November 30, 2002
Eleventh Log: Chihiro and Risa

Chihiro: Hello Risa.

Risa: Hi, Chihiro.
Risa: You're online? Not using the phone?

Chihiro: My mom's on the phone all the time, making arrangements.
Chihiro: Asking about passport issues, and talking to my dad a lot.

Risa: They're planning to travel? Whereto?

Chihiro: Not they.
Chihiro: That's what I want to tell you.

Risa: So it's you who's going away?
Risa: You have to tell me more. When are you leaving?

Chihiro: After school, in April, if it all works out.
Chihiro: To Iceland.

Risa: I know, you said you wanted to do that.

Chihiro: No, it's more now.
Chihiro: Not just a plan, it's a final decision.

Risa: That's nice.
Risa: But how come?

Chihiro: Haku is there, in Iceland.

Risa: I know, you told me about your dreams, and the dream of your father.

Chihiro: No, that's not what I mean.

Risa: There's the earthquake and the poem.

Chihiro: But I didn't really KNOW it before.

Risa: Are you planning to go to school there?

Chihiro: Yes.

Risa: But do you think you know enough Icelandic yet?
Risa: You just started.

Chihiro: Will you please shut up now?
Chihiro: And stop asking questions.
Chihiro: Let me ask you something.

Risa: Ok.

Chihiro: If Haku did appear in Iceland, what could he do to show me that he's really there?

Risa: I don't know, write you a postcard?

Chihiro: Please, I'm serious!

Risa: He could tell you through your dreams.

Chihiro: That's nothing real, no, something others can see, too.
Chihiro: Something that really happens, in our time.

Risa: He could make a new river appear, after an earthquake.

Chihiro: But that's nothing to connect with him.

Risa: Ok, you tell me!

Chihiro: What if he appears as a dragon, at a place that bears his name?

Risa: You mean the dried out riverbed from your childhood?

Chihiro: No, a place in Iceland who's name is the same as his name, just in another language.
Chihiro: And some people see him and it's in the news.

Risa: I think that would be enough to convince me.

Chihiro: Well, he did!

Risa: You kidding me.
Risa: Or dreaming, I don't know.

Chihiro: I had trouble believing it myself at first, but I crosschecked it.
Chihiro: There is a report of people seeing him, it's in several places in the internet.
Chihiro: Look here:
Chihiro: members.tripod.co.jp/kontic/02/0211.html

(Note: look under November 20th. The actual link mentioned was members.tripod.co.jp/kontic/ but the news went into the archive later. Please click the English link under the article, or go to www.thibros.de for working links.)

(Quote for offline readers: According to Radio One journalist Thorvaldur Fridriksson, there's been a dramatic increase in "sea monster" sightings in the Hvita area. Fridriksson says most of these mysterious creatures have long necks and tails and are "pretty harmless.")

Chihiro: And the best is:
Chihiro: "Hvita" means "Haku" in Japanese.

(Translator Note: the Japanese kanji for "white" (Icelandic: "hvítá") is "haku". And the River in Iceland is often called "White River".)

Risa: Haku as a "sea monster". I wonder if he'd like that.
Risa: Maybe someone just made this up to promote the movie in Iceland.

Chihiro: Maybe it's just a monster from the Atlantic Ocean paying a visit.
Chihiro: Maybe someone wants to play a mean joke with me.
Chihiro: But there's no intention in the report.
Chihiro: Nothing to hint about the movie.
Chihiro: They would have tried to make bigger news, or at least mentioned Haku from the movie.
Chihiro: This is just a tiny fact.

Risa: This is making me think.

Chihiro: You will always find another explanation, if you want to,
Chihiro: And you'll never believe anything if you always question everything you hear.
Chihiro: It's not about deciding either. Decisions are based on logic.
Chihiro: This is about trusting your feelings.

Risa: You really feel it, don't you?

Chihiro: Yes I do, I feel it as strong as back then.
Chihiro: When Haku came to Zeniba's house.
Chihiro: I remember it like if it were yesterday.
Chihiro: I thought Haku had died, and then he appeared.

Risa: Didn't you tell me, things happen when you expect them the least?

Chihiro: I did? Well I sure didn't expect this.
Chihiro: Any more.

Risa: I'm really happy for you.

Chihiro: I don't expect to meet him in Iceland.
Chihiro: I hope I'll find a brook and feel that it is him.
Chihiro: Maybe I'll be even able to see things others can't.
Chihiro: Maybe I'll see him in the mist one day.
Chihiro: All I need to know is that we are near.
Chihiro: I'll have my dreams.

Risa: I think that's a good way to see it.
Risa: I'll visit you, than you can introduce me, like you promised.

Chihiro: I'll try of course, but,
Chihiro: Do you believe me?

Risa: I believe that you believe it.
Risa: And I feel it too.

Chihiro: But if someone asks you whether you insist or not,
Chihiro: You'd say, you don't know for sure, right?

Risa: Something like that, maybe.
Risa: Depends who asks.
Risa: But that shouldn't matter to you. I don't know enough about all of this.
Risa: I'm not you.

Chihiro: That's true.

Risa: What does Masaaki say?
Risa: Does he know?

Chihiro: He's the one who found the report.
Chihiro: Although he didn't feel it as strong as I do.

Risa: Nobody does, you're unique, Chihiro.
Risa: And your parents agreed to send you there?

Chihiro: First I told mom, then we phoned my dad last night.
Chihiro: I tried to explain it as reasonable as possible to them,
Chihiro: Together with all other reasons why I want to go to Iceland.
Chihiro: But I think most important was that they saw how happy I am.

Risa: You sure seem totally happy to me.

Chihiro: My dad said he'd phone all his friends in Iceland at once, to see what he could arrange.

Risa: At night?

Chihiro: It's day in Iceland then.
Chihiro: We might travel there over New Year,
Chihiro: And he even found a school for me, if they take me.

Risa: Where would you live?

Chihiro: At the school, it's a boarding school.
Chihiro: It's closed during the summer, I'd be staying with a family then.
Chihiro: Much time to learn the language.

Risa: Tell me about the school.

Chihiro: I don't know much yet, it's in "Laugarvatn", and that's only 20 km from the Hvita river.

(Translator note: about 12 miles.)

Chihiro: School starts in September, and it's four years until graduation.

Risa: You are planning of staying four years?

Chihiro: I don't know yet of course, maybe I'm not even allowed to.
Chihiro: Europe is quite different.
Chihiro: But the school specializes in languages, too.

Risa: That sounds perfect for you.

Chihiro: It's all too good to be true.
Chihiro: I'm afraid something will come and spoil it all.

Risa: You mean like Masaaki saying he made it all up?

Chihiro: No, I don't know, something like a war in Europe and I couldn't go there.
Chihiro: Or a global epidemic.

Risa: Your imagining now, those things rarely happen.

Chihiro: But sometimes they do.
Chihiro: Now that I know what I want, I want to keep it.
Chihiro: And I fear if I want it too much, I won't get it.
Chihiro: Like years ago.

Risa: Please relax.
Risa: Everyone helps you this time.
Risa: Now they all believe you.

Chihiro: Do they?

Risa: They believe that you know what you want.
Risa: They see sense in what you want to do.
Risa: Even if they don't understand it all.

Chihiro: You might be right.
Chihiro: It's different from the last time I believed Haku is real.
Chihiro: It changed.

Risa: You changed.
Risa: Again.
Risa: By the way, what about Seishiro?

Chihiro: What about him?

Risa: Does he know yet?

Chihiro: I'll tell him eventually.
Chihiro: I don't have time for him any more.
Chihiro: Too much to do.
Chihiro: I can give you his phone number if you want to.

Risa: No need to.
Risa: Too far away.

Chihiro: I'll probably start thinking about boys again when I'm in Iceland.
Chihiro: If I'll ever be able to understand them…

Risa: Don't worry, you'll understand a lot.
Risa: You always do.

Chihiro: But there's so much I don't understand.
Chihiro: All over the world.

Risa: Isn't there always?
Risa: It would be boring if there weren't anything to explore.
Risa: Did you think this would be a "Happy End"?

Chihiro: It's more a happy beginning.
Chihiro: There's never a "Happy End", because nothing ever ends…

Risa: That's true.
Risa: Isn't that from a movie?

Chihiro: He, wouldn't you like to come with us to Iceland in winter vacation?

Risa: Yes. I'd love to.
Risa: But I'm sure my parents have other plans.
Risa: I'll talk to them.
Risa: Would Masaaki come, too?

Chihiro: I don't know, haven't ask him yet.
Chihiro: But that would be really fun.

Risa: But the winter is dark and cold there, isn't it?

Chihiro: I suppose so, although snow is white, so it's not all dark.

Risa: I will visit you in the summer, I promise that.

Chihiro: If it all works out.

Risa: Don't worry, it will.

Chihiro: Now I'll go back to planning everything.

Risa: There's still time until April.

Chihiro: Not as much as you think.
Chihiro: And yet I wish it were tomorrow.

Risa: And there's school until then, too.

Chihiro: Oh my God, please don't remind me of that now.

Risa: I think it doesn't matter much if your grades drop a little now.
Risa: Unless there are requirements in Iceland.

Chihiro: Yes, I don't think they have much requirements.
Chihiro: But we haven't talked to them yet.

Risa: Have fun preparing everything.
Risa: And don't forget to relax once in a while.

Chihiro: Ok, talk to you later then.
Chihiro: Bye.

Risa: Bye.