He promised. He promised he would find her, and they would meet again. Soon, he said. But, how soon is soon? And how soon is too late?
Today, as it may seem, it was too late. It was too late for her. Dead at the age of 25. After 15 years of waiting, patiently growing frustrated. Soul aching for something, someone that was not available in her world. He was all she wished for, it was him she could not work hard to achieve. Another world she could not return to. Looking out at the windows for a glimmer of hope in the form of his white scales. Returning to his river for familiar warmth within the cool waters. All she could do was wait.
Perhaps she wished too hard and the gods pitied her. Looking past every shadow that had his shade of hair and realising that it wasn't him. Thus granting her wish of seeing him once more in a way she did not expect, by bringing forth her demise.
It was a beautiful day the day Chihiro was laid to rest. The sky was clear, it was a cool summer day and everything wasn't fine. The ceremony felt too long and the quiet and sombre atmosphere sunk its heavy weight down onto the funeral. Friends and family whom she had graced her liveliness with dragged their feet to the reality no one wanted to face. Her parents wept silent tears as they clenched their mouths shut to muffle the sobs. Chihiro's father gave a final speech with a trembling voice, with unshielded emotional agony pouring out with every word. Then, they watched their beautiful daughter laid down into the ground, peaceful and dead. Remembering her short life that they had the fortune to share with her. Remembering every memory of her that they could no longer recreate. Remembering that this ceremony meant that they couldn't watch her live her life out, they couldn't watch her be loved and they could no longer see her smiling face. Their heart shattered. It ached and it ached tremendously, they felt so empty and all they wanted was to replace her during the night of the accident. Their hurting soul poisoned their being, stripping them down naked for every emotional wave to crush them.
But soon enough, it was over. The final goodbye to a pure soul, no longer with them. A missing laughter in their lives and the warm fire extinguished. People left with pieces of Chihiro with them in their hearts, selfishly holding on.
When soon had become too late, Haku came. When soon meant her death, when soon meant an appointment promised a just little too late. He walked barefooted in the grass, approaching her grave with a collection of pink flowers clenched tightly in his hands. He wished with all his heart it wasn't true. He wished he had been braver to see her… He wished she were alive.
And there it was. A simple headstone, Ogino Chihiro. Chihiro was dead. He didn't get to see her. He didn't get to say goodbye. He didn't get to thank her. He didn't get to tell her… Tell her that he loved her. It hurts; it hurts so much his heart burned. Hot tears well up in his eyes, the pain became physical. He crumbled to his knees, dropping the flowers. She left. She left him and took his heart along with her to a place he can't ever follow. She left him and he can't see her. He can't love her, and he regrets and she died. He wants her back.
Anguished sobs tore through his throat, clouds fleet to darken the sky. Raindrops fell, hard and stabbing through his white clothes. The heavens were angry, unforgiving and relentless. It was the final mourning from the heavens, a pure soul lost in a heartbreak left unhealed for too long.
It was a beautiful day. As it was every day, rain or shine in the eyes of Chihiro. Every day meant a new hope to see him again. Every day meant another crack in her heart with no sign of him. Just one more day. Just one more. Till the day came that the cracks broke her heart and she lost hope. When hope is all she had left, she fell through and sunk within herself. Strings snapped. That was the day Chihiro died, and the day he finally came looking. It was a beautiful day.