Spirited Away 2 Chapter 1-Seven Years of Waiting
Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away! If you want to post this story, you must provide link and credit to me. Enjoy!
Mr Nakahara's monotonous voice filled the homeroom. It was Chemistry lesson period, the subject Chihiro Ogino hated the most. Chemistry was boring and complicated, compared to Art, which was her favorite subject. The reason why she loved Art was because she had a talent held for drawing. Right now, she wasn't paying attention to Mr Nakahara's quotes and was drawing an image of a white eastern dragon with blue-green hair and a girl whom looked about ten-year old on its long, slender back.
She chewed at the tip of her pencil, thinking about him. He was Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi, the spirit of the Kohaku River. And he was also the one whom helped her and her parents to return to the Human World. Chihiro remembered every second of her magical adventure, especially the saddest part, when she was to leave the Spirit World. But she still remembered the images vividly in her mind. Haku had promised that they would meet again. This memory gave her great comfort. Haku was not someone who would break promises. Chihiro trusted him.
" Miss, are you paying attention to my lesson? " a voice boomed. Chihiro looked up, face-to-face to Mr Nakahara, who was peering down at her in his stern gaze behind his thick-lensed spectacles. " Sorry, Mr N… " Chihiro murmured, shifting the drawing under her elbow so that Mr Nakahara would not be able to see her drawing. He grunted quietly, giving Chihiro another of his looks and went back to the front of the room to continue teaching. " Oh duh, you are drawing that girl and dragon again! " Chihiro's partner, Hinata sighed, curling a strand of her silky brown hair. Chihiro smiled a little and put the drawing in her file reluctantly, glancing at her unfinished masterpiece. "Ring…Ring…Ring…! " the bell for dismissal sounded and the pupils packed up their bags, rushing out of the homeroom. " Something's fishy, always you have been drawing that. " Hinata said to Chihiro.
Chihiro walked out of the homeroom, with Hinata trailing after her. It was obvious that she was still waiting for Chihiro's reply. " Chihiro! Spill the beans! " Hinata waved a textbook at Chihiro's emotionless face. Chihiro turned to face Hinata, feeling annoyed. " I wish liked drawing those stuff, so there! " Chihiro was horrified by the words that came out from her mouth. She didn't mean to shout at her friend like that. Without second thoughts, she bolted off from the corridor, racing down the stairs to the nearest exit, leaving Hinata with a hurt and confused look on her face.
Finally, she was back at her house. Chihiro leaped off her bike and headed for the door, reaching into the pocket of her jeans for the house keys. Chihiro fitted the keys into the lock and pushed the door open. She threw her bag onto the sofa. At the corner of her eye, she glimpsed something on the coffee table. She turned around to pick it up. It was a note left by her parents. The letter read:
"Dear Hiro,
Sorry for not telling you earlier, me and your dad had some business connections and we had to fly to Dubai. Will be coming back next week! Take care of yourself while we are away!
P.S I left some of your favorite chocolate brownies in the fridge.
With love,
Mom and Dad"
Chihiro bit her bottom lip as she placed the note down, with mischievious plans lighting up in her mind. Great! They will be away for a week, I can do whatever I want! Chihiro stifled a yawn and went for a bath, planning what she will do during the week. She had the whole house to herself!
Chihiro plunged into the warm water. It greeted her with a warm welcome as she settled in. All of a sudden, she thought of her friends in the Spirit World. Every weekend, she had tried to enter the Spirit World, but in the end had always ended up in the same place. It felt as if the entire Spirit World had gone. Or it was all a dream, it had never happened before. Haku… I wonder how is he doing now? And Lin, she might be busy in in bathhouse. No-Face and Zeniba must be happy and peaceful. Yubaba would be in her office, and Boh in his sweet slumber. Kamaji working hard with his soot spirits. She missed all of them so much. Tomorrow was Saturday, Chihiro planned to visit the ruins in the forest clearing.
Chihiro was awakened by the sound of her alarm clock. She had set it last night, to make her wake up in time for her trip. Sunshine shone through the violet curtains from the window. Her neighbour's canaries were chirping a merry tune. With trudging footsteps, Chihiro pulled herself out of her bed. When she finished dressing, she felt a burst of energy running through her veins. She plastered on a smile in front of the mirror and put on her old trackshoes. She pulled out her bike from the shed and started pedaling towards the forest. She had gone there so many times that she remembered which direction to turn and where to head. She pedaled along the roadside, close beside each and every vehicle. The forest appeared up ahead and Chihiro pedaled even faster to reach her destination. A sudden wind blew her fringe and she winced a little, trying to keep control of her bike. Just a little more…
Chihiro halted beside the small stone figure that was covered with moss. She smiled to herself as she recapped what had happened on that day. It seemed frightening and creepy to her last time, but now the figure was not. She got used to it. " Please don't disappoint me anymore. " she whispered, arranging her fringe. Then she walked though the dark tunnel, remembering the walls covered in dust and moss. The creaky old benches beside the pillars… The opening was just in front. Chihiro walked towards it and glanced up at the big clock at the towel. A gentle breeze blew, sending a few fallen leaves into the air. Chihiro continued walking into the big field, which was scattered with the identical stone figures. She raced towards to other end. Water began forming. The water was up to her ankles only, but it was rising fast. Chihiro dragged her feet along, trying to reach the other side as quick as possible.
Now the water was up to her knees. The water current was becoming stronger and stronger. Chihiro made more effort to lift up her feet to cross. The amusement park was coming much clearer into view. It no longer looked abandoned. Now the water was rising up to her waist. Her pants were soaked, so was a bit of her jacket and shirt. Chihiro reached out to grab the edge of the stone stairs. She climbed up quickly, her legs kicking at the water. Finally! She sat down at the top of the stairs, peering down at the water. The sun was setting, and the sky had become darker. Chihiro squinted at the beautiful sight of the sunset. She was so elated that she succeeded returning to the Spirit rubbed her eyes, just in time to realize that she was starting to fade. " Aaaarrrrggghh! " she cried out! Her skin was very pale.
" There's a human! "
" She stinks!"
" Go away! "
Some shadow spirits badmouthed her, and shot her some glares. " I need food! " Chihiro cried out, running past a few food stalls, looking at the stacked food on the dish plate. " None for humans! " one of the shopkeeper called out, shooing Chihiro away. She stuck out her tongue at the spirit. She begged a few more shopkeppers but all of them waved her away. Now she was almost fading away. She sat in a corner and cried. She wasn't prepared for this cause. Then, she felt someone's hot breath showering down on her. She looked up to see a spirit who was dressed in a fine purple cloak. The spirit offered her a piece of chicken wing. Chihiro took it gratefully and stood up to bow to the spirit. " Thank you sir! " she exclaimed. The spirit gave her a nod and walked off into the crowd. " Please don't turn me into a pig… " Chihiro thought, as she recalled what had happened to her parents. She took a bite from the chicken wing.
It tasted wonderful and so scrumptious! No wonder her parents couldn't stop eating that time. Colours appeared back. She was no longer a fading image. Licking her fingers, she started to find her way to the bathhouse.