ONE THOUSAND AND ONE MEMORIES UNCOVERED
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except Mai in this story. Chihiro, Haku, and Yu-baba belong to Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki. So ha, now you can't sue me! *sticks tongue out*
Chihiro awoke in a cold sweat. Rasing herself onto her elbows, she looked around bleary-eyed, hopefully wishing her dream had come true. No, she was still in her large bedroom, the bland walls staring back at her, containing none of the color her mind had just produced.
Pushing herself out of bed, she walked silently to her window. Pulling away a heavy curtain, early morning sunlight flooded into the room. She rested her cheek against the glass, she took a quick intake of breath, wincing slightly at how cold it was.
As she regained more consciousness, visions of her dream came back to her, so many it was almost overpowering. She had dreamed of him again, and she saw him with such vividness that it seemed to have been only a few days since she'd seen him, not six years. She wished to go back, but she knew she never could. Yu-baba had been so displeased with the girl the first time she had visited the spirit world, she doubted she'd let the woman back in.
"Haku," she whispered the name of the one her heart longed to see, the one who hanuted her dreams, yet her voice was shaky, as if that wasn't the name she'd wanted to hear slip form her lips.
She pulled her face from the window, staring out at the wilderness before her, houses dotting the hillsides. Then, almost out of site range, she saw it. The big, scarlet painted tunnel she and her parents went through, entering into the spirit world. Sighing heavily she pulled away form the window, her cheek now a furious shade of red. She quickly stole a glace at the clock lying on her bedside table. 6:45. Oh well, she may as well get dressed, her mother was bound to come to wake her any minute now.
She got dressed slowly, choosing a simple outfit. She'd sort of given up the last few years, doubting that she'd ever go back, and had fallen into a routine lifestyle, though still haunted with dreams every night.
Stumbling, still half-asleep into the bathroom, Chihiro looked at herself with a critical eye. She was beautiful, but it seemed a false beauty. She had massive circles under her eyes from many sleepless nights, which she covered up carefully to cover interrogations about her health. She still had the slim, thin figure she had managed to maintain throughout the years, she didn't eat as well as she had before, and any remarks of 'eating like pigs' sent her mind flashing back to when it really happened.
She never wore more than cover-up, and even then it seemed like she was hiding her true self, which was now what she wanted. She had to absolutely no one about her encounter, and though she asked her parents if they remembered at all what had happened, they just gave her blank looks and asked her what she was talking about.
*~*
"Hey, Chihiro, wait up!" Mai, Chihiro's new best friend ran up to her, her book bag swinging on her shoulders. Chihiro managed a tight smile, glancing to her left at the girl. Mai was abnormal, everyone knew that. She was in detention three days a week, and her appearance gave off the same vibe.
She dyed her shoulder length hair purple the summer between sixth and seventh grade, and she had recently gotten her eyebrow pierced. She had a rough and tough demeanor to her, which she flaunted happily. But once you looked past all that as only Chihiro had braved to do, she was a deep, sensitive individual. She was the only person who Chihiro considered to tell about the bathhouse, because she believed Mai wouldn't think she was crazy. Mai believed strongly in spirits and other beings, turning down snide remarks about that there was no such thing as spirits, and that it was all in her head. How Chihiro wished to tell her that her beliefs were right!
*~*
The day passed in a flurry of monotony. Same old, same old. Screw around in class for a few hours, get yelled at for being "disruptive", and eventually wiggle out of any punishments by swearing that she'd never do it again, only the next day to return to her old habits.
She threw her backpack in the back of her battered old Peugeot and hopped in, jamming the key in to start the ignition. But she didn't take the new highway as everyone else would, she turned off onto a dirt road which her parents had once mistaken for a shortcut one fine summer day.
Her chest constricted as she came into view of the scarlet passage into the spirit world, and she came to a screeching halt right in front of the stone carving, which she now knew really was possessed.
She slowly got out of the car, staring at what had changed her life. The simple stupidity to wander where they shouldn't have had driven her life into chaos, and yet she was the only one that remembered. And yet, if given another chance, in a second she'd do it again.
She didn't exactly know when the tears started to fall, but she eventually became aware that her eyes were red and her cheeks damp. So much had been on her at such a young age, she didn't know what to do. Feeling she'd never had before were forced into her, and they had ruined her life, and yet no one knew. Yet, all the pain and grief seemed to be worth it if only for the fact that she'd met the love of her life.
Chihiro flinched when she felt a comforting hand on her shoulder, looking up with swollen eyes she saw Mai looking at her concernedly. Looking wonderingly down at the sobbing girl, Mai wondered why the sight of a bright scarlet passage made the girl cry. She was getting an unusual vibe from the place, but she couldn't place her finger on it.
"Spirits." Chihiro said with a shuddering breath, sinking down onto the ground and pulling her legs into her chest. Mai gave her a questioning look, squatting down on the ground next to Chihiro.
Suddenly her sobs subsided and the entire story came pouring out. Feeling she'd been storing up for years came rushing out, it was like finding a treasure of one thousand and one memories that had been kept to one person for years.
Mai had a wonderful memory and took in all the information perfectly. She would pat Chihiro on the back now and then when the girl looked close to tears. She was wonderfully empathetic and understood the girl's situation completely.
Finally, when it she was all done, Chihiro looked up at Mai, who had the crazy glint in her eye right before she proposed something totally insane.
"So, want to go back?"
A/N: So, how'd you like it? It's my first fic, so be kind, yet R/R please!