Convergence – Chapter 4

By turning nonetheless; I do not own the rights to Spirited Away.


Chihiro reached out and switched off the buzzing alarm clock before quickly pulling her arm back into the warmth of the covers. Taking a moment to stretch and yawn, she allowed herself to enjoy a last little bit of comfort before leaving her bed.

Although it was Sunday, and she didn't have to go anywhere – she had a school assignment to complete that required her to take some pictures with her digital camera. Her class was setting up a photo gallery on the school web site and its theme was 'The First Signs of Spring'. Last Friday afternoon at school, she had decided to set aside Sunday morning for a walk through the woods near her home.

She was certain to get some original shots there since she only knew one other person in her class who dared to enter the woods. Naturally, there were many local stories about monsters that lurked in the woods and waited to gobble up those foolish enough to enter, but Chihiro ignored them. She liked to visit the woods and she felt safe there.

Jumping out of bed, she rushed to put on a green long sleeve t-shirt, faded jeans and some warm socks that she had set out last night. Her father, who liked to sleep in on Sundays, did not want the heat turned on until he was ready to wake up. He said it was too noisy and that he slept better in a cold room. Unfortunately, that also meant that the whole house was cold this morning, and even after Chihiro finished dressing, she needed to rub her arms and legs to relieve the chill. As soon as she was able to stop shivering, she stood before the mirror to brush out her hair. She considered leaving her hair down so it would keep her neck warm, yet at the last minute she decided once again to wear the purple hairband. It always brought her good luck.

She wished, for the umpteenth time, that she could remember who had given the hairband to her as she carefully pulled her long hair back into a ponytail. It had likely been given to her by a friend from the old neighborhood, but she couldn't remember the day she received it. Even her mother didn't know, and she was the one who was usually so good about keeping track of gifts given out and received.

Thinking about the hairband, made her thoughts drift to memories of the old neighborhood. She still missed it, yet she was happy to be here now. Her room was much bigger and quieter than the one she had in the apartment back in the city. She had also made many good friends at school; and so it amazed her to realize that she and her parents had lived in this town for almost three years now. The time had gone by quickly.

As she descended the stairs, she noticed with great relief that the light was on in the kitchen. Her mother was also awake and she had the small space heater on, making the kitchen the only warm place in the house at this time.

"Good morning, Mom."

Chihiro's mother seemed surprised to see her. She set down her book and smiled at her daughter. "Why are you up so early, dear?"

"I have homework. My class is working on a project about springtime, so I need to go outside and take some pictures.

Mrs. Ogino took a sip of tea. "Have some breakfast first and make sure you're dressed for the weather."

"Okay. Okay."

"Did you finish signing and addressing the thank you cards?"

Chihiro cringed. "No, not yet - I promise I'll do it as soon as I get back. I only have three more to complete." Family and friends had helped her celebrate her thirteenth birthday last weekend and her mother wasn't going to let her slide on her responsibility to thank everyone who had given her a present or a card.

After Chihiro put a slice of bread in the toaster, she went to gather up her jacket, gloves, scarf, hat, and camera. By the time she set them by the back door and returned to the kitchen, the toast was done. Her mother had made a pot of tea earlier, and it was still warm, so Chihiro poured a cup for herself and set it near the sink.

Next, she picked up the toast and placed a small spoonful of strawberry jelly on it prior to folding it in half over the sink. It smelled delicious and she ended up eating it all in two bites. She washed it down with the tea before brushing the crumbs off her face and wiping her hands.

"I'm leaving now, Mom. I'll be back in an hour."

"Please be careful, Chihiro." Her mother adjusted the blanket that covered her lap before she went back to reading her romance novel.

"I will," she said.

Chihiro walked to the back door where she donned her sneakers and zipped up her jacket. Just before stepping outside, she placed the camera in the pocket of her jacket, wrapped her scarf around her neck and put on her hat and gloves. Even though the teachers liked to talk about the beauty of springtime, Chihiro had to admit that it was still uncomfortably cold outside at this time of year.

Closing the back door, she stood outside on the tiny porch for a moment and gazed up at the sky. It was clear and there was a strong, cold breeze blowing. The two evergreen shrubs flanking the door were really only there for decoration and they provided little in the way of shelter from the wind. Chihiro adjusted her scarf before stepping off the porch and onto the path of dark gray pebbles leading to the garden gate.

The pebbles made a soft crunching sound under her feet as she walked along. Chihiro noted that there was nothing interesting growing in the garden at this time since her mother wouldn't start working on the backyard again until the weather became warmer. Upon reaching the gate, she winced in expectation. The shrill creak of the gate swinging on its hinges seemed abnormally loud this morning.

Chihiro paused before stepping into the field behind her house. The hillside was steep here and the risk of slipping was a real possibility. She took a few tentative steps to test her footing.

"Got you!"

Chihiro yelped in surprise. Turning too quickly in her attempt to see who was behind her, she ended up flat on her back in the grass. A boy, standing above her, laughed as he offered his hand to her.

"Yoshi, you idiot, why'd you do that?" Chihiro let him help her up. Yet the moment she was back on her feet, she grabbed his red knit cap and pulled it down over his face while he continued to chortle at her. Yoshi was in her class and he also lived near by. He could be very annoying at times, but she liked him anyways.

Yoshi adjusted his cap. "Your dad should oil that gate. I had to climb over the fence so your mom wouldn't hear me enter the yard." He smiled at her. "I was hiding behind the shrub near the door."

Chihiro shook her head. "You're such a nut. Are you ready to take some pictures this morning?" Yoshi was the only other kid in her class that ventured into the woods.

He snapped his fingers. "That's why I'm here. But I also want to show you something strange that I discovered in the woods. I found it earlier this morning, but–" He stared over her shoulder at the woods. "Yes, I'm almost certain that it's still there. Hurry up and follow me. It might disappear soon because I know it wasn't there yesterday afternoon."

"Wait - what are you talking about?" Yoshi didn't answer her question. He took off running with Chihiro right behind him. She hoped he wasn't playing another trick on her. If he was, then she would have to make his life difficult when she saw him at school tomorrow. And she could do it too, since she was many centimeters taller than him. In fact, she was taller than all the other kids in her class at this time. A growth spurt last year had seen to that and in general she was thankful to be tall like her father, yet without all the bulk that he possessed.

However, she couldn't run as fast as Yoshi and soon he was far ahead of her. Chihiro jumped over a fallen branch, only to stumble on a tree root while Yoshi charged ahead like he was on the track at school. She watched him disappear behind a thick clump of pine trees and evergreen shrubs.

Like a cloud of dark smoke billowing into the air, a murder of crows suddenly took off from those trees and flew overhead. Their harsh calls made Chihiro hesitate. She could only guess that Yoshi must have startled them from their perch.

"Where are you, Yoshi?" There was no answer. Chihiro walked around to the other side of the trees and stopped in awe.

For a moment she thought that she was standing on a cliff. There was a large tree to her left and another one on her right, yet there was nothing but blue in front of her. She stepped back, trying to decide if it was fabric or metal that was stretched between the trunks of the two trees. She thought about moving closer to touch it, yet she also wanted to run away. There was something wrong about this place.

As she turned to leave, she noticed the red knit cap on the ground. A little further away, Yoshi was lying face up under a pine tree. His eyes were open, but he wasn't moving. Chihiro rushed towards him without delay as she tried to remember some of the basic first aid she had been taught in school.

"Now!" yelled a voice that sounded like it was coming from the tree tops. Chihiro gave a start and looked up.

Two men, who seemed to appear out of nowhere, grabbed her arms and dragged her backwards. Chihiro cried out as her head hit a smooth, flat surface. It really felt like her attackers were trying to crush her against it. She endeavored to free her arms and kick her legs; however, it was useless. The men were strong and they had surprised her. Nevertheless, she tried to stay calm so that she could look for an opportunity to escape. Her self-defense teacher had stressed the importance of clear thinking when in a dangerous situation.

As if two against one wasn't bad enough, a third man dropped down to the ground in front of her. Straight away, all previous thoughts of staying calm fled her mind. She wanted to cry out when she saw his face, but his gloved hand swiftly covered her mouth. He looked like a human in most respects, yet he had a wide, curved beak where his chin, mouth and nose should have been. His eyes were large and dark, and his sleek, black hair was actually longer than hers. Chihiro trembled and realized too late that there might be some truth in those stories about monsters.

"Are you wearing the hairband?" he asked in a low, gruff voice.

She was so surprised by the question that she just stared at him. Was he talking about her lucky purple hairband? Snapping his beak at her, he shoved her head back so that it hit the wall again. The pain made stars dance before her eyes.

The bird-man snatched the hat off her head and dropped it to the ground.

"Turn her around."

The men flung Chihiro around, forcing her face and chest against the blue wall. Her nose hurt and she was having trouble breathing which made it almost impossible to scream. She was beginning to fear that Yoshi must be dead and that she would be next.

Chihiro heard the bird-man cry out in pain as he tugged at her hairband and she wondered what was going on. His hand immediately let go of her ponytail as his thugs openly chuckled at his unmistakable discomfort. She thought she smelled something burning.

"Shut up. No more fooling around. We need to get out of here before the boy wakes up." The bird-man grabbed the end of her pony tail and pulled it up with brutal force. "Hold her head still." There was a metallic click just before Chihiro felt some pressure on her hair. She gasped as she struggled to turn her head.

It was all over in a second; she couldn't feel the weight of her pony tail now. More than anything, she wanted to touch her hair.

He held out her ponytail, still bound by the purple hairband, for her to see. "It'll grow back," he said with undisguised amusement. Chihiro found herself shaking with rage. Why was he being so cruel to her?

The thugs were laughing again, but this time at her expense. She glared at them and it was as if she was seeing them clearly for the first time. Chihiro noticed their pale, sagging skin, red eyes and stained jagged teeth. The rotten stench coming from their mouths made her gag.

The bird-man walked over to Yoshi, crouched down and set the knife and the hair in her friend's hands. Chihiro's heart was beating so fast that it hurt and tears welled up in her eyes. What would happen to her and Yoshi now? What did these monsters want with her? The only comfort she could hold on to was that the bird-man had said that Yoshi would wake up soon.

When he was finished with Yoshi, the bird-man threw his hands up in the air. "Send her on her way already," he shouted.

The monsters grabbed her arms and legs and lifted her off the ground so that she was suspended between them. Next, without any warning as to what was about to happen, they swung her backwards before heaving her towards the blue wall. Chihiro screamed, expecting her skull to be shattered, but to her surprise, she felt like she was sinking into a soft blanket that surrounded her and cushioned her. For a moment she believed she was safe. Maybe this had all been some horrible dream and she would wake up now.

Suddenly a bright light blinded her and she covered her eyes. The queasy feeling in her stomach told her that she was falling. However, when she hadn't hit the ground within the next second, she started to worry. Her jacket puffed and fluttered about her. Her scarf tightened around her neck for a second before being drawn away by the wind that buffeted her.

Chihiro rubbed her eyes and squinted in an attempt to clear the dark spots that swirled in front of her. The sun seemed too bright as she twisted and turned in the air, and Chihiro was completely disoriented. Where was she? Why couldn't she wake up from this disturbing dream? When she finally saw the ground far below her, she couldn't stop herself from screaming in panic. There was no way that she could survive a fall from this height.

TBC