Chihiro wandered through the woods where it had all began, 10 long years ago. She remembered everything that had happened to her in that nightmarish spirit world. She had wanted nothing more than to save her parents and return home, where she could lead a normal life… Until she gave Haku back his name…
Haku…she longed to see him again, after so long. She had not forgotten him, although she had tried to. She wanted more than anything to be with him….to fly into the night with him like they had done on that wonderful day…so long ago.
Chihiro had tried to get back. Every day for years she had gone back to the river and tried to reach the bathhouse. She had searched desperately for some way back in. But she never succeeded. The gate, the bridge, everything was gone. Haku was gone. She could never get to him.
Eventually, Chihiro stopped trying. She forced herself to move on with life and to try and forget. But she couldn't forget Haku, no matter how hard she tried. She could never love anyone else. She could never stop searching for him.
She watched her life as if it were a dream. She watched herself talk and smile and live a normal life. All she had wanted was a normal life. Now she got her wish. But all she could think about was Haku. She could never truly be alive until he found her again. She thought of him constantly, and she never stopped missing him.
And here she was again. Walking through the strange little woods with the tiny houses. Going through the tunnel that had led her to the biggest adventure of her life. Looking across the river and seeing the sunset in the distance….where the bathhouse should have been…where Haku should have been.
Chihiro fell down beside the river and cried. Tears of heartbreak and pain flowed down her face, through her hair into the water below, where they were swept away by the current. She cried for all the long years she had waited, hoping he would find her, remembering his promise to her, that they would meet again. She loved him. She loved him more than anything. She would never be able to live until she found him.
And suddenly he was there, right beside her, with his arms around her, comforting her. He never told her his name, but she looked into his eyes, and she knew who it was. All the long years of waiting were over. He had kept his promise, he hadn't forgotten her.
Then, standing before her was the dragon, more amazing than ever before, shining in the sunset. She clung to him, full of joy beyond all measure, full of the life and love she had searched for for so long. And then she was flying with him, over the river and into the sky. Clouds and stars rushed past them, they flew higher and higher until the ground was invisible.
All her tears were gone; all her painful memories were forgotten. She was with Haku. She was truly alive again. They were together.
And together they flew away into the sunset.