Chapter 2: Return to the Spirit World

Chihiro couldn't think. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't believe her ears. She pinched her left arm to find it still fully functional and paining more than ever. She walked to the tunnel's entrance, and peered inside. Unlike when she had exited to find that there was no way back in, now she saw a distant pale light at the end of the tunnel. She stood and watched the spot for a while, thoughts buzzing in and out of her head. She nearly started to cry she was so overjoyed and afraid. What if it had all changed? What if nobody remembered her? What if it turned out not to be her world at all?

She decided to venture through anyway. She was determined to reach the end of this tunnel, even if it did break her heart to find there was no end to it. But all she had to do was watch the light, and walk straight ahead.

And she did exactly that. For a full hour the light loomed ever closer until she realized she was up against a door that was a crack open. So maybe this tunnel's door had by chance opened just in time to save her. She opened it to find the same ancient-church-like room she and her parents had wandered through many years ago. The sundial in the corner indicated that it was 4:30pm. She stared at the door on the opposite side of the room. It beckoned to her, so naturally she went.

She opened this door with more caution. The landscape she saw before her was exactly as she had first seen it. Solid by day, probably liquid by night. She ran across the field to the top of the hill overlooking the ghost town. She did not see any spirits out and about just yet, but if she managed to linger she might be able to meet some of her old friends. She sighed with great relief.

A shriek from what seemed to be a huge bird flying overhead came piercing the land. Chihiro looked up to find Yubaba at her usual daily inspection. She didn't seem to have noticed Chihiro yet, so Chihiro quickly ducked under a large boulder and sat very still. Yubaba eventually flew away, appearing not to have seen Chihiro. Chihiro waited until Yubaba was completely out of sight before getting up and running to the ghost town. She ran and ran, looking joyously at all the shops she had once known and all the places she had visited. Just like before, nothing had changed.

She suddenly stopped, staring up at the familiar building she had been held hostage to. The bathhouse was a good twenty stories high, and in the evening as the sun was setting it made the onlooker feel overpowered by its greatness. This is how Chihiro felt at this moment.

She decided she would have to go to an old friend first, so that her presence in the ghost town would cause less havoc. She first remembered Lyn, but she would have to go into the bathhouse to find her, and she couldn't risk her name or herself again. Then she thought of Kamaji, but if he didn't recognize her he would surely sound the alarm. She then thought of him... but she didn't know where to find him, and he probably wouldn't recognize her (or vice versa) if she did. He could be anywhere...

She decided her only safe option was at Kamaji's, even if he didn't recognize her at a first glance. So off she went, slipping past the bathhouse and coming to the edge of the flight of stairs she had literally flown down four years ago. She remembered how afraid she had been back then, and she tended to purposefully forget how steep they were. It seems her fears had not abandoned her.

She edged down the stairs carefully then, the wind forced her body to fly down the stairs. When she reached the bottom and smashed into the wall, she felt aches and pains all over. Chihiro groaned as she held her hip and limped through the boiler-room doorway.

The same sootballs were at their usual work, scuttling carrying coal forwards and backwards across the boiler-room floor. And sitting on his pile of wooden boxes, the man with six arms working at multiple tasks, occasionally taking a swig from a teapot passed down from generation to generation. Chihiro bravely spoke up:

"Kamaji?"

"Hmmm?" Kamaji turned and glanced at Chihiro. "Human?! Not another one! Wait a second..." he cocked an eyebrow, then dropped whatever he was doing out of shock. "Chihiro! Is that you?" they hugged like a grandfather would hug his granddaughter. "My you've grown! What a fine young specimen you've turned into! I tell you, puberty does wonders to children."

She giggled at his nonsense.

"Nothing's changed Kamaji. It's still your Chihiro."

"Boy it's good to have you back! Tell you what," he said, mischief creeping into his face. "We'll watch the look on Lyn's face when she-"

"When she what?" A stern female voice announced on the staircase.

The voice belonged to Lyn, the bathhouse woman who had helped Chihiro survive the work and lifestyle of the spirit world. When she saw Chihiro however, she dropped all her baskets and belongings in her arms and stood in complete shock.

"Chihiro?" She walked up to Chihiro and pinched her cheek. Chihiro winced and made a face one would make when tasting a lemon. "It is you!" They embraced. "We missed you kiddo! Actually coming to think about it, you're not a kid anymore! You're already taller than me! How old are you now?"

"Fourteen."

"Well that's a no-brainer then. Tell you what; my shift is over for tonight. We'll dine here tonight! I'll get some food and drink to celebrate, and we can discuss the past four years the whole night long! Chihiro can stay here with you, Kamaji. It is the safest place without anyone really noticing."

"Well I don't mind so long as you don't decide to start lodging here as well." He got a thump on the head for this comment.