"Mom, why do we have to come back here?"
"I told you, it's important to me. You're just along for the ride, dear."
Chiro looked out the window at the forest. Small stone shrines sat at the bottom of a huge tree they had stopped the car by. Her mom stepped out of the car and breathed deeply.
"Mom, what are you doing?" Chiro demanded.
"Just…breathing in the air. You know, I haven't been here since the day me and my parents got lost driving to our new house."
"Big deal. Why would you want to come back here?"
"You'll see. I want to see if it's still here…"
"You mean that old theme park? Grandma took me out here once," Chiro yawned. Her short brown hair was sticking to her face and she wiped it away.
Instantly, her mom was tense. She rushed over and took her daughter by the shoulders and gripped her tight.
"What? Grandma took you out here?! When? Why didn't you tell me?!"
Chiro was stunned. "Um, yeah. She showed me the entrance but told me not to go in because stuff was broken in there and it wasn't safe."
Her mom relaxed.
"Good. It's very dangerous in there, Chiro. I, um…almost got killed myself."
Her mom turned away. For the first time, Chiro realized why she was semi-named for her mother. Their outlooks and easy excitability were uncannily alike, and they both had the same stubborn attitude.
"Mom, what's in there?" Suddenly, Chiro's curiosity grew.
"N-nothing. Just some broken glass. C'mon, let's go back to Grandma's. She's got oden cooking!" Her mom was smiling now, and revved the car as she slid back in.
As the car pulled away, Chiro noticed a strange, squat stone statue in the woods. Its etched grin mocked her, egging her on to explore.
***
Hot steam escaped the stew as Grandma began ladling it out.
"So, where did you girls go?" she asked with a smile.
Chiro's mother sipped her oden. "Just up to the Wrong Turn."
"Oh, did you? Did you show Chiro the inside?"
"No. We didn't go all the way up there. Just to the shrines at the bottom of that huge tree."
Chiro looked down at her soup. She played with it with her chopsticks, not very hungry.
"Grandma, do you think this afternoon I could go hang around in the backyard?" Chiro asked.
Her grandmother smiled knowingly and Chiro's mother looked to her own mother for the answer.
"Why certainly, Chiro. I don't see why not, you're staying the night after all."
The girl smiled and downed her stew in a heartbeat.
"Thanks, Grandma it was great, I'll see you later mom, bye!" Chiro put her bowl in the sink and raced out the back door.
***
Chiro's footsteps crunched on the gravel as she ran along the road. By her figuring, her mom would leave in half an hour, giving Chiro ample time to run down to the Turn.
It took her fifteen minutes to jog there, and she took up residence under the cover of trees before taking a deep breath.
"Ow, cramp!" she groaned and clutched her side.
When the feeling passed, Chiro walked down the road, finally coming before the great red entrance. Another statue sat, grinning. It was two-faced and short. It only came up to right below her shoulder.
She took in a sharp breath as he heard the crunch of gravel behind her. Her mother! She must have come back!
Sprinting wildly to outrun the oncoming car, she dashed inside the long tunnel, finally entering a huge room filled with wooden benches and a few water fountains.
Dodging behind a row of benches, she listened to the oncoming footsteps. She watched through two slats in the bench as her mother came in and walked through to another extension of the tunnel on the other side of the room.
Curious, she sneaked behind bench after bench, trying to keep her in sight. Finally, her mom started back, sighing.
Chiro dashed behind a bench and watched as her mom went back. She didn't move until she heard the start of a car and the grinding of wheels against stone. The sounds of machinery died away, and Chiro was left alone.
She came out of hiding and entered the second tunnel. Walking slowly, her footsteps echoed off the walls loudly. A circle of light appeared at the end, and Chiro made for it.
***
The light blinded her momentarily. As her eyes adjusted, she realized she was standing in a field of endless grass. Boulders sat, scattered across the land. In the distance she noticed several buildings.
"Is it a town? Why would it be all the way out here?"
She began towards it, thinking out load.
"This place is beautiful! Why would Mom keep me away from here?"
She came to what looked like a dried-up riverbed. Crossing it carefully, her foot slipped under a rock. Her shifted weight brought the rock down on it, crushing it.
"Ow! Ow…" Tears began streaming from her face in pain as she moved the rock out of the way. Her shoe was ripped open, and her foot was red and swollen. It was bent strangely, seemingly broken.
"Ow…"
She sat, trying to touch it. It was now greatly inflamed.
Chiro spotted a long, sturdy stick nearby and used it as a crutch to stand. Hobbling her was towards the town, she prayed there was someone there to help her.
When Chiro made it to the edge of the buildings, she was miserably mistaken. No one was there. The buildings were dark and silent.
But was that the sound of a train? She listened intently, trying to hear.
It was! "There must be a station nearby!" she cried now walking quickly.
Stairs impeded her path. She struggled to get up them, and finally succeeded. At the top was a long bridge, leading into…
"A sentou? What's a bathhouse doing all the way out here?" she asked out loud. Noticing the smoke rising from the roof, she realized someone was inside!
"Hey! Hey, is anyone there?"
She saw a figure walking by the entrance.
"Hey! Over there! Please, help me!"
The figure turned. She saw it was a young boy, about her age. He didn't show any sign of care.
"Please, my foot, it's hurt. I can barely walk. Help me!"
He started walking over. Chiro saw he had an angry look on his face.
"I thought I told you not to look back! Didn't I?"
His voice was commanding. Chiro could only look surprised as he began berating her.
"Chihiro, why didn't you listen to me?" he demanded.
"B-but I'm not Chihiro. My name's Chi-ro," she stammered.
"Stop that, Chihiro. I know it's you; you can't fool me…
"Wait…you're not her!" He peered into her face, as though trying to find something. "You're not. But you look like her. Who are you?"
"I'm Chiro. My mom's name is Chihiro. But she's all grown up!" she explained.
The boy looked at her as though seeing her for the first time.
"You mean…you're Chihiro's daughter?"
"Um, yeah. Why?"
"This isn't good. She must have looked back halfway. Now you're stuck here, just like she was!"
Chiro was still confused. "Um, my foot is really hurt. Can you help me?"
He nodded. "Of course. Follow me. By the way, my name is Haku."
"Thank you."
Chiro followed him slowly up to a small door in the wall of the sentou. He slid it open and eased her through. Following, Haku led the way into a hot room. Within, several dozen small black puffs carried hunks of coal into a great stove. A spider-like old man was grinding plants when they entered.
The spider-man looked up at them and gasped.
"Sen? I thought you left a long time ago!"
"Kamaji, this is Sen's daughter, Chiro. She's stuck and hurt. Can you help her?" Haku explained.
Kamaji nodded. "Of course I can. Here, rub some of this on your foot…" A long arm of Kamaji's stretched out and nudged Haku's leg out of the way. From a drawer in the wall, Kamaji pulled a squishy mix of stuff and handed it to the boy.
"Here, rub this on her wound. It will reduce the swelling and heal it quickly."
Haku did as he requested, and Chiro sighed from relief.
"Thanks!" she managed, watching her foot go down to normal size.
"I'm glad your foot is better. But on to more pressing matters. You'll have to stay here until morning, but you mustn't get a job! Whatever happens, you can't. If you do, you'll have to stay here until your contract is up and that could take years.
"Stay here with Kamaji. Do work for him, but don't sign anything. He'll keep you hidden until morning, won't you, Kamaji?"
"Of course I will. Chiro, you can start by taking lumps of coal from over there in the corner and throwing them into the fire."
Kamaji gestured to a large stack, left over from lunchtime. Chiro nodded grimly and began work. When she turned around again, Haku was gone.
***
Around dinner, Kamaji gave her a break and a cup of rice. As she was eating it, there was a noise from a door in the wall. Kamaji gasped and tried to hide Chiro in time, but it was too late. A young woman had stepped into the room.
"Kamaji, dinner! Got some soup here for you."
Kamaji gulped. "Um, just leave it there, Lyn. I'll…er…get it later. I'm quite busy."
Lyn saw behind his arms.
"What? Another human?! Wait a minute…Sen?! What are you doing back here?!"
Kamaji shook his head. "Lyn, this is Chiro, Sen's…daughter. Chiro is here by accident and needs to stay the night. Not a word of her to anyone!"
Lyn crossed her arms. "She has to get a job. If Yubaba finds her, she'll be killed!
"I'll take her personally to Yubaba. I owe it to Sen; it'll be fine. She can be my assistant, just like before!" Lyn was really enjoying the thought.
Kamaji shook his head. "Haku said not to let her have a job here."
Lyn pouted. "What does Haku know? If she's caught here she's dead meat. Yubaba will only let her stay with a job."
Kamaji considered this.
"I'll give you a roasted newt if you let me!" Lyn pulled from her robes a charred lizard.
"Hmm…alright! But make it quick. If Haku finds out, it'll take some big explaining to get him convinced." Kamaji grabbed the newt and stored it away.
"C'mon, Chiro. Let's go get you a job." Lyn gestured to the doorway.
"But Haku-…"
"Forget about him. He just doesn't want you to stay here. He wants you to get caught and killed."
They began weaving through countless rooms, making their way up stairs and elevators. Finally, they came to two huge sets of doors inlaid with gold.
"I can't go any farther, Chiro. You'll have to go the rest of the way on your own. I have to get back to work."
Lyn was gone before Chiro could ask what she was supposed to do.
Chiro called to the darkness.
"Hello? Um, Yubaba? I was wondering if I could have a job…"
A door spoke to her.
"You'll have to knock first to get anyone to listen to you, little girl."
Chiro stepped back in surprise. Upon closer inspection, a doorknocker was the thing that spoke.
"I'm sorry?" she commented.
"Knock, you silly girl! I'm not going to let you in until you show some decent manners!"
Chiro knocked softly.
"At any rate, you're a bit better than that other human who showed up awhile back."
The door opened, and so did a series of other doors leading deeper into the house.
Chiro stepped inside the first, and felt huge tug on her shirt. She went flying through room after room, doors shutting and bolting behind her. Twisting and turning, she finally slowed down and was left inside a softly lit room, heated by a fireplace.
A desk was opposite the fireplace, and behind it sat a huge headed woman and three green heads.
"Um, excuse me, ma'am, but could you tell me where Yubaba is?" Chiro asked.
"You're a bit more polite than your mother was, at least."
The woman looked up at her, and Chiro caught a fleeting memory, like déjà vu. The woman's face seemed so familiar.
"I'm Yubaba. And I suppose you'll be wanting a job then?"
Chiro nodded.
"If you don't work hard, I'll turn you into a pig and eat you for supper."
Chiro stepped back a bit, but nodded again.
"Fine." A piece of paper and a pen drifted up and floated into Chiro's hands. She leaned on the hearth and put her pen to the paper. As soon as she had written the first symbol of her name, Haku came back into her mind.
Don't sign anything…
If you get a job, it might take years to get out of your contract…
Chiro shook her head quickly. If she didn't sign, she'd be killed. If she did, she's be stuck here for a long time. Heads they'd win, tails she'd lose.
Chiro finished up and put the paper on Yubaba's desk.
The old woman inspected it and placed it in a filing cabinet. She turned and gave a tug on a tapestry rope and sat back down.
"You'll need a new name for here. From now on, you are to be Kai. Understand? Answer, Kai!
Chiro answered unsure. "Yes, ma'am."
A voice behind them startled her.
"You called?"
The girl turned to see an emotionless Haku.
"Kai here signed a contract. Take her to get a job."
Haku nodded and led the way to an elevator in the next room. As they both stood and the machine descended, Chiro tried to explain.
"Haku, I-…"
"Don't talk to me."
"But-…"
"From now on, you shall refer to me as Master Haku. I'm second-in-command, under Yubaba."
Chiro stopped trying, and nodded.