1-25-06
I spent so long staring back through that tunnel in the forest. I kept looking for a sign of light through the darkness. But nothing came, and I had to leave again. I had to start over again. It seemed like I could have stayed there with you, but I chose to leave instead. And now I sit in my new home, a third home in my mind, and I have nothing to do but remember.
Chihiro closed her diary and leaned back against the window frame. She sighed, pausing a moment before she took in another breath of humid summer air. Six years. Six years had passed since Chihiro set foot in the realm of spirits. And still, nothing, no word of the dragon-boy or the bathhouse of the spirits.
Chihiro closed the window and changed into a nightshirt. She had school the next day, and anyway, there wasn't much else for her to do tonight. She'd already said her evening prayers, done her homework, and written in her diary. A lengthy letter to the boy she loved. All there was left to do was go to sleep and see what tomorrow may bring.
Chihiro was asleep before her head hit the pillow. Days of insomnia finally grinded to a halt, and though she didn't remember, she had a quite extraordinary dream.
I'm sorry, Chihiro. You'll have to wait a little longer, came a voice in her head. I promise I'll come back. Don't give up yet. Please wait for me…
Flying. Falling. Spinning nothingness beneath her feet—or was it above? A dove plummeting past, trailing a thread of scarlet blood. Impact, but no pain. Plunging through the fabric of one reality and breaking through into another. Stolen breath, but renewed life. Such was the dream of Chihiro, the same one she'd been having for weeks and could never quite remember. Some fragment left over, perhaps, from her days in the realm of spirits.
She awakened with a start, scraps of her dream falling away from her mind. By the time she was fully conscious, nothing remained but the sensation of falling.
:Dream 1:
"Look. It's Chihiro."
"What's with her hair? She's always wearing it in that stupid rubber band."
"Don't touch her! She might give you a disease."
Chihiro hugged her books tightly and kept walking. She tried to close her ears to the taunts and whispers, but little malicious things kept getting past her guard. Finally, she arrived at the classroom, and she ducked in, shielding herself with the door.
I hate Biology, she thought to herself, sighing. I just hope we're not going to be—
"Class," called the teacher when the bell had rung, "I hope you all remembered that today we'd be dissecting pigs in class."
Chihiro's blood ran cold. Her face must have gotten very pale, because the teacher suddenly asked her if she was alright. Chihiro stood up, grabbed her books, and ran out of the room.
The teacher found her half an hour later in a darkened corner near the cafeteria, quietly crying to herself. She refused to explain why it was that she didn't like the idea of dissecting a pig. Her teacher was forced to let her sit out the class.
She was fine by the time class was over. People looked at her strangely, the girl with a dreamy smile on her face. They avoided her. Something was odd about her, and everyone knew it. Something in the way she walked, the way her mind always seemed to be somewhere else. It was foreign to them, and like most things unknown, they feared and shunned it. Such is the nature of humans.
Chihiro wandered through the day, seemingly oblivious to the stares and whispers. Must not break down. It would only humor them. Her lace façade kept them away, and she liked it that way.
Finally, the last bell rang, and Chihiro boarded the train home.
A steady drizzle started up, and Chihiro trudged through the streets in an even worse mood than usual. Her mother looked up from her cooking as Chihiro slammed the door behind her and fled to her room.
Dreams. Whispers of something lost long ago. Chihiro absent-mindedly touched the shimmering threads around her hair, struggling to remember. Tears started in her eyes, and she slammed a fist into her pillow. Something was missing, she knew it. And that made the loss all the more terrible.
a/n: ello, again. thought id try something slightly different this time around. chihiro is losing her grip as well as her precious memories of the spirit realm. poor dear. this one has been awhile in coming, but i think im ready to post the first chapter. hope you enjoyed it, and please review. hopefully the next chappie will be up in about a week. or sooner. i dunno. but i better go now. >. homework. take care, mes amis!
-raven, your friendly neptunian pyro