Haku to be there. She closed her dark brown eyes disappointedly and heaved a sigh. Why'd I leave the spirit world? Then, she sleepily leaned on the wooden windowsill and soon fell asleep as the wind kept blowing in lightly through the opened window.

****

She trudged on the sidewalk on the way to school. She walked past the tunnel she saw every weekday, a strong gust of wind pushed her into the seemingly neverending tunnel, but she ignored it and continued her way, knowing it was only her imagination. However, before she walked past it, she'd gaze into the tunnel regretfully and mournfully.

"Hey!" a faraway voice called. It was Meiko, her best friend in school. She was tall and had long black hair. Although she had a don't mess with me attitude and she was kind and helpful to Chihiro. She never told her about the spirit world, but she seemed to know everything about it; probably because of the many times Chihiro daydreamed and unknowingly murmured in class.

"Hi Chihiro!" Meiko practically yelled.

Chihiro tripped on a crack on the stones.

"Your such a klutz!" Meiko teased playfully.

Chihiro did not mind Meiko's teasing and she just smiled.

"Race you to class!" Chihiro yelled as she already started dashing for the school. Meiko slowly caught up and then raced in front of her, accidentally making a wrong turn. Chihiro followed calling, "This isn't the right way!" However, that did not stop Meiko. Soon, Meiko slowed down and they were running side-by-side. They ran as fast as they could toward the school, laughing. Then Meiko stopped suddenly because of an enormous roadblock in their path. Chihiro tripped and fell. Her arms and legs were scraped; she did a few rolls then began tumbling down a hill that led to a deep river.

"Chihiro!" was the last thing she could remember before plunging into the water.

"...H-Haku?" Chihiro whispered weakly after she became conscious again. Meiko shook her slightly as she whispered, "Chihiro, are you okay?" Chihiro moaned. Her urge to return to the spirit world was stronger than ever. She slowly sat up as she looked around the grassy surrounding. The flowered covered ground and the little stone spirits it was decorated with made an old memory return to her.

"You're okay now," Meiko said reassuringly.

"W-what happened?" Chihiro asked with a puzzled look on her face. Her scars indicated that she went through something bad.

"You fell in the river, but then you were magically on the other side," she replied with a laugh. Meiko didn't believe in magic and spirits,

"Its all junk!" she'd say. Chihiro looked into the clear blue sky and thought she saw a silver streak fly across the sky, just like in her dream.