Sunlight filtered through the gauzy white curtains that fluttered over her windows, and Chihiro groaned in annoyance, rolling over to block the light from piercing her sensitive eyes, burying herself under the fluffy, deep comforter that she had covered up with the night before. The black sheets with the white floral patterns were made of the finest Egyptian cotton, silky smooth sheets that held warmth wonderfully. One of her eyes finally opened when her alarm clock went off, and the girl rolled over, slapped at the clock, and forced herself to sit, and swing her legs over the edge of the bed. One glance in the mirror, with the reminder, "tomorrow is the day" written in pink lipstick on the bottom corner immediately snapped her awake; she had written that before she went to bed the night before, so that she didn't forget that today was the day that everything would change.
Scampering from the bed, she made her way into the bathroom and turned on the hot water in her shower, allowing it to warm up while she undressed and brushed out her rather grimy feeling hair; using a warm was cloth with a bit of makeup removal stuff, she washed her face and then stuck her hand into the shower. Certain that the temperature was perfect, she stepped into the hot spray, and sighed as her muscles immediately started to relax. It only helped when she soaped her hair with her fragrant smelling shampoo, conditioned it, and then rubbed down her body with equally fragrant body gel, the steam and warm scents filling her small bathroom to the bursting point. By the time she was squeaky clean, rinsed and dripping, a small smile was formed around her lips; slipping from the shower while at the same time turning of the spraying water, she grabbed one of the fluffy green towels from the rack and wrapped her body up in it.
She dried off quickly, wrapping her brown hair up in another green towel of the very fluffy variety before moving into the bedroom, and browsing through her walk-in closet for the perfect outfit. It was a warm summer day, the sky a clear blue with only a few fluffy white clouds floating in the warm air, blown by an unfelt breeze way up there in the temperamental realm of the sky. After opening one of her windows, letting a warm breeze settle into her room, Chihiro selected a white sundress, the bottom hem threaded with a green pattern that circled around the entire bottom; from the skirt, the dress billowed slightly, then enclosed around her slender form, molding to every curve, accenting her slender stomach, before tying at the back of her neck, while exposing a hint of cleavage. This dress was paired with a set of white sneakers - that were good walking shoes – and a tear drop diamond chandelier necklace with the matching earrings that dangled delicately from her earlobes. After applying some light makeup, she yanked her hair down from its towel cocoon, and blow dried it with the aid of a round brush. When it was styled into loose curls, she grabbed her purse and left the house with the door securely locked behind her, her stomach's needful grumbling for breakfast ignored.
Yawning softly as she lazily drifted down the walkway that was centered through her lawn, she opened the gate to the picket fence that circled her yard, and moved to the rather shabby looking bicycle that she used to get around. Making sure her purse was secure; she straddled the bike, kicked the stand up, and rolled down the driveway and onto the main street. Though it didn't really make sense, biking was one of her favorite activities, the wind in her hair, the cool breeze brushing her cheeks and blowing out her skirts as she went, the fresh air exhilarating in her lungs; in fact, sometimes she even imagined that she was riding upon the back of a huge, Chinese dragon with flashing white scales and a mane the color of a peaceful sea, emerald eyes framed in a slender skull with corn colored horns. It wasn't hard for her fantasies to take flight as she turned down the worn road, the colorful trees and tiny stone shrines whizzing past as her hand closed around the handle bars, and her mind gave the handles scales, like that of a dragon. Chihiro's mind soared and she grinned widely, her eyes closing briefly as she raced down the uneven road, swerving holes and bumps by memory; a feeling that came to her as easily as breathing caused her to open her eyes, and slowly apply the caliber braking system that slowed her down, one leg landing onto the ground before she swung the other over as well, dropping the bike onto its side.
Clutching her purse to her chest, she glanced down at the bike that had once been her dragon, and smiled fondly at it before moving away, stepping in front of the creepy little statue as she pulled her phone from her purse to call her American boss. The phone rang three times before Sheila picked up with a snippy, "What do you want?" that caused Chihiro to cringe and then speak up in her bold tone.
"Sheila-sempai, I was just calling in to let you know I won't be at work today, my bike broke." She lied with skill, her eyes wandering over to the perfectly functional bike, and then back to the tunnel where all her problems had started ten long years ago. Sheila said that it was fine, and then briskly hung up, Chihiro's brown eyes rolling as she closed the phone, and slid it back into the purse she'd taken it from; leaning back against the creepy little statue, she pulled a serrated kitchen knife, complete with the plastic guard, from the confines of the small, beaded satchel. Sliding the case from the blade, she dropped the case and her purse to the ground at her feet, and touched the shiny purple hair tie that circled her left wrist.
Oh yes, today was the day that everything would change, that she'd finally be free from the darkness of Kohaku's spirit.
'I'll finally be free.'
Closing her eyes as she touched the blade to her left wrist, directly below the shiny band, Chihiro prepared to set free the blood in her veins, to kill her body so that her soul would be free, but before she could make the starting cut, her name was called out, and she hesitated. For just a moment, she could have sworn that her name came from inside the tunnel; opening her chocolate brown eyes, Chihiro looked down into the tunnel, her jaw dropping as a male slightly older than her with long, deep green hair, emerald toned eyes, and a firmly set mouth walked slowly towards her, pausing at the entrance to the human world, her head cocking to the side. 'It can't be..' Blinking, the knife slipped from her fingers and landed dangerously close to her sneaker clad foot, her lips parting in surprise.
"Chihiro," The male said again, his voice humming familiarly through her ears, taking her back through time, ten years into her past when she was just a young girl, asking her childhood crush if they would ever meet again. "What are you doing?"
Dearest Readers,
Hello everyone, and here is the newly typed first chapter in Going, Going, Gone written by yours truly. I know it may seem kind of drawn out, but I had a creative spurt and just had to write down everything that came into my head. As you'll be able to see, Chihiro is a very conflicted girl, but I want you all to know that in no way do I support suicide as a solution to problems, it just makes for an interesting plot. Suicide is a permanant solution to a temporary problem. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I also hope that all of you had a fantastic New Years.
Real quick, a special thank you to my first reviewer; donladey.
I should have the next chapter up real soon, thanks for sticking with me.
-KaeJoe