Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away in any way, shape, or form. All characters and settings used belong to Hayao Miyazaki.
Once Upon a Day
by insert cliche
This is how a fairytale begins.
Their first meeting and subsequent separation had been purely accidental, but everything that happened between them in that first encounter became the backbone to the rest of their story.
She had stumbled into his world through the mistakes of her parents, and was forced to stay, due to a culmination of unfortunate circumstances; her mother and father had been turned into pigs, and good little girls didn't leave their parents behind. So she found herself a safe haven and worked herself to tears trying to set them all free. And she meets a boy.
He helped her through the mess that she is thrust into, pulling strings and putting up smoke screens to make her work easier. He risked his life and honor for her, a girl so far below him, and didn't regret a thing. Her parting gift to him is his freedom.
There were others in their story: her older-sister figure, the old worker who gave her a starting push, the old witch who had been the villian in their story. But those people were only side characters in the show, and they were always pushed aside in the end.
And when that story end comes, they leave each other with the promise to meet again.
Once upon a day, there was a girl.
Before her journey, she had always been the whiny little girl who cried when she didn't get what she wanted. If her life had continued like that, shee would have been the stepsister, or the annoying side character that everybody hates. She would have been the cynic, the pessimist, the one who shot down others' dreams.
But she was lucky, and was forced to change. Sure, there had been hard times, and homesickness and stubbornness and exhaustion and hate and tears, but she had come out of the Other World changed for the better. She started smiling more, laughing when there wasn't even anything remotely funny.
Because, she reasoned, we only get to live once. Might as well make what I can of it.
And now she was the dreamer.
She would stare out of the window in class and doodle fantastic beasts on her notebooks when she was supposed to be paying attention. She never swept the soot out of the chimney. She spent hours every day running through the woods and splashing through the streams. She paid tribute to every single shrine she passed, be it for the deceased or for the spirits.
And, in the style of most dreamers, she looked to the sky. Beautiful days with clear blue skies were occasions for happiness, for even nature felt happy. Cloudy days merited extra time outside, because some spirit-child or another was unhappy. Rainy days meant that there would be chocolate eaten on the behalf of the sad beings everywhere. She personified Nature's emotions.
But she still stayed herself, even after becoming a spirit-child.
She watched, every night, as the moon slowly began to shine.
Once upon a night, there was a boy.
He wasn't human. He was a dragon, a river, and a spirit prince.
He had let himself turn into ice after losing his home, and he had worked mindlessly for centuries until he had met her. Even under his flawless mask, however, he had always been a dreamer. He dreamed of a time when his river would be returned to him, a time when he would be freed from of all the bonds that he had shackled himself with. A time when he would be able to fly anywhere he wanted, without regret holding him back.
And after he met her, he turned into a believer.
"You know, everyone has to have something to live for. You used to live for your river, but it's gone now."
"I know."
"Hey, hey! Don't be sad! I just meant that you have to find something new to live for, okay? I know you'll be happy in the end."
He believed her.
He believed that there would be a light in his darkness, and end to the night that he had fallen prey to.
So he waited.
Days were spent flying, and nights were spent wandering. He visited with all of his old friends, and made new ones to pass the time. He traveled farther out than anyone had ever gone, and never regretted it.
And he watched the horizon before every dawn, waiting for the sun to rise.
And once upon a time, they came together.
When the time is right, she walks back into his world. She leaves everything behind to look for him.
He comes "home" when his instincts tell him to. He had no real home, but there was a place mapped out in his head, and he trusted that luck would be on his side.
They meet each other on the train tracks. Fitting, because those tracks can lead them anywhere they want to go.
"Hello."
"Hello yourself. I never remembered you being this formal."
"And I never remembered you being this spirited." She laughs at the unintended pun.
"So? Even a sootball could see that I'm different."
He grins. "Point taken. So why are you here?"
"I wanted an adventure beyond what my home could offer. And the gates let me through." A pause. "What about you?"
"I found what I wanted to live for." They both know what he's talking about. "Would you like to start?" It's a question for both of them.
Do you want to start your dreams?
Do you want to start believing?
"Yes."
They start walking on an unexplored track. After a while, he chuckles, and she asks him what he's laughing about.
"I just realized that in all our times together, we've never had a real, proper introduction."
"If you're so obsessive about it, then let's have one now. Hi, I'm Chihiro. And you?"
"I go by Kohaku."
"Well, Kohaku. It's nice to meet you."
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