-Catgirl-of-Bavaria- : Here's chapter 2, then! Please enjoy, and keep on reading! Reviews are always welcome!
Chapter 2 –Lost Memories and Shrouded Pathways
The town was at the bottom of the hill that Chihiro's house was perched on, and past the little forest that she had committed to memory from the bedroom window that she always gazed out of. It was a perfect day for a walk into town, the sun was out and gleaming on the grass as the wind rippled through it.
Two figures walked down the side road that linked the town to the hilltop neighborhood, laughing and talking as they went. Chihiro had woken up at noon, she found as the midday sun beat down on her brunette head. Only the breeze and the occasional and partial cover of a path-side tree provided relief from the hot summer sun.
Shizukas sudden visit had brought Chihiro's attention to other things, but still, every now and then the vision of last nights recurring dream slithered through her memory. Shizuka was oblivious to these dreams and Chihiro's remnants of memory of the spirit world. Chihiro had decided long ago not to mention it to anyone, not even her parents. She was already enough of a misfit without everyone thinking that she was having hallucinations of "imaginary" worlds.
She remembered that the only reason that she was with Shizuka right now, was because Shizuka had come to her.
It wasn't long after her ordeal in the spirit world that she had started going to her new school, and she had become reserved, with fresh memories of her friends and the bath house to keep her occupied, and also for the other students to start rumors and stories about the new girl that kept her eyes on the sky as if waiting for something to fly above her head.
Shizuka had seen this new girl, and decided to talk to her, and had consequently become her best friend. But with a new friend to share her life with, her memory had begun to erode. Very slowly, but it had eroded just enough to take away certain parts of the spirit world, like what happened just before getting into the bath house, some of her friends, and even that boy. She couldn't even remember his name, and his face was always shrouded and it was tearing her apart in her dreams.
Shizuka had always been fascinated by Chihiros constant day dreaming. She had always wondered what Chihiro day dreamed about, and sometimes even asked, but only to receive a vague, "nothing much." Someday, she swore to herself, she'd get Chihiro to open up to her. She swore to get Chihiro to tell her the whole truth. She knew there was more to Chihiros dreaming than the troubled girl let on.
The girls reached to bottom of the slope and stopped to wait for the traffic to die down on the street that was their last obstacle before town. Chihiro once more found herself gazing at the sky, looking for a clue from her 10 year old life that would get her to remember.
"Chi, come on it's safe to cross now," Shizukas voice came from beside Chihiro.
Chihiro was now fixated on a small clearing that led into the forest. There were two tiny pathways that followed the path, which Chihiro knew were tire tracks. The clearing was covered in vegetation, bushes and smaller trees and long grass that had sprung up over the 6 years that had passed. The path was now so covered that it had only left a small hole at the ground that Chihiro would only be able to get through if she crouched. But still, she knew that clearing…
"Chihiro!" Shizuka called to the dazed girl from halfway in the street. "Come on, before more cars come and you get run over!"
"Wha-? Oh! Sorry, Shi-chan…" Chihiro babbled as she sprinted across the empty road. "I just got…distracted…" She said, her minds eye returning to that pathway into the forest.
"Jeez, of course you did" Shizuka laughed, laying a hand on her friends shoulder. "Now, let's go get something for lunch!"
Shizuka bounded happily down a narrow town street in search of food. Chihiro, with one last glance at the overgrown forest clearing, ran after her friend.
-Catgirl-of-Bavaria-: Gah, my chapters are so short…Oh well. They'll get longer, don't worry…Keep reading and have fun, and I hope you enjoy the story!