Disclaimer: Spirited Away, names places and characters belong to Disney's and Ghibli Animation Studios

Chapter three: Fighting the current

I met Nat and Uki in the same café as yesterday. We sat at our table by the window the two of them staring at me with an odd expression

" Sen, why were you acting so odd yesterday?" Ukiho asked.

" Wh-What?" I wasn't really paying attention. She repeated her question with a bite of impatience.

" I don't know-"

" Of coarse you do!" Nat half shouted causing everyone in the café to look at us. I don't I've ever blushed more deeply than now.

" After I mentioned that boy you were just so, I don't know, weird." she continued

" Was he the reason you went off?" Uri added quietly.

"Yes he was the reason," I wanted to shout at them. "He was all my reasons, it was because of him I was so weird the first few years I met you guys, it was because of him I walked around in the woods after I moved here. Couldn't you see it? Didn't you know?" 

Of course I couldn't say that. They'd ask me questions about Haku. Questions I couldn't find the answers to.

" Yes" I replied.

" But why?" Nat said " was he, like, a boy an ex-boyfriend or something?"

" No. But I was in love with him, I think." I blinked down at my coffee and bun. I was in love wasn't I?

" You WHAT?!" Nat gasped.

" How- how- can he not be your boyfriend when you were in love with him?" Uki said impatiently

" I don't know." I said again and  rose from my chair  "I have to go, mum's-"

" Your mum is out of town!" Nat  pulled me down again with an expression of irritation like my headmaster which I recognized only too well.

" What happened after you left yesterday?" Uki said in a calmer voice.

So I told them. I told them about meeting Haku again, pushing him away and running into the forest. I also told them about my first  encounter with him on that bridge in the Spirit World. I looked up at them when I finished; both of their mouths were hanging open. An small silence fell between us, neither finding anything to say. I stared at the table.

" S-so this boy, Haku as you call him, he was, what, a spirit?" Nat said finally.

" Yes" I whispered

" And you're in love with him?"

" Not anymore. Can we please change the subject."

I glanced up at Uki who was still gawping at me. She believed in spirits, witches and ghosts like I do. Or did.

" Sen, you don't know how serious this is," Uki said quietly. " When you pushed him away yesterday you're trying to push away something in your life. You can't-"

" Escape from the past" I finished for her sighing. " I know."

" Look you're going through something very tough right now so I'm giving you a piece of advice my mum once gave me. Never swim against the current."

I looked at her bewildered. Never swim against the current? What was she on about?

" Life is like a river," she explained. " Sometimes the river carries you into unexpected things, like now. You won't always like it but you just have to go with the current, if not, if fight it you'll just end up wasting your time because you'll never be able to escape what life bring you."

" Let me guess, now my river's brought Haku back?"

" Exactly."

" That's not always true. I've pushed him away once, yesterday."

" Don't be so sure." Nat glanced nervously towards the entrance

Haku was standing there and in a few strides he crossed the room to our table. I stared down at my cup of coffee. It was now only up to fate to decide what to happen next.

" Can I talk to you for a minute?" he said. Great. Just great, exactly what I needed. Fate is so not with me today. I nodded and followed him silently out of the café. I could only hope that what he wanted wasn't going to be awkward.

"Why did you forget?" Haku said quietly.  " Why did give up your dreams?"

" I didn't forget. Not at first, but then I stared to get strangled by the reality of it. I thought that you didn't exist"

An eerie silence fell between us, either pulling us apart or pushing us together I didn't know.

" Well you come here when you can remember." he said quietly. " Rin and the others have been waiting for you."

A/N: Well the long awaited chapter three is finally up! I'm sorry it took a long time but real busy lately. All my poems on the FFN are written in school cause at home when I go on the net I always go to BBC,CNN or other news sites to get info on the SARS disease in China( my relies live there y'see so I'm really worried for them.). Anyway pls R&R, I promise the next chapter will be up soon.