Chihiro paused, resting her hands on her knees and trying to catch her breath. 'This is it,' she thought, 'I've found it, finally.' Right there in front of her very eyes was the red wall, with the mysterious smiling statue standing in front of the entrance. As she gasped for breath hysterically, she wondered why the entrance had shown itself to her that time. She recalled the number of times that she had run up that long, rocky path that wound around a hill, only to find a dead end caused by a cloud of trees. She looked up at the wall and cocked her head to one side, as though trying to question it. She walked up to the entrance and touched it.
"Are you sure you really want to do this, Chihiro?" she asked herself. The last time she had walked through that tunnel, she had trapped herself in a Spirit World for days on end. The terrifying situations would stick inside her mind forever.
Then, she smiled, "I don't have a home to go back to anyway." She took a deep breath and took her first step into the darkness...
"It's alright, Chihiro... You're almost there," It was completely pitch black, and Chihiro could not see anything. She kept a hand on the tunnel wall to guide herself towards the exit. After a few minutes of careful treading, Chihiro finally saw light beaming into her eye. Excited, she broke into a run. "The train station!" she exclaimed happily as she heard the sounds of a train zooming somewhere inside the walls. Chihiro picked up her pace and made her way out of the shelter that had been enclosing her. She smiled broadly as tears welled in her eyes. "I'm back," she said as she looked around. Surrounding her were the grassy plains that her mother had once said were beautiful. She couldn't hide her excitement any longer- she began to sprint her way across the piles of rocks that disguised a large river, up the stone steps and into an alley of restaurants. The scenery was all too familiar- Chihiro could finally confirm that the Spirit World was real and not just a figment of her imagination. She let her legs take her to her destination- only they knew where to go.
Finally, Chihiro stopped by the red clock tower that marked the entrance to the bathhouse. "I made it!" she panted delightfully. She turned her head sideways to look at the bridge... Is that- Haku?