TRAPPED IN A UNKNOWN WORLD
Chihiro stood there staring at the pigs lined up in a row. They were so alike, pink, fat and ugly. She stared at them, one at a time but thought slowly started to flick into her mind.
'Which ones are they, Chihiro? You can't tell can you?'
'Your parents are pigs and it's all because of you, Chihiro.'
Then she heard her mothers voice whispering in her mind.
'Help us. Help your father and I escape. Just guess. Which ones are we... Sen?'
Chihiro shoot her head around and glared at Yu-baba, the Bathhouse matriarch. The old woman smirked at her, her brown eyes gleaming with pleasure at seeing Chihiro so troubled.
"What is you choice, Sen dear? Which ones are you parents?" A malicious smile made her face even more shriveled. Chihiro turned back to the pigs and started to panic. She really couldn't tell which ones were her parents. It was so hard just to remember their names let alone picture what they looked like.
A hand rested on her shoulder and she looked up at Haku. His eyes weren't cold like they were when he was being controlled by his fake name, they were gentle like the river of which he was spirit over. He leaned towards her and whispered,
"You can do this, Chihiro. Don't think with your mind, think with your heart. They may all seem the same on the outside but the spirit of your parents are there trapped inside. They are calling to you, Chihiro. Listen hard and hear their cries."
Chihiro turned to him, her eyes stinging wanting to burst out tears.
"I can't do it, Haku. I can't see them anymore."
"Just try. You can do this!" Then he smiled; it seemed so strange on the face that was once hard and cold. Chihiro turned back to the pigs and stared into the small, black eyes of every pig. She was hoping to see her mother and father hidden in the, calling for her to save them.
"Pick now, Sen, or they will die and you will be mine forever!" ************************************************ Chihiro lifted a hand to push a hair away from her eyes and saw it was shaking. Her lips trembled and she said, "I'm so sorry, Haku. They're gone to me, I can't see them," Chihiro clutched her hair in frustration, "I tried to remember them, I tried! But I have forgotten them! I CAN'T EVEN SEE THEY'RE FACES!" Chihiro cried out.
On the fence Lin cried out,
"You can remember them, Sen. You are destined to leave this place. I have faith in you"
Chihiro shook her head in despair, this was to much for her to handle, she was only twelve! But she still refused to cry. Behind her Yu-baba cleared her throat,
"So what will it be? Who are your parents?"
""I... I don't know" Chihiro whispered.
Yu-baba let out a cackling laugh.
"You fool of a girl. Take a look at them!" Chihiro turned and the pigs transformed into workers from the Bathhouse.
"YOU ARE MINE, SEN!"
Chihiro stood there shocked. Haku turned and growled at Yu-baba,
"You promised! She was to pick her parents, how could she if they weren't even there!" This made Yu-baba laugh even harder. Chihiro ran past them, down into the flower bushes. The twigs caught in her hair and scratched at her arms. Finally she bursted out of them but collected a rock and tripped over. She got up and ran into the pig pen.
"MAMA, WHERE ARE YOU! PAPA! I'm so... so," Her voice broke into sobs and she collapsed onto the ground.
"Sorry." She whispered.
She brought her hands up to her face and started to cry. Behind her she heard someone walk up behind her. A comforting arm came around her shoulders.
"It'll be alright. I promise." *********************************** This thought made her cry even harder. Haku waited a while, letting Chihiro cry it all out.
"You hurt yourself!"
"It's just a scratch." Chihiro murmured. Haku frowned and put his hand above her knee. A warm feeling came to her cold limb and when Haku removed his hand the scratch was gone.
"I will see what I can do to save your parents." Chihiro nodded and looked up at Haku. He got up and looked at her.
"We must go back. You've had a long day. You need some rest, Lin will see that you're not disturbed."
Chihiro nodded again and let herself be led back to the Bathhouse. As they walked through the corridors the creatures stepped back from Haku and whispered to each other. Chihiro couldn't hear what they where saying but at the moment she didn't care. Just before they came to the bath area, Haku pulled her towards another door. It led out to a little courtyard. He stopped and looked at Chihiro. She stared at the ground and her tears dropped onto the soft sand.
"It will be alright you now. Its not too bad here."
"I know I won't miss them because I have nothing here to remind me of them but Haku, you can leave now! You know your true name, you aren't bound to Yu-baba anymore."
"I won't leave. I won't leave you here, Chihiro."
Chihiro smiled at him but still couldn't stop the tears fall down her face. He walked to a sliding door and opened it. After a couple more minutes they came to the woman's dorm. Lin stood out on balcony but as Chihiro came towards her she embraced Chihiro. Hugging her like her mother did when she was sad.
"I have to talk to Yu-baba now but I will come back. Just get some rest."
Haku turned took in a deep breath and started walk back down the corridor. Lin took Chihiro by the arm and led her into the room. Chihiro didn't realize how tired she was until she sat down. As soon as her head touched the pillow she was in a deep sleep.
Chihiro opened her eyes and stared up at a bright, blue sky. She heard someone murmuring beside her and turned her head to see who it was.
"Oh, you're finally awake."
Chihiro sat up and looked at the person talking to her. She was shortish, with brown hair but no matter what Chihiro tried she couldn't focus on the woman's face.
"Chihiro! Hello... anyone home?" A tall, stocky man sat next to her but Chihiro couldn't see his face either.
"Who are you?" Chihiro whispered. A nagging memory lingered in the back of her head. Something was familiar about these people, but what?
"Wow, you were right, Akio. This is a perfect place for a picnic."
Chihiro looked down and saw that she was sitting on a red-white checkered blanket. All around her was un-kept grass and dilapidated buildings. Suddenly a wave of black clouds streaked across the sky. Lanterns started to light up. Chihiro felt the adrenalin starting to coarse through her veins. Something bad was about to happen. A delicious smell wafted to them across a light breeze.
"Mmm, that smells good." The man stood up and sniffed the air.
"Oh, darling! We forgot to bring the food." The woman whined. Chihiro snapped her head back at them, frowning. As she was turning to look at the woman, they started to change before her eyes. The two figures changed into squealing pigs. The larger one's squealing seemed to form words.
"It's all your fault."
Chihiro sat up screaming, her face was drenched in a cold sweat. After a moment she stopped and started taking in deep breaths. It was just a silly dream, she thought. Chihiro looked up as the sliding opened and Lin ran in.
"Sen! Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. I just had a bad dream."
Lin looked worried but got up and brought over a bowl of rice.
"Here have something to eat."
Chihiro took the bowl and thanked Lin but she couldn't eat anything. She took a mouthful but it stuck in her throat.
Later, once she dressed back into her working clothes, she and Lin got ready for her shift. It was just before sunset and the Bathhouse was full of commotion. Children were polishing the floors; the bathrooms were filling with steam and bath tokens clicked as they were handed out. Chihiro sighed thinking that she would have to get used to this. Lin handed her a bucket and scrubbing brush and they moved to one of the bathrooms. Chihiro scrabbled up the side of the tub and stared down at the murky water.
Lin yelled out exasperated,
"WHY WON'T ANYONE CLEAN ANY OF MY TUBS? Sen, I'll have to lower you down so you can take out the plug."
Chihiro cringed and let herself be lowered down by the ankles. As her hands touched the freezing cold water a shiver ran up her spine.
"YUK!"
"Take a big breath, Sen, it's a bit deep."
Chihiro brought her hand up and clamped her nose shut.
"Okay, Sen, here it goes. Oops!"
Chihiro ankles slipped from Lin's grip. She plunged into the water about to scream but got a mouth full of foul water. She pushed her hands back and shot down to the bottom. She felt the plug under her fingertips and grabbed it with all her might. She placed her feet on the bottom and tugged out the plug. Water rushed around her and once again she got a flashback from when she was younger of Haku saving her from the torrential current of his river.
She gasped for air as the water fell past her head.
"Hurry up and get back up here. Man! Your soaked!"
Chihiro let herself be lifted out of the tub. A toad came to the door and yelled out to Lin,
"Lin, you've got a customer coming."
Lin sighed and sent Chihiro over to the bath token counter to get a lavender token. When Chihiro got to the front of the line the toad man at the counter stared down at her filthy rags in disgust.
"What do you want?"
"Could I have a lavender bath token please."
Chihiro bowed to the toad man but his overlarge eyes turned into slits.
"Why?"
"Miss Lin sent me, sir."
"Fine but don't expect it to be a good one."
Chihiro bowed again when the toad man handed it to her.
"Thank you, sir."
Chihiro turned and ran back to the room. Lin plugged the token into the wall and the water-shoot fell from the wall. She reached up and pulled the string down and a rush of water filled the tub.
"Lin, it's here."
Behind the toad man came a squeaking sound, and then the Radish Spirit came into the room. Its large belly expanded as it breathed in the fragrant air. It walked up the tub and jumped in, water swelled over the edges and sloshed around Chihiro feet.
"Good day, Radish Spirit."
It rasped in reply.
"Eh... What would you like today?"
The Radish Spirit pointed a sprouting finger to it's back.
"Umm... Oh, Sen, get that big brush over there."
Chihiro picked up the 5-foot pole and staggered under its weight.
"Okay now the Radish Spirit's back... No, no, no, harder! How do you expect to get that dirt off like that?"
Chihiro ran back and forth, scrubbing with the pole. The Radish Spirit grumbled in what seemed like appreciation. It's head swayed from side to side as it groaned a tune to itself. After a while the tuned faded away, replaced by even breathing.
"Lin, I think it's asleep. What should we do?"
"Let him sleep. It works all day making radish's of the world grow, it's tired. I'll get us some lunch so hold down the fortress while I'm gone. Okay."
Chihiro nodded and gently placed the pole on the ground. A minute after Lin left someone knocked on the door frame. Chihiro looked up and saw Haku walking towards her.
"You look better." Chihiro nodded and stood up.
"I have talked to Yu-baba. She doesn't know that I know my true name yet. I think I'll try and keep it that way."
"You secret is safe with me." Haku smiled again.
"I asked Yu-baba to save your parents and... and she said yes."
Chihiro eyes widened but something wasn't right, Haku seemed distant and cold once more.
"Haku? What's wrong?"
Haku hesitated then said,
"In return Yu-baba would only let me leave the Bathouse on a full moon or to do her dirty work." Chihiro gasped, because her now Haku had lost his freedom. What was wrong with her?
Chihiro stood there staring at the pigs lined up in a row. They were so alike, pink, fat and ugly. She stared at them, one at a time but thought slowly started to flick into her mind.
'Which ones are they, Chihiro? You can't tell can you?'
'Your parents are pigs and it's all because of you, Chihiro.'
Then she heard her mothers voice whispering in her mind.
'Help us. Help your father and I escape. Just guess. Which ones are we... Sen?'
Chihiro shoot her head around and glared at Yu-baba, the Bathhouse matriarch. The old woman smirked at her, her brown eyes gleaming with pleasure at seeing Chihiro so troubled.
"What is you choice, Sen dear? Which ones are you parents?" A malicious smile made her face even more shriveled. Chihiro turned back to the pigs and started to panic. She really couldn't tell which ones were her parents. It was so hard just to remember their names let alone picture what they looked like.
A hand rested on her shoulder and she looked up at Haku. His eyes weren't cold like they were when he was being controlled by his fake name, they were gentle like the river of which he was spirit over. He leaned towards her and whispered,
"You can do this, Chihiro. Don't think with your mind, think with your heart. They may all seem the same on the outside but the spirit of your parents are there trapped inside. They are calling to you, Chihiro. Listen hard and hear their cries."
Chihiro turned to him, her eyes stinging wanting to burst out tears.
"I can't do it, Haku. I can't see them anymore."
"Just try. You can do this!" Then he smiled; it seemed so strange on the face that was once hard and cold. Chihiro turned back to the pigs and stared into the small, black eyes of every pig. She was hoping to see her mother and father hidden in the, calling for her to save them.
"Pick now, Sen, or they will die and you will be mine forever!" ************************************************ Chihiro lifted a hand to push a hair away from her eyes and saw it was shaking. Her lips trembled and she said, "I'm so sorry, Haku. They're gone to me, I can't see them," Chihiro clutched her hair in frustration, "I tried to remember them, I tried! But I have forgotten them! I CAN'T EVEN SEE THEY'RE FACES!" Chihiro cried out.
On the fence Lin cried out,
"You can remember them, Sen. You are destined to leave this place. I have faith in you"
Chihiro shook her head in despair, this was to much for her to handle, she was only twelve! But she still refused to cry. Behind her Yu-baba cleared her throat,
"So what will it be? Who are your parents?"
""I... I don't know" Chihiro whispered.
Yu-baba let out a cackling laugh.
"You fool of a girl. Take a look at them!" Chihiro turned and the pigs transformed into workers from the Bathhouse.
"YOU ARE MINE, SEN!"
Chihiro stood there shocked. Haku turned and growled at Yu-baba,
"You promised! She was to pick her parents, how could she if they weren't even there!" This made Yu-baba laugh even harder. Chihiro ran past them, down into the flower bushes. The twigs caught in her hair and scratched at her arms. Finally she bursted out of them but collected a rock and tripped over. She got up and ran into the pig pen.
"MAMA, WHERE ARE YOU! PAPA! I'm so... so," Her voice broke into sobs and she collapsed onto the ground.
"Sorry." She whispered.
She brought her hands up to her face and started to cry. Behind her she heard someone walk up behind her. A comforting arm came around her shoulders.
"It'll be alright. I promise." *********************************** This thought made her cry even harder. Haku waited a while, letting Chihiro cry it all out.
"You hurt yourself!"
"It's just a scratch." Chihiro murmured. Haku frowned and put his hand above her knee. A warm feeling came to her cold limb and when Haku removed his hand the scratch was gone.
"I will see what I can do to save your parents." Chihiro nodded and looked up at Haku. He got up and looked at her.
"We must go back. You've had a long day. You need some rest, Lin will see that you're not disturbed."
Chihiro nodded again and let herself be led back to the Bathhouse. As they walked through the corridors the creatures stepped back from Haku and whispered to each other. Chihiro couldn't hear what they where saying but at the moment she didn't care. Just before they came to the bath area, Haku pulled her towards another door. It led out to a little courtyard. He stopped and looked at Chihiro. She stared at the ground and her tears dropped onto the soft sand.
"It will be alright you now. Its not too bad here."
"I know I won't miss them because I have nothing here to remind me of them but Haku, you can leave now! You know your true name, you aren't bound to Yu-baba anymore."
"I won't leave. I won't leave you here, Chihiro."
Chihiro smiled at him but still couldn't stop the tears fall down her face. He walked to a sliding door and opened it. After a couple more minutes they came to the woman's dorm. Lin stood out on balcony but as Chihiro came towards her she embraced Chihiro. Hugging her like her mother did when she was sad.
"I have to talk to Yu-baba now but I will come back. Just get some rest."
Haku turned took in a deep breath and started walk back down the corridor. Lin took Chihiro by the arm and led her into the room. Chihiro didn't realize how tired she was until she sat down. As soon as her head touched the pillow she was in a deep sleep.
Chihiro opened her eyes and stared up at a bright, blue sky. She heard someone murmuring beside her and turned her head to see who it was.
"Oh, you're finally awake."
Chihiro sat up and looked at the person talking to her. She was shortish, with brown hair but no matter what Chihiro tried she couldn't focus on the woman's face.
"Chihiro! Hello... anyone home?" A tall, stocky man sat next to her but Chihiro couldn't see his face either.
"Who are you?" Chihiro whispered. A nagging memory lingered in the back of her head. Something was familiar about these people, but what?
"Wow, you were right, Akio. This is a perfect place for a picnic."
Chihiro looked down and saw that she was sitting on a red-white checkered blanket. All around her was un-kept grass and dilapidated buildings. Suddenly a wave of black clouds streaked across the sky. Lanterns started to light up. Chihiro felt the adrenalin starting to coarse through her veins. Something bad was about to happen. A delicious smell wafted to them across a light breeze.
"Mmm, that smells good." The man stood up and sniffed the air.
"Oh, darling! We forgot to bring the food." The woman whined. Chihiro snapped her head back at them, frowning. As she was turning to look at the woman, they started to change before her eyes. The two figures changed into squealing pigs. The larger one's squealing seemed to form words.
"It's all your fault."
Chihiro sat up screaming, her face was drenched in a cold sweat. After a moment she stopped and started taking in deep breaths. It was just a silly dream, she thought. Chihiro looked up as the sliding opened and Lin ran in.
"Sen! Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. I just had a bad dream."
Lin looked worried but got up and brought over a bowl of rice.
"Here have something to eat."
Chihiro took the bowl and thanked Lin but she couldn't eat anything. She took a mouthful but it stuck in her throat.
Later, once she dressed back into her working clothes, she and Lin got ready for her shift. It was just before sunset and the Bathhouse was full of commotion. Children were polishing the floors; the bathrooms were filling with steam and bath tokens clicked as they were handed out. Chihiro sighed thinking that she would have to get used to this. Lin handed her a bucket and scrubbing brush and they moved to one of the bathrooms. Chihiro scrabbled up the side of the tub and stared down at the murky water.
Lin yelled out exasperated,
"WHY WON'T ANYONE CLEAN ANY OF MY TUBS? Sen, I'll have to lower you down so you can take out the plug."
Chihiro cringed and let herself be lowered down by the ankles. As her hands touched the freezing cold water a shiver ran up her spine.
"YUK!"
"Take a big breath, Sen, it's a bit deep."
Chihiro brought her hand up and clamped her nose shut.
"Okay, Sen, here it goes. Oops!"
Chihiro ankles slipped from Lin's grip. She plunged into the water about to scream but got a mouth full of foul water. She pushed her hands back and shot down to the bottom. She felt the plug under her fingertips and grabbed it with all her might. She placed her feet on the bottom and tugged out the plug. Water rushed around her and once again she got a flashback from when she was younger of Haku saving her from the torrential current of his river.
She gasped for air as the water fell past her head.
"Hurry up and get back up here. Man! Your soaked!"
Chihiro let herself be lifted out of the tub. A toad came to the door and yelled out to Lin,
"Lin, you've got a customer coming."
Lin sighed and sent Chihiro over to the bath token counter to get a lavender token. When Chihiro got to the front of the line the toad man at the counter stared down at her filthy rags in disgust.
"What do you want?"
"Could I have a lavender bath token please."
Chihiro bowed to the toad man but his overlarge eyes turned into slits.
"Why?"
"Miss Lin sent me, sir."
"Fine but don't expect it to be a good one."
Chihiro bowed again when the toad man handed it to her.
"Thank you, sir."
Chihiro turned and ran back to the room. Lin plugged the token into the wall and the water-shoot fell from the wall. She reached up and pulled the string down and a rush of water filled the tub.
"Lin, it's here."
Behind the toad man came a squeaking sound, and then the Radish Spirit came into the room. Its large belly expanded as it breathed in the fragrant air. It walked up the tub and jumped in, water swelled over the edges and sloshed around Chihiro feet.
"Good day, Radish Spirit."
It rasped in reply.
"Eh... What would you like today?"
The Radish Spirit pointed a sprouting finger to it's back.
"Umm... Oh, Sen, get that big brush over there."
Chihiro picked up the 5-foot pole and staggered under its weight.
"Okay now the Radish Spirit's back... No, no, no, harder! How do you expect to get that dirt off like that?"
Chihiro ran back and forth, scrubbing with the pole. The Radish Spirit grumbled in what seemed like appreciation. It's head swayed from side to side as it groaned a tune to itself. After a while the tuned faded away, replaced by even breathing.
"Lin, I think it's asleep. What should we do?"
"Let him sleep. It works all day making radish's of the world grow, it's tired. I'll get us some lunch so hold down the fortress while I'm gone. Okay."
Chihiro nodded and gently placed the pole on the ground. A minute after Lin left someone knocked on the door frame. Chihiro looked up and saw Haku walking towards her.
"You look better." Chihiro nodded and stood up.
"I have talked to Yu-baba. She doesn't know that I know my true name yet. I think I'll try and keep it that way."
"You secret is safe with me." Haku smiled again.
"I asked Yu-baba to save your parents and... and she said yes."
Chihiro eyes widened but something wasn't right, Haku seemed distant and cold once more.
"Haku? What's wrong?"
Haku hesitated then said,
"In return Yu-baba would only let me leave the Bathouse on a full moon or to do her dirty work." Chihiro gasped, because her now Haku had lost his freedom. What was wrong with her?