No!

She suddenly sat straight in her bed as she woke up from her nightmare. Chihiro panted hard, as if she had some kind of fight, and when she looked at her bed, she realized that she was half right: her covers seemed as if they had gone through a fierce battle. That dream I had… the young girl thought to herself. It was so strange… it was so…? What? Why can't I remember it now…? She frowned to herself as she tried to remember the horrible nightmare, but the memory was just out of her grasp. Feeling completely frustrated and helpless, Chihiro tried to calm herself with thoughts, such as:

The dream mustn't have been that important… it was just a nightmare anyway… these days, it's normal to forget dreams, right? But still, something was troubling her, as if her dream –or rather horrifying nightmare, she could recall, even though she forgot precisely what it was- was trying to tell her something. She shook that thought out of her mind. That's just nuts, Chihiro! She pondered, skeptical. She slowly got out of her bed, trying to decide what to do next… Maybe I should just take a nice, short walk outside: that'll calm me straight up! She thought, finally settling on for a fine, refreshing walk outside, even though it was in the middle of the night. It couldn't be that late, can it? She looked at her clock: it was one 1:03 am. That wasn't so late at all, Chihiro told herself. And besides, it's practically in the middle of July! It must be hot out there, even at night!

Smiling self-confidently, she changed into a pair of jeans and a red T-shirt and tied her hair into a long ponytail. Then she went downstairs, made a fast grab for her pink light-weight jacket, and before she knew it, she was outside. Chihiro inhaled the fresh air of night, before starting her brief promenade. Her parents knew that sometimes, their daughter could go outside in the middle of the night, and it worried them that maybe, one day, a criminal would find his/her way to kidnap Chihiro. But when they knew for sure that Chihiro was mature enough to understand that she should only walk around the neighborhood for less than five minutes, they felt their worries lift away. Chihiro was glad that she and her parents maintained a strong bond of trust.

Suddenly, she realized that she wasn't paying attention to where she was walking to, and decided to turn around: she knew that she should go back now. But, abruptly, she could hear the loud crash of lightning, and without any warning, rain started to pour. She was soon soaking wet, despite the fact that she created a tiny roof with her jacket. She groaned to herself.

Great! I just had to go walk into weather like this! She thought bitterly.

She ran as fast as she could to her house, but minutes (it felt more like hours to Chihiro) later, she didn't find herself in front of her house, but in front of…

What is this place?

The tunnel and the building together looked ancient and battered, but when Chihiro got a much better and closer look at it, she realized that it was both made out of plastic! She put her jacket on as she gazed upon the building and the tunnel. She instantly knew that she should turn around so she could go back home, but something in her mind was insisting that she should go in there. Am I nuts? I mean, going in this creepy tunnel… in this kind of weather! NO WAY! She thought bitterly. But something in her mind kept insisting that she should go… Thankfully, Chihiro was very determined, and when she decided on something, it was final. She was about to turn around and forget about this place when the wind unexpectedly became its strongest point, and before she realized what was happening, she found herself swept into the mysterious tunnel. She tumbled in and fell face first into the mud.

"EEK!" She cried angrily.

She stood up and tried to wipe the wet, sticking mud from her jacket. But most of it remained. This can't be happening… Chihiro pondered, disgusted. She was then hit by a sudden wave of memory from so long ago…

"Stop clinging to my arm, Chihiro!"

That was my mom's voice! She immediately thought. But I never remembered her saying that to me… and I'm not the kind of person who forgets easily! She decided to forget about it… for now. She had to face the current problem in front of her: it was pitch black in here and she basically couldn't see anything at all! Chihiro then remembered that she had a mini flashlight in her jacket's pocket and sighed in relief as she took it out and turned it on.

"That's much better," she said to herself, a little satisfied as she looked around.

It seemed like a normal tunnel: deserted with a muddy ground and stone walls. She could hear the sound of rain drops splattering on the ground and she thought urgently: I need to go home! She tried to walk out the tunnel, but every time she tried, the wind would blow against her… and mysteriously, it was as if the wind was forcing her to move forward…

That's so strange… Chihiro thought, followed by an immediate shake of her head. As usual, I'm not making any sense… I'm probably just a little paranoid and oversensitive… hopefully.

Since the wind and weather was against her, the girl had no choice but to move forward. At first, it was basically easy, even though she had to admit, she was a little scared… But then… something was wrong. It was as if every step she took was a struggle: at first, it seemed as if it was tiny struggle, and she managed to convince herself that she was just getting tired. But then it became harder and harder to move on, and her next thought was this: the tunnel wasn't that long. So something was definitely wrong. Maybe now I can just turn back and head to my house, Chihiro thought, but when she turned, a strong blast of wind rapidly discouraged her to go on.

Great, just great: I'm now trapped between a small space in a filthy tunnel… excellent… she thought to herself, annoyed. But it was clear that the easiest way was to move onward. She decided the best way was to run. She stepped back, took a deep breath, before speeding as fast as she can ahead. In the beginning, even though she felt resistance, it wasn't so hard. But suddenly, just so suddenly, she stopped as she felt herself bumping into something… But she didn't see anything… And then, as abruptly as before, she was thrown back. She hit the tunnel ground hard, and moaned in slight pain.

But she got up quickly, and yelled to no one in particular:

"What is wrong!"

Of course, as Chihiro expected, no answer. Maybe I should just give up… she thought to herself desperately. I'll just wait here until the storm outside calms down, then I'll head back home. But she had this huge, strong urge to move ahead… as if she had a purpose to go within the tunnel. But she didn't have any purpose to continue.

Or do I…?

She decided to try her strength against the strange power that prevented her from moving on. With a tight line on her lips, she walked forward until she could feel… this mysterious energy field that prohibited her from going on. She took a step back from the invisible wall, and then, with all her might, she pushed against it, trying to break or at least penetrate through it.

It might as well have been an useless attempt because the energy field was indeed much stronger. Even with all her strength, Chihiro knew that what she was doing was hopeless: the invisible shield was resisting her attempts, and she could feel that her power was rapidly shrinking.

No… a small, but clear voice in her head was whispering. She could hardly believe it was her own voice…

I need to get back… I need to know… Why did you forget me..?

She could feel her energy running out; it was as if the magical field was actually draining her power… Anytime now, she would lose consciousness…

Why did you forget me…? Why can't you remember…? Those phrases replayed all over again and again in her head.

Chihiro pushed harder, and harder. Can't give up now, can't give up now… Both her hands were sweating, and even though she didn't know what it was, she had a clear motive to break the shield so she could move forward… to the other side of the tunnel… the side that she had no idea will lead her to…

Why can't you remember? Why did you forget…?

She felt so tired; there was no way she could go on… and the mysterious whispers inside her head abruptly turned into screams of sadness and… pain?

Why, why, WHY? Why did you forget me…?

Anytime now, she would lose consciousness: but she still gave one last hard push… that's when her mind exploded:

HAKU!

The energy field suddenly broke, and she was thrown forward: but she didn't know what happened next, because just then, she lost her consciousness…