The next week was a blur for Chihiro. She tried her best to pay attention in school – the winter term was coming to a close and exams were approaching, she couldn't afford to daydream and fall behind in school - but afternoons still dragged on as she couldn't stop herself from thinking of Haku. When the bell rang to signify the end of the school day each day, she looked for Haku under the tree in the front, and each day, she was disappointed. After school, she would study late into the night until she was exhausted, sometimes until she fell asleep at her desk. Her future depended on her doing well.

Before she went to bed every night, she stared at her hair tie. As hard as she tried, she couldn't remember where she had gotten it. Did Haku give it to me? Is that why he asked me to think about it? She wore it every day, and she had never needed anything else. Her friends and parents always bought her hair things, but they sat in a small drawer, still in their packaging, untouched. Her dreams offered no hints as to the hair tie's origins or to who Haku was. Perhaps due to all the pressure from school and the upcoming exams, her only dreams were of being chased by some unseen monster. Haku's face floated in and out of her dreams, but they were Haku as he looked now, and she didn't remember anything that might have happened before. Often, she was so tired that she didn't dream at all.

At first, the other girls had badgered her about Haku whenever they could. It made it difficult to tell Risuni anything without being overheard. When a few days passed and Haku didn't show up, the others lost interest. Chihiro was grateful for exams; even the juiciest gossip couldn't distract her classmates for long. Once the girls went back to ignoring her and Risuni, they were able to talk quietly during lunch and after school. Chihiro told Risuni everything that had happened and that Haku had said. Chihiro knew that no matter how ridiculous and unrealistic the story got, Risuni would never make fun of her. Risuni was still suspicious of Haku, but she knew that she couldn't stop Chihiro from trusting him.

It was Risuni's opinion that Chihiro trusted far too easily, yet nothing bad had ever come of it. It was like Chihiro instinctively knew whether people were good or bad. Either that, or she had this magical quality that made the people she met benevolent toward her. Unfortunately, Risuni couldn't help Chihiro remember. The only thing Risuni knew was this: the sparkly purple hair tie was the only one she had ever seen Chihiro wear.


Chihiro was running down the stairs as quickly as she could, turning barely in time to avoid crashing into the walls. The smashing noises were right behind her, she had to get away. She ran down the next flight of steps, and the next, grabbing the banister to turn. She looked back at him, the masked monster chasing her. He was catching up! She ran through crowds that screamed and scattered to get away from the monster, but the monster wasn't interested in them. He was only after Chihiro.

Then the dream ended.

Chihiro woke up, confused. She had been running away in her dreams a lot lately, in all sorts of situations. This dream seemed different.

I wasn't panicked, she thought, I was preoccupied. I knew I could get away. And getting away wasn't the most important thing in the dream; there was something else I had to do…something I wish I could just put my finger on. And that monster, he was harmless. He was scary, and he could hurt me. I just knew that he wouldn't. It wasn't his fault he was a monster.

Chihiro got out of bed. Haku's comment about the hair tie had left her at a loss. She opened the drawer of unused hair things and saw that under the jumble was a small piece of paper. It was a card given to her from her old friend, Rumi, when they had left their old home. "Good luck, Chihiro. We'll meet again." it said. Chihiro stared at the card. It was very important, but why?