Four years and time was still flowing as it had always been. Never stopping for anyone; aging people as it continued to pass by, carrying the memories that it had seen, and stealing the minutes away you wanted to keep. It was your best friend and your worst enemy.
Being fourteen hadn't been a lot of time for some people, but for Chihiro it seemed like an eternity. And just time itself seemed to be flowing slow today. She glanced at the clock on the side wall to see that it was barely nine o'clock. The fourteen year old let out a sigh and zoned back into the lecture her global teacher had been giving the class. It wasn't anything that interested her really. Chihiro's mind would drift in and out to hear pieces of the teacher's low voice cutting through.
"Chihiro, are you paying attention?"
Chihiro suddenly raised her head and looked at the teacher who was staring at her, as was the the rest of the class. Chihiro immediately and just tried to concur with her teacher so the prying eyes would leave.
"Then do not close your eyes please. Okay, back to the lesson. Does anyone know about the Kohaku River?"
The fourteen year old ears perked up slightly, as did her eyes, at the sudden mention of the Kohaku River. All the other kids in the room shrugged and looked at one another. None of them had heard of the river, maybe one or two did, but the rest of the class was silent. The teacher took this as a no and began to lecture about the river and the powerful river god that used to reign over it.
Chihiro's teacher described a furious god who had no mercy for those who polluted his waters. He would pick them off with ease for the sake of protecting his river. Chihiro sat there and listened and sighed. These people knew nothing about Haku, he was nothing like the teacher described him as.
He was strong, but soft-hearted. Not a heartless monster who killed those who came near. She knew he would defend his river when he had been alive, but she could never picture him as a ruthless, cold monster.
If only he was there to tell them all that they were wrong.
