Unwind

Summary: [One-shot] Some things were just never meant to be.

Dead, dry leaves crackled beneath the agile feet of the children playing a distance away. They were playing a game of tag, a timeless children's game. Peals of laughter and the occasional wails of the younger ones who accidentally slipped and fell filled the air. The smell of autumn mixed with the sweat and humidity of their summer-like playfulness permeated the park.

Ah, the sound of youth. How nice.

On an old wooden bench sat an old lady, whose long gray hair had been tied up in a pony tail with a sparkly purple tie, one that young, teenage girls would have sported instead. Her umbrella-cum-walking-stick leaned against the bench next to her. Absently her thumb would stroke the handle as if it were a child's hand she was holding. Her eyes were blank as she stared into nothing in particular, her eyes glossing over the quiet pond in front of her and its various visitors sitting about. Families were all around, taking a short stroll in the late afternoon... Wasn't it a Wednesday? But there were so many children around, it must be a weekend...

She thought back to the time when she was still a child their age. It was strange how she could remember everything so clearly from when she was young; she had become so forgetful at her age. She remembered being a rather wimpy kid in the beginning, never actually daring to try new things or stepping out of her comfort zone to join in with the rest of her classmates in gym class. But when she was ten, after moving to this town, doing new things and taking up challenges somehow became much more fun and thrilling for her. She came to love adventure when she was ten - discovered the wondrous beauty of it. It was a little sad that she was now no longer able to join in the fun or go on such wild, crazy adventures. Those were for the young, after all.

"Treasure it," she said aloud, as if the children would be able to hear her from where they were. "There's so much that you can do at your age." She wished she could go back in time and spend it all on a new adventure, making new friends and just having fun again. Of course, that was impossible for a troublesome old lady like her. She used to be so agile, but now even walking for a while could take a toll on her creaking joints.

Sunlight filtered in through the gaps in the leaves of the trees above her, and she squinted when a harsh ray of light met her eyes. She shifted in her seat so she could avoid that strip of light in her eyes, and when she turned around she realized that she was no longer the only person on the bench.

Next to her was a young man. He had peculiarly long hair tied up in a neat, low ponytail. Was this a new fashion trend amongst the younger ones? Well, it didn't look too bad. This man seemed... well she couldn't see quite so clearly anymore, but from what she could see, he looked like a fine, decent young man.

He met her curious gaze and she smiled, hoping he wouldn't mind her staring at him like this. It was just that she hadn't gotten a chance to interact with young people in a while. Her neighbours had mostly moved away to cities like Tokyo - few youngsters lived in small towns like these anymore. If there were, they would likely move away once they were old enough in search of better jobs and schools.

The man met her eyes and he nodded with a polite smile, greeting her. "Good afternoon, ma'am."

What a kind person he was. Truly. "Good afternoon to you too, young man," she replied.

Young people like him were hard to find nowadays. As much as she enjoyed interacting with them - it brought back memories of her youth too - some of them could be rather rude. Just the other day - or perhaps it was a month ago? - she was just minding her own business walking down a crowded street and a young man in a suit who was behind her groaned loudly and when he finally managed to walk past her, had bluntly told her how much of a "bother" she was.

Honestly, did manners exist anymore? If she even dared to say something rude like that, her mother would have had her head, with no questions asked. But, she supposed that his words did hold some truth. She was just a bother to the people around her, nothing more. She couldn't do much to help others even if she wanted to now, unlike when she was younger and overflowing with energy.

"It's a beautiful day today," the man next to her spoke, snapping her out of her thoughts. His voice was clear like rain, soothing to the ears.

"Yes, it is," she responded with a little laugh, allowing the mildly depressing thoughts from earlier to evaporate quickly. She felt much lighter now. Conversation was hard to come by, especially not one initiated by another person. Who would want to talk to a random, old lady like her anyways? "What brings you here to the park on a day like this?" she asked, "Usually young people like yourselves are busy with school, no?"

"I'm on summer break right now," he answered. "Lots of free time at the moment before the next semester starts."

"I see... You're in university?"

"Yes, I am."

"Which university is that?"

"Tokyo University."

"Wow..." she remarked, "You must be very smart. I remember when I had to go to college... It's quite fun, but a little stressful too."

He chuckled, seemingly embarrassed. He was a modest one. He had been brought up very well. "Yes, it can get rather hectic."

She hummed in understanding. "Well, that's a very long way from here," she said. "Are you here to visit some relatives?"

He nodded. "My grandmother lives here, so I came by to visit."

"Your grandmother?"

"I doubt you would know her," he said with a good-natured chuckle. "Anyway, I was just taking a walk in the park while she's making dinner."

"That's nice... A walk always does you good," the elderly lady said with a nod. "I come here all the time too. It's nice and quiet here, and you just get to think about all sorts of things - the choices you made in the past, the adventures you experienced when you were young and the memories you had with your friends." Indeed... she wondered when exactly she picked up the habit of coming to the park and just sitting on this bench for hours on end, just thinking and reminiscing, or otherwise spacing out and simply relishing in the comfort of the greenery around her.

"Yes, this park really is beautiful. I like to come here as well. It gives me a chance to re-live my own memories in my head," he agreed.

They continued to converse like this for a while, just making idle chat with each other to pass the time. It had been a long time since she's been able to sustain a conversation like this with another person. She had no family - her parents passed on a long time ago. She never got married either - never felt the need to do so. And naturally, she had no children. Not even a niece or a nephew, since she had been an only child.

Well, she supposed independence was good... that is, not when you were old and frail and clumsy.

"Oh! I just realized that I haven't asked you for your name," she exclaimed in the middle of whatever it was that she was saying. "How forgetful of me. You must forgive me for my absent-mindedness... It's just something old people..." she trailed off and paused, confusion settling in. "I'm sorry, where was I?"

The young man hardly looked impatient at all. He merely smiled, and gently responded, "You were asking for my name."

"Yes, yes, that's right. Your name... But..." She paused once more, this time longer. Her lips remained parted as she tried to rack her rusty brain for some recollection, but... nothing.

"What... What is my name..?"

The old woman abruptly stood up, stumbling in the process, if it weren't for the man who supported her before she could fall. She could vaguely register his alarmed questions, and he sounded very worried. He probably thought that she was crazy.

But, she wasn't. She really wasn't.

Her head jerked wildly in all directions, her eyes scanning the park in search for any signs of black ghosts lurking about. There were none that she could see, but she was certain that they were hiding somewhere, and would soon emerge to take her away for losing her name. Her stomach turned and twisted uncomfortably. It hurt, and she felt sick - she must be turning into a pig soon.

"Quick, quick, you must run," she mumbled, trying to get the young man's hands off of her as he attempted to help her back down onto the bench. "Young man, you must go as soon as you can. Hurry! It would be terrible if they find you and turn you into one too."

He only stared at her, not comprehending her words. Bewilderment was plain in his face as she flailed and resisted his arms that were gripping her wrists. What was he doing? She was trying to keep him safe! "Ma'am, I think you should calm down first—"

"This is not the time! Hurry, you must go! Now! I can't remember my name. I can't remember, so they'll be coming for me soon. You must go! And remember your name. Please, please, remember your name. It's a matter of life and death!" she shrieked. The man did not budge, only continued his attempts to calm her down. Youngsters like him would not understand that dangers of losing their name. It's a matter of life and death, she always tells them, but they never listen. She told this to a number of children before, but they never listened, and in turn, she never saw them in the park again. Perhaps another witch had taken them for not guarding their names well enough.

"Ogino... Ogino Chihiro!"

As if a curse had been lifted off of her, the old woman stopped struggling and froze, her eyes slowly meeting the man's. "What... What did you say?"

"Ogino Chihiro," he repeated, softer a little more slowly this time. "That is your name, right?" He pointed to a lanyard hanging around her neck.

She stilled and suddenly her stomach felt well again, and she could no longer sense the presence of the lurking ghosts. They had vanished.

It was a miracle.

"That's right..." she muttered, relief flooding her as a grin spread across her face. Tears welled up in her eyes as she gripped the young man's hands in her wrinkly ones. "My name is Ogino Chihiro... How could I have forgotten?" She shook his hands in hers gratefully. "Thank you, thank you for giving me back my name," she said. "You... You saved me. You... mustn't ever forget yours like I did, young man. Some evil witches will never give it back."

How strange this advice must sound to a complete stranger. He would probably never have met Yubaba, or her kind, lovely sister Zeniba before, and would not be able to fathom the danger associated with witches of their kind. If he were to be unfortunate enough to be taken by Yubaba, goodness knows what would become of him. She had been lucky once, but not everyone was as lucky as her to get her name back and be freed.

The stranger nodded, and offered her still that same, gentle smile that he showed her from the beginning. "I won't ever forget it, ma'am. I promise."

"That's good, that's good... You're a wonderful young man, I wish you all happiness. Oh!" she gasped, glancing at the sky which had somehow already faded into a pale marigold colour. Time passed too quickly at times. "It's late. I must get going now, or it'll flood before I can return. You should go soon too, before it's too late."

He nodded and helped her stand up, handing her the umbrella that she had brought. "Thank you, you're very kind. Now, if you'll excuse me..."

She began her slow walk home. That is, not before the stranger called her. "Miss Ogino?"

She turned around, and found that he was pointing in the opposite direction. "I believe your home is that way," he said.

It took her a moment to realize that she had been going the wrong way, and with a laugh she thanked him once more and bid him farewell. What a lovely day it had been... Hopefully she would be able to meet this young man again.

He stared after Chihiro who was once again leaving him. Moisture gathered in his eyes as he watched her hunched back and her lonesome figure diminish gradually with the distance. The purple hair tie loosely securing her silver locks of hair sparkled in the setting sun. It dawned on him then that she had forgotten to ask him for his name.

Then again, she would forget his name soon after he told her anyway. That was what happened every day at least, when he came and waited for her to arrive at this bench before joining her and sharing a casual conversation with her. It couldn't be helped - Chihiro seemed to have forgotten him already. He knew it was partly because of her age. It just couldn't be helped at all.

It was foolish of him to hope that they could have had a chance in the first place. Meeting her again in this world was in itself a miracle. He had been far too ambitious; it was his own wishful thinking that maybe, just maybe, something more could blossom from the special bond that had forged between him and her a long time ago.

But, things changed. And humans would have to leave eventually.

He supposed the only comfort he could find was in the fact that the hair tie had yet to break. It meant that somewhere deep inside of her, she still remembered some sort of strange, supernatural occurrence to do with a boy her age and a dragon. If she could remember to hold on to her name, surely there would still be some fragments of him left in her mind as well.

Or perhaps not. He had noted that that hair tie was getting looser by the day, not because her hair was thinning, but because the threads were slowly coming undone. It was only a matter of time before it fell apart all together.

When that day comes...

Sticking his hands into his pockets and releasing a long, weary sigh. His chest physically hurt, his heart having turned into lead. It weighed his entire body down and he felt sluggish. He had no motivation to move from this spot. He wanted to see her again. Just once more would be enough. That was all he asked for.

We never did have a chance... did we?

The sun was already disappearing. He had to leave. He turned on his heel, and began a long walk in the opposite direction. The sky around him slowly faded into black, and the shadows of night wrapped around the lone dragon like a blanket, hiding the tears trickling down his cheeks and smothering his agonized roars.

A/N: Had this idea in my head for a while and finally decided to sit down and actually write it - at the expense of my revision time lol. I really need to stop getting distracted.

And I realize that most of my one-shots for Spirited Away are angst... WHY. :(