Chihiro groaned at the voices drilling into the unconscious darkness that
she had previously inhabited alone. Her mouth was dry and tasted
extraordinarily bad, as though she had been eating rotten fruit. Her eyes
were heavy and she wasn't sure if she wanted to open them; the last thing
she remembered was fear. And a lot of pain.
"Are you dead, human?"
Chihiro frowned, shading her eyes as she tested out her limbs by flexing them gently. "No, I'm not dead. Thanks for caring." She remarked sarcastically, sitting up slowly. "Owch." She rubbed her head and looked around. She was lying on a bench in the cool recesses of the old train station, at the entrance to the Spirit World. Or rather, past the entrance. Her heart began to race. She was back.
Chihiro whirled to face her assailants, who were hovering near the back of the bench. As she surveyed them, she found that their forms were familiar: they were the life-sized, frog-faced workers from the Bathhouse of the Gods. Over their old bathhouse uniforms, they wore coats made of a thick material, and thin moustaches hung limply over their smirking wide mouths.
Ignoring her shaking legs, Chihiro leapt to her feet. "Who are you? Why did you kidnap me?"
The workers looked at one another, grins widening. "It was on her orders. She wanted to see Sen."
"She told us to come into the stinky Human world and find you!"
"So we did!"
Chihiro grumbled, rubbing the back of her head. "That sounds like Yu- Baaba." Her heart leapt as she realized that she would be returning to the Bathhouse, where her friends were. Where Haku was. "What does she want from me?" Chihiro straightened, inwardly proud that she was a great deal taller than she had been during her last visit.
"You can ask her when you see her." The two frogs motioned towards the train station door and as Chihiro turned, she was surprised to see snow blowing across the once-green field that separated the Spirit World from the Human World. 'I didn't know they had seasons here. Well, that would make sense. ' She chastised herself for not thinking more logically. She also noted that while it had been night in her world, it seemed to be late day in the Spirit Realms.
"Come on, she wants you at the bathhouse before nightfall. At least don't smell anymore! We've been sneaking you Spirit food for days now, through the open windows in your house."
Chihiro frowned. The frog-faced workers seemed awfully pleased with themselves. They seemed to have everything planned out. She just wished they hadn't felt the need to give her a concussion.
* * *
As they stepped out of the train station, the freezing temperatures immediately assaulted Chihiro with full force. The thin skirt, tiny tank top and bare feet were of absolutely no help in the wintry world.
"Wow. it's cold!" She clenched her teeth, rubbing her arms and stamping her feet slightly to keep the blood flowing.
As they crossed the white, barren field, her memories drifted to the day when she had crossed the field with her parents six years ago. It had been warm and sunny that day, as they made their fateful way past the crumbling, stone sculptures of ancient Gods. And she remembered how warm the nights had been: calm, soothing warmth that made this blistering cold weather even more unbelievable. Now, dark clouds churned in the east and a bitter wind blew, foretelling of colder temperatures ahead. There was a thick layer of snow covering the high grass that lay between the small amusement town and the main building.
She glanced back at the workers, who were grimacing with the cold as well. "It's been like this for awhile." The larger one nodded towards the steps on the other side. "We'd better go, the river will start filling soon." Chihiro tried to ignore her increasingly numb feet as she followed the frogs across the stony river bottom. "You could have warned me to bring a coat, you know. Or even a pair of shoes!" She muttered as she slipped across the frosty stone and snow.
The frog-faced workers rushed her through the darkened town, not giving her much of a chance to reminisce on her trip years ago. As they turned a corner, the Bathhouse came into view and Chihiro felt a warm cord of happiness and excitement ring in her heart. 'I'm finally back.' She thought, looking up at the decadently painted building with shining eyes. 'Everything will be okay now.'
* * *
As they hurried across the snow-covered bridge, Chihiro was surprised to see that the front door of the bathhouse was being opened for them. 'Well really, you didn't expect to enter through the boiler room again, did you? ' She asked herself. Hopefully, there would be time to visit Kamajii later.
Her feet were frozen as she stepped through the tall doors, breathing a sigh of relief as waves of the bathhouse's misty warmth washed over her. She sat at the edge of the steps, which led to the main hall, rubbing her toes to get some feeling back into them.
The first thing she noticed, after her feet thawed, was the silence. She frowned; it had been early evening when they had reached the entrance to the Bathhouse. And yet, the lamps were not lit, the welcoming committee had been absent and the warm chatter from the workers and customers was distinctly absent.
' Maybe they're on holiday. Does Yu-Baaba give holidays?' She mused as she looked up into the dusty rafters. 'I doubt it.'
"This way, Human." The frog-worker beckoned and she winced, as pins and needles raced up her legs, rising to follow him.
As she walked along the corridor of the bathhouse, she began to get the feeling that business was clearly not booming as well as it had been during her last visit. In fact, business did not seem to be booming at all. The rooms, once filled with the laughter and conversation of the bathing Gods, were dark and empty. Few workers could be seen, dusting here and there in a futile attempt to give life to something that was obviously no longer alive.
"Um." she cleared her throat as the frog-worker glanced back at her. "Where's Haku?" she asked hopefully, unable to keep her questions to herself any longer.
The frog-worker blinked and turned to his partner, who shook his head slightly. They continued without a word.
Chihiro was alarmed by this reaction and she screeched to a halt. "Where is he?" her heart was falling slowly into her stomach as she imagined the horrible things Yu-baaba might have done to the River God since her departure. "Where's Haku?!"
The frog-workers stopped and turned, "Listen, Human. All we know is that he left and didn't come back. Just like everyone else who left."
The girl blinked with confusion. "What are you talking about? Left? Where did he go? Is he all right?"
"She can answer your questions better than us." The worker nodded at the elevator to Yu-baaba's apartments. "You'd better go." And with that, they disappeared down a long corridor of the bathhouse, muttering to themselves about humans who bite.
Chihiro wavered for a moment, her thoughts immersed with fear for her friend. 'Something's wrong. In fact, a whole lot of things are wrong around here.'
She looked around the silent, misty bathhouse with growing trepidation. Realizing that only one person could answer her questions, Chihiro stepped into the elevator and pulled the lever.
"Are you dead, human?"
Chihiro frowned, shading her eyes as she tested out her limbs by flexing them gently. "No, I'm not dead. Thanks for caring." She remarked sarcastically, sitting up slowly. "Owch." She rubbed her head and looked around. She was lying on a bench in the cool recesses of the old train station, at the entrance to the Spirit World. Or rather, past the entrance. Her heart began to race. She was back.
Chihiro whirled to face her assailants, who were hovering near the back of the bench. As she surveyed them, she found that their forms were familiar: they were the life-sized, frog-faced workers from the Bathhouse of the Gods. Over their old bathhouse uniforms, they wore coats made of a thick material, and thin moustaches hung limply over their smirking wide mouths.
Ignoring her shaking legs, Chihiro leapt to her feet. "Who are you? Why did you kidnap me?"
The workers looked at one another, grins widening. "It was on her orders. She wanted to see Sen."
"She told us to come into the stinky Human world and find you!"
"So we did!"
Chihiro grumbled, rubbing the back of her head. "That sounds like Yu- Baaba." Her heart leapt as she realized that she would be returning to the Bathhouse, where her friends were. Where Haku was. "What does she want from me?" Chihiro straightened, inwardly proud that she was a great deal taller than she had been during her last visit.
"You can ask her when you see her." The two frogs motioned towards the train station door and as Chihiro turned, she was surprised to see snow blowing across the once-green field that separated the Spirit World from the Human World. 'I didn't know they had seasons here. Well, that would make sense. ' She chastised herself for not thinking more logically. She also noted that while it had been night in her world, it seemed to be late day in the Spirit Realms.
"Come on, she wants you at the bathhouse before nightfall. At least don't smell anymore! We've been sneaking you Spirit food for days now, through the open windows in your house."
Chihiro frowned. The frog-faced workers seemed awfully pleased with themselves. They seemed to have everything planned out. She just wished they hadn't felt the need to give her a concussion.
* * *
As they stepped out of the train station, the freezing temperatures immediately assaulted Chihiro with full force. The thin skirt, tiny tank top and bare feet were of absolutely no help in the wintry world.
"Wow. it's cold!" She clenched her teeth, rubbing her arms and stamping her feet slightly to keep the blood flowing.
As they crossed the white, barren field, her memories drifted to the day when she had crossed the field with her parents six years ago. It had been warm and sunny that day, as they made their fateful way past the crumbling, stone sculptures of ancient Gods. And she remembered how warm the nights had been: calm, soothing warmth that made this blistering cold weather even more unbelievable. Now, dark clouds churned in the east and a bitter wind blew, foretelling of colder temperatures ahead. There was a thick layer of snow covering the high grass that lay between the small amusement town and the main building.
She glanced back at the workers, who were grimacing with the cold as well. "It's been like this for awhile." The larger one nodded towards the steps on the other side. "We'd better go, the river will start filling soon." Chihiro tried to ignore her increasingly numb feet as she followed the frogs across the stony river bottom. "You could have warned me to bring a coat, you know. Or even a pair of shoes!" She muttered as she slipped across the frosty stone and snow.
The frog-faced workers rushed her through the darkened town, not giving her much of a chance to reminisce on her trip years ago. As they turned a corner, the Bathhouse came into view and Chihiro felt a warm cord of happiness and excitement ring in her heart. 'I'm finally back.' She thought, looking up at the decadently painted building with shining eyes. 'Everything will be okay now.'
* * *
As they hurried across the snow-covered bridge, Chihiro was surprised to see that the front door of the bathhouse was being opened for them. 'Well really, you didn't expect to enter through the boiler room again, did you? ' She asked herself. Hopefully, there would be time to visit Kamajii later.
Her feet were frozen as she stepped through the tall doors, breathing a sigh of relief as waves of the bathhouse's misty warmth washed over her. She sat at the edge of the steps, which led to the main hall, rubbing her toes to get some feeling back into them.
The first thing she noticed, after her feet thawed, was the silence. She frowned; it had been early evening when they had reached the entrance to the Bathhouse. And yet, the lamps were not lit, the welcoming committee had been absent and the warm chatter from the workers and customers was distinctly absent.
' Maybe they're on holiday. Does Yu-Baaba give holidays?' She mused as she looked up into the dusty rafters. 'I doubt it.'
"This way, Human." The frog-worker beckoned and she winced, as pins and needles raced up her legs, rising to follow him.
As she walked along the corridor of the bathhouse, she began to get the feeling that business was clearly not booming as well as it had been during her last visit. In fact, business did not seem to be booming at all. The rooms, once filled with the laughter and conversation of the bathing Gods, were dark and empty. Few workers could be seen, dusting here and there in a futile attempt to give life to something that was obviously no longer alive.
"Um." she cleared her throat as the frog-worker glanced back at her. "Where's Haku?" she asked hopefully, unable to keep her questions to herself any longer.
The frog-worker blinked and turned to his partner, who shook his head slightly. They continued without a word.
Chihiro was alarmed by this reaction and she screeched to a halt. "Where is he?" her heart was falling slowly into her stomach as she imagined the horrible things Yu-baaba might have done to the River God since her departure. "Where's Haku?!"
The frog-workers stopped and turned, "Listen, Human. All we know is that he left and didn't come back. Just like everyone else who left."
The girl blinked with confusion. "What are you talking about? Left? Where did he go? Is he all right?"
"She can answer your questions better than us." The worker nodded at the elevator to Yu-baaba's apartments. "You'd better go." And with that, they disappeared down a long corridor of the bathhouse, muttering to themselves about humans who bite.
Chihiro wavered for a moment, her thoughts immersed with fear for her friend. 'Something's wrong. In fact, a whole lot of things are wrong around here.'
She looked around the silent, misty bathhouse with growing trepidation. Realizing that only one person could answer her questions, Chihiro stepped into the elevator and pulled the lever.
