Chapter 1: Home
"Mom, Dad, I'm here!" Chihiro said cheerily
Her mom poked her head out from the kitchen.
"Hello, Chihiro. Glad that you're here." She said with a gentle smile then went back to cooking
"Me too, Mom. Where's Dad?"
"I'm up here!" Her dad called out from upstairs
He ran down the stairs toweling off his face. Quickly he scooped his pride and joy--as she was known as by all of his coworkers, friends, neighbors...and random people off the street--and swung her around, holding her tightly.
"I was getting your room ready for your stay."
"Oh yeah," Chihiro gasped as her father hugged her so tight she could barely breathe, "Forgot you changed my room into your den"
When her father put Chihiro back on the floor and let her go, Chihiro let in a huge breath. She took a few deep ones, clutching her chest. That winded her.
"But it's your room again." Her mom said from the kitchen, "For as long as you need it."
"Yup, as long as you need it, Chihiro! Just get writing again. I want to see my little girl win the Nobel Prize for Literature!" Her father yelled with a look of determination on his face
"Er...thanks for the faith in me, Dad."
Chihiro, still huffing, smiled at her father's words. He became particularly proud of Chihiro since she began publishing her books. It was probably because of all the fame and fortune surrounding the girl now. Her mother, on the other hand, seemed proud of Chihiro ever since they moved into that town. Her mother thought the girl had changed so much almost the moment they stepped into the little blue house on the corner. Instead of the bratty, self-centered, spoiled child her parents left with, Chihiro turned into a caring, sweet, friendly little lady, all in the course of a single car trip.
"You know, Chihiro, I think you should do something involving missing time. You know, with aliens and stuff...like what happened to us when we lost like three days moving out here!" Her father offered excitedly
"Not again..." Chihiro heard her mother's exasperated sigh from the next room "Honey, we were NOT abducted by aliens and taken away for a few days! The movers must have been playing a joke."
"Hey, there's more than just us out there, wife of mine. Who knows, maybe it did happen?"
"Sometimes you can be so foolish..."
The couple continued arguing back and forth. Chihiro shook her head. This wasn't the first time her father brought up the subject. He was hellbent on his alien abduction theory. He simply didn't want to believe that their "missing time" was just some sort of hoax. It had to be.
"No matter..." Mrs. Ogina said finally "It's time for dinner now, so I suggest you both go and sit at the table."
Chihiro and her father did as told. One thing they both learned over the years was when Mrs. Ogina gave an order, you'd better follow it.
After dinner, Chihiro headed to her room. She quickly set up shop, putting her clothes away and placing her laptop on the desk. Chihiro even placed her little good luck dragon beside the laptop. She looked around her room. It had been a two since she moved out. Not much had changed. Her father hadn't done any major changes after he converted the room to a den. It still looked much like she left it.
She went over to the window of her room, opening it slightly. A warm breeze immediately flowed in, blowing her long brown hair all around her face. She closed her eyes, taking in the scent of home. It was just as she remembered, even down to the slightly salted smell the air always had even though no rivers or streams were near the house.
When she opened her eyes, she moved to her closet. All of her old trinkets remained. Books she bought as a child. Dolls her parents bought her. Old stories that she wrote that weren't part of her book series. She lifted the worn papers from the neat pile left on the floor. She smiled as she fingered through the sheets, recalling each one of the stories. One page she came across had a sketch of a dragon with piercing green eyes. For some reason, the image sent trembles down her spine.
Something fell from the papers. Chihiro looked down at her feet. A shimmering violet headband rested on her tiny feet.
"Oh wow, I had forgotten about that..." she whispered.
Chihiro placed the sheets of paper on the bed, then bent down and took the tiny object from her foot. She brought it up to her face, slowly twirling it in her fingers. She never figured out where she got the item. One minute she wore one hair barette, the next moment, she was wearing this one. She must have found it on the ground near that old building. Of course, eleven years distance didn't help with memory recall.
She smiled as she walked over to the full length mirror in the room. She stared at herself. Time had changed her much. She was about 5'7" now, still thin. Her chest was on the smallish side, but the perkiness made up for it. Her mousy brown hair had grown to waist length in those eleven years. She often thought of having it cut, but decided not. She liked the way it flowed in the wind too much to trim it.
Chihiro reached up and placed her locks in a ponytail with the holder she found. Her face had grown mature, but still kept its youthful glow. Many said she had a playfully mischevious glint in her eyes all the time. She couldn't deny it. The rosiness hadn't left her cheeks after all those years. It kept her looking innocent, even though she still got into trouble every now and again. No one could say anything about it though, she was a woman.
Something caught her attention in the mirror. She turned her gaze in the direction of the object.
"How could I have missed that?"
She darted over to the window, finding a present waiting for her on the sill. The tiny card on the box said "Sen" on it. Sometimes her parents were so thoughtful. Maybe they bought me another dragon figure! She eagerly picked it up, gently pulling on the white ribbon. With her stomach doing flip flops, she opened the small box.
"What's this?" she whispered
It looked like a white scale...but it was too big to be any sort of lizard she knew of. She took the scale out of the box, holding it carefully between her index and forefinger. The scale felt smooth and cool, but oddly it felt alive and charged with power. She brought it closer to her face, examining it further. For some reason, it looked familiar to her.
Suddenly, the scale jerked her towards the door.
"What the hell?" she yelped, nearly tumbling over
She tried to stand her ground, but the pull just increased, forcing her along with it. The more she fought, the more the scale dragged her along behind. When she tried to let go of it, her fingers snapped back together, tighter than before.
"AH! Someone help!" she screamed, "MOM! DAD!"
No one responded to her pleas for help, but that didn't stop her screams. She screamed and screamed until her lips zipped shut on her. She used her free hand to claw at her lips, but no good came from it.
The scale continued to drag her down the stairs. The front door miraculously opened on its own, then shut quietly behind her. Onward she went, practically flying through the air. She had no idea how this could be or where she headed. Fear trembled through her as the pull led her through the woods not far from home. Branches harshly poked at her exposed arms when she passed by. All the while, Chihiro whimpered helplessly.
Finally, the trek came to an end. Chihiro found herself in familiar surroundings.
"The tunnel?" she questioned through zipped lips
Her fingers still stuck to the scale. She looked at it again. What the hell was this thing! She tried, fruitlessly, to let go of the damn thing, when it started to glitter in the moonlight which lit the area. Chihiro's eyes widened as the scale turned to a white, glowing liquid. The liquid ran down her hand and to the ground, slowly at first, but soon the trickle turned into more. Somehow that liquid lived, she knew it, especially as the small stream slithered into the tunnel until it unseen in the dark depths.
There was wind pulling her towards the tunnel. Chihiro trembled at the familiarity of it. She heard a quiet roaring deep in the tunnel. She tried to scream and run, but her feet refused to move.
Then a gust of wind so powerful that it nearly knocked her on her feet blew around her. She ducked for cover, protecting her head. The wind whirled and whirled around her body, over and over. She tried to see what happened, but only saw a blur of white.
All at once, it ended. Chihiro remained crouched for a moment or two, then slowly stood up. She stared wide-eyed at the tunnel, her heart pounding a thousand miles a minute. She brought her hand up to her chest, breathing heavily. What the hell just happened?
Arms wrapped around her small waist, pulling her towards something. She tried to flee, but still couldn't move. She felt hot breathing on her ear. A soft male voice spoke in her ear.
"Don't worry, you're safe..."
Welp, there you have chapter one of my story. I'll probably upload the next chapter in the next week or so. If you've enjoyed what I have so far, let me know! I'd love some reviews and constructive criticism. Thanks much. EDS
