Chihiro and Haku were still sitting on the bench when Chihiro thought of something that caused her to worry.

"Haku, what will I say to my parents? They'll be upset and worried if I go missing for an entire weekend."

Haku smiled and gave Chihiro an explanation of what he'd done to solve that very problem.

"For just this one time, I've been allowed to 'bend' time. It was a difficult thing to do—but when you go back, you'll see that it has taken only half an hour—that's as much as I can 'bend it'—your parents will just think you've been dawdling."

"How can you manipulate time?" Chihiro asked, completely bewildered.

"Well," Haku began, "it's often said that a straight line is the shortest path to a destination, right?"

"Yes," Chihiro said, nodding.

"But it is not. Now, imagine folding the distance between your starting point, and your destination*. Just try to understand a little. Don't think too hard; it's difficult to put into words."

For just a moment, in a brief flash of insight, Chihiro understood what it meant—but not understanding it fully did not upset her. What mattered was that she was back in the spirit world with her friends, and with Haku especially. Chihiro looked at the colorful flowers and the grass rippling in the distance, and at the blue sky and the mountains, and she was perfectly content.

"By the way," Haku said, "This land, from the tunnel to the end of the western mountains, and north from the bathhouse to the southern shore of Yubaba's island, is called Skylandia in your words. Legend says that once this world was a bottomless pit; the spirit of the sky grew discontent looking at the dark nothingness, and brought this world into existence."

That Saturday afternoon was the most wonderful that Chihiro had ever known. Haku transformed into a dragon and she climbed onto his back; he took her above Skylandia and showed her the entire land. It was bigger than Chihiro had expected, and equally beautiful. There were canyons and forests, and rivers that became waterfalls that splashed into mossy glens.

Sometimes Haku would fly down and show wonderful plants and creatures to her; there were many animals that didn't exist in the human world. They were always respectful, and quietly watched the animals at a distance. One time, however, a hawk the size of an elephant descended toward them. Chihiro gasped when she saw it, and gave Haku a look of sheer terror; he seemed unfazed.

"Haku!" Chihiro whispered hoarsely. "Those claws…that beak…we have to leave! Fly!"

"Don't worry, Chihiro," Haku said, as if an elephant-sized hawk was nothing unusual. By then the hawk had landed in from of them. Chihiro shrank and tried to hide behind Haku's mane, but the dragon gently pushed her off, and nudged her toward the massive bird.

Chihiro squeaked as the hawk bent down toward her, its dagger-sharp beak slightly open, its yellow eyes glinting in the sunlight. Chihiro could barely breathe, and her body seemed to have turned to lead. What was Haku thinking? It's going to eat me, Chihiro thought wildly. I'm going to die…

Then the bird gently butted her, and cocked his head in interest. The human girl relaxed slightly, and to her surprise, she found herself petting its beak with a trembling hand. The hawk made a contented sound that was something between a cat's purr and a sparrow's chirp.

"Why don't you take a ride on Aquiline?" Haku said.

"What?" Chihiro said blankly.

"Etativel!" Haku suddenly said; Chihiro found herself floating up, gently, by some invisible force, and suddenly she was on the eagle's back.

"Haku!" Chirhiro cried out. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Don't worry, Chihiro. You'll be just fine."

Aquiline's wings began to tremble, and suddenly Chihiro felt him rising. Terrified, she gently gripped the feathers on his neck. The wings pulsed and he rose higher and higher, and then he flew toward the western mountains.

Chihiro forgot to be terrified. She forgot that she had protested this ride on the great eagle's back. For the flight of this bird was effortless, and it glided gently over currents of air, and dipped low over the land. Chihiro didn't even need to hold onto its feathers anymore. She felt as if she was riding a gentle ocean wave, and the clean air and the whispering wind, the bright sunshine and the green land below, seemed like a song. She felt a sense of joy and peace as she never had before. It was a glorious feeling.

Aquiline took her over the western mountains that marked the end of Skylandia, and below was a great desert, the sand sparkling like gold, stretching as far as Chihiro could see, into the great curve of the earth.

Chihiro was disappointed when Aquinline brought her back to Haku, who was smiling broadly. Regretfully, the human girl slid off of Aquiline's shoulders and jumped; she was not afraid of the distance between the eagle's back and the ground.

"Thank you, Aquiline," Chihiro gasped. The great bird nodded, and then it flew away again, disappearing over the western mountains.

"I just thought you might enjoy flying with an eagle," Haku said. "Aquiline is a very perceptive bird. He wouldn't have let you near him if he didn't sense that you're kind and respectful toward all living things."

It was then that Chihiro realized her knees were wobbling from excitement. She climbed onto Haku's back—he was still in dragon form—and asked him to take her back to the bathhouse. There she found Lin, who was taking a break from the early preparations for the night's business. She and Chihiro had an early supper.

"I've almost got enough money to go to the city across the water," Lin mentioned at one point. "Tips from the guests have been especially good this year."

"Did you come from that city?" Chihiro said curiously.

Lin shook her head. "No. I've been here ever since I was a baby."

Chihiro felt compelled to ask: "Are you human?"

Lin nodded. "Of course. Why?"

"Well…they don't seem to like humans here, much."

Lin gave Chihiro a searching look.

"I trust you," she said, "and I'll tell you my story."

"When I was just a few weeks old, my parents came here by accident, just as yours did," Lin began. "They also ate of what was not offered to them. Of course, they were transformed into pigs, but they were slaughtered. I did not know that, or any of my story, really, until my thirteenth birthday. Yubaba kept me here, and raised me, but not out of kindness. For thirteen years Yubaba had always told me that I was her daughter. What I couldn't understand is why I was given common work if my 'mother' was the witch who ruled the great bathhouse. But, as I said, I was thirteen years old when I learned the truth…"

Lin's tale was fascinating, but a certain remark would later help Chihiro in a desperate confrontation with Yubaba. For the time being, however, she listened to Lin's story, hanging on every word. [AUTHOR'S NOTE: to be continued in the next chapter]


*This is adapted from the idea of a 'tesseract' from A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle so the credit goes to her, not me :)

Edit: I forgot to add that there was a brilliant homage to Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki on the latest episode of 'The Simpsons'. I was giddy with excitement when I saw it! You can see it here: watch?v=R94Q6NhuS3A&list=HL1389722343