chapter: prologue.
summary: Chihiro moves to America for college, only to find that the Spirit World is everywhere. She just has to look for the right entrance, and then, maybe, she could find the place that has lingered in her memories all of this time.
a .r i v e r . r u n s. t h r o u g h
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Dive.
It only took a moment's hesitation; a rush of cool water and a cascade of light refracted from the spray. She reveled in the abrupt wall of silence it brought, excluding, perhaps, the quiet sound made by the currents.
Water was never her element, not even now, as she found herself within the center of it all. She was grounded on land for the majority of her time, but she often found herself recalling fond memories of water and then the spontaneous urge to live them again. It was a warm summer and contrasted with the temperature of the shifting mass of liquid surrounding her. Summer was always a season that made her remember.
It was an incredible thing, water. Lakes, seas, oceans. But rivers, mostly. They surpassed the majesty of any other body. The deep crevasses they wove into the geography and life itself, snaking through land and connecting everything. Her memories. Her past.
It was a magical experience - a spiritual one. With this thought, a wry smile formed. The wording was heartbreakingly ironic.
She gradually opened her eyes. This was the hardest part, opening them. Seeing everything sent her reeling into shock, not so much from the alien sights below as it was the sudden, final yank into reality. The fact that yes, she was swimming, not flying, and still in the same world she found herself regretting ever returning to made her remember to surface. No one would save her from stupidity.
And this was when she tilted her head up and let her body rise, savoring the feeling of her skin losing contact with water. It tickled in a surprisingly delightful way, and, unwilling to forget the feeling, she remained floating on her back, letting herself glide. Her friends' voices drifted on the breeze to her ears, happy squeals and laughter.
Her friends, though not anything special, took her mind off of things. It was only when she was underwater could she delve into that innermost chasm of her mind and revisit that second-home, the one that Lena never slept-over in; Clarissa never broke into through the upstairs window to surprise the family in; the one Matt hadn't laughed until Coke violently projected out of his nose in. A place she reserved solely for herself. They wouldn't be able to comprehend it, anyway.
America was slightly different from Japan, lacking the rich history and culture and replacing it with the tedium of battles in the countless wars which they fought. It was the fourth-home, after the home that she lived in when she was little, followed by her secret place, and then her last home in Japan. America was a tough one, considering she was here for college, away from her family. Not homesick, though. Never homesick.
She had only brought two things to this country, clothes and a sketch of what she often remembered. The most obvious features were the empty train station and the surrounding forest, shaded expertly in pencil. At a last impulsive moment, though, she had drawn an inconspicuous sliver of light in the sky. It was more for her than those viewing it, and it provided a small sense of relief to see it on something tangible. The possibility that her sanity had left her long ago was an unavoidable fear, a proverbial cancer that grew in the back of her mind.
Her friends called her to the dock. She raised her head obligingly, noticing that one held up a small fish. It was a token of their success, and it made her smile. They beckoned wildly, proud of what they had caught.
She dove underwater, where the currents guided her back home.
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Okay, so is this cool? Comments/reviews, anyone? I'd appreciate it. Also, if you could answer a question for me: am I too cliché yet? 'Cause that happens, and then I feel this compulsive need to delete the entire story.
Anyway, this is the first chapter, the prologue, rather, of a fanfiction I am trying out. I have no actual plot in mind, but one always develops as I write. Let me know if you died before you finished the chapter. Mind you: I know next to no Japanese. Any special terms or phrases could be helpful. Sooo… yeah. Review!