(A/N Spirited Away celebrated its 15th Anniversary. The Spirited Away Facebook announced due to its succession of Japan's most successful anime film, it selected theaters across North America of two nights only of the dubbed and subtitle version of the film.
One thing they forgot to mention it costs more than what you normally pay to watch any viewing movie you find at your local theater. You can search online for the subtitled version.
Before we get to our story, if you find the Japanese version with subtitles under the same script of the American English dub, the Japanese script is not the same as the English dubbed version.)
Disclaimer: I don't own Spirited Away nor anything familiar.
Chapter 6: Hold on to Me
Chihiro tossed and turned an hour after she fell asleep. Normally she would dream of the Spirited World and go on adventures of her own either traveling on the train or riding on Haku's back.
Chihiro was alone somewhere, she waves her hand signaling the train, the train continues strolling as it blows the whistle, she falls backward due to the water overflowing the entire land becoming a sea.
Her tears run caressed her cheek, like a million drops, her tears become a part of the sea.
The sky turns hot pink, purple, and light baby blue. City lights up ahead nearly blinds her vision, she might be near a town and she could get dried off. As she walked, the town became farther, and farther. She reaches out her hand pleading it to wait for her, the town disappears before her eyes.
Chihiro was alone, everything was wrong. She began to cry as she slides down back on the water sitting cross-legged as the cool-water covers her lower body.
It was silent, the sounds of the waves calms her down a little but not much, the moon gives light over the land, the star shine little small diamonds, the waves have settled down, after a few minutes of crying the water helped break away the tears, and dried off.
Gazing at her reflection, she frowns and slaps the water. Her reflection starts talking, she gasps. The reflection appears like a simmer of fire after she slapped the water.
"Chihiro. Why are you sad?" Asked her reflection.
Chihiro shook her head."Because, everything is complicated. Kapiro may ruin his future full of regrets, I might as well leave this town and never look back. My parents and I have become distant, the Spirit World changed my life, and Haku. Haku and I may never see each again due to our worlds separating us."
"Do you honestly believe Kapiro will regret everything for the rest of his life? He's a grown man, a man would have the courage of himself or the courage of a friend to stand up to his own Father that he wants to follow his own destiny. If he can voice the people of his friends, then he too can do it for himself. Reminding him, he's his own destiny, there are things his Father can't possibly know.
Thanks to you, thanks to us well me, you get the picture Chihiro. He has a bright future ahead of him."
"If you're me then how come I feel miserable for staying in this town if have no idea where or how to get back to the Spirit World? Where were you of my countless trips to the Spirit World? Where were you when I had to face the fact I may never see my parents again, did I have a choice to slightly or create more disappointment I wouldn't come live with my parents in the big city? Tell me!"
"Give me a break Chihiro! I'm only eighteen you know." Chihiro's reflection frowned.
Chihiro lowered her temper so she can talk to her reflection."I never felt this stupid my whole life."
Her reflection's face changed from a frown to sympathy."You're not stupid."
Chihiro pointed at herself."Only I would say that considering you're me."
Reflection Chihiro sighs."I may be you, but on the outside of you would say that to you then what I wouldn't say to you, but inside you're not stupid, not taking it from those long lectures from our parents of boys, girls' slumber parties, that time when that boy caught when you slipped-"
"I got it, I'm not stupid." She exclaimed.
"Chihiro. Listen to yourself. You are the one making this harder for yourself. You stood up to your friend Kapiro. You chose to live in the current residence. They're not disappointed they're only daughter not living in the big city without you. All children have to leave the nest eventually.
You can do what you want with your life. We humans share the same fate as all mortals do, we live once, then we die starting another beginning in the afterlife. In the end Chihiro, there is no end. Just new beginnings!"
The Spirit World will always have another piece of your heart, but sadly I may be you or your conscience if you're wondering how I am talking to you. Honestly I do not know where our Father stumbled upon a road or path.
Haku, and your countless trips of your dreams. They will always be there forever. Haku can't forget a human who once saved you from drowning."
"I remember Haku saying he remembers me falling into his river, and something about a little pink shoe I dropped."
Reflection Chihiro chuckled."Oh Chihiro, you were well us, you were a little girl when you dropped your shoe into his river. You don't remember?"
She thought for a moment." I remember being scared of water when Mom tried to bathe me several times, I resisted until I grew out of it by the time I was six and a half."
"Let me lighten you up. You were playing near a river when your family and you were having a picnic in the park. Your shoe slipped off while you were running, it fell into his river, you were too small to understand right from wrong. Your shoe furthered away as you tried to grab it, you slipped and fell in. You thought you drown but the water carried you to shore. A certain someone saved you."
"Haku! I remember him saying he knew me when I was real small, and my pink shoe. How do you remember when I fell in? How did you know?"
Reflection Chihiro shrugged."Look around you."
Chihiro looked up. Surrounded by familiar territory. She was back in her old hometown, the same spot where she dropped her shoe, before apartments were built where the river was fill in but not destroyed.
Chihiro spots a little girl playing, the two parents were eating their lunch as they watch their daughter play. The little girl resembled Chihiro. Just as Haku and her reflection said, Chihiro wore pink shoes. The little girl was wearing pink shoes.
Chihiro gasped. The little girl's parents were her parents. Years before her mom cut her hair, and her Father well, he hasn't changed much in the last few years. Young Chihiro was glancing at a butterfly settling itself on a fire lilly.
Young Chihiro tried to catch the butterfly with her hands, the butterfly flew around young Chihiro, she giggled, and giggled trying to catch the butterfly, young Chihiro ran trying to catch up to the butterfly, she tripped on a rock but was fine brushing herself off.
The weather was cloudy, not so sunny after she began to play after her lunch. Young Chihiro looked down, her pink shoe was missing, she retraced her steps, and found her shoe nearly tipping off the ledge of the river.
She picked up her shoe but her hand slipped, the river was picking up speed as her shoe floated further away from her. The wind blew but young Chihiro tried to reach out for her shoe.
Chihiro, in her adult form watched as her younger self trying to reach in for her shoe."I didn't know right from wrong. This was the time Haku saved me from drowning."
The little girl fell in, Adult Chihiro saw her parents drop their cups in horror as they saw their only daughter fall into the river."CHIHIRO!"
Both parents jump up running to save their daughter before she drowns. Her Father bends down on the ledge, looking carefully for his daughter, Chihiro's Mother paces back and forth, her eyes pour a handful of tears searching for her daughter, the river picks up more waves making it impossible if Chihiro raised her head above the surface and her husband would jump in and save her.
Adult Chihiro mutters to her reflection standing next to her."My Parents had no idea someone was looking out for me, humans have been in his river before, but he couldn't let me drown. But why?"
"There was something special about you. Just like humans, we fall in love with someone when you least expect it. I think Haku knew you were too small to die, you had your life ahead of you. He separated himself from his river taking on his dragon form. Look."
Young Chihiro was raised to the surface without her parents in sight. Young Chihiro sat beside the ledge, her Mother rushed to her aide picking her up, hugging her tightly."Chihiro! Are you all right?"
Adult Chihiro watched as her younger self calms down her Mother,"I'm fine, Mommy. The dragon saved me!"
Adult Chihiro:"When Haku fell ill, the moment I reached up grabbing his dragon horns, it all came back to me a little bit, only the faintest memory, I was in water. Haku saved me, and I saved him.
Little did I know we stumble upon each other six years later, and when I left and recovered my memories, I realized I loved him after I broke Zeniba's spell. Only love could break the spell, she said. Everything that happened to me in the Spirit World was true, it wasn't my imagination of a child."
Her parents drive away with her younger self in the car, disappearing down the road from the river. The Adult Chihiro pats the water. Her Reflection appears below her."Life can be unfair sometimes, both of you suffered, everyone was trying to protect you, you're not the same little girl you were eight years ago."
Chihiro transfers back to the train tracks with the occasional bathhouse in the background."Where's Haku?"
She looked down at her reflection only for her reflection to repeat what she says, she waves her hand up and down, her reflection does the same."Hey! Talk to me! Where's Haku? Why isn't he here?"
Her reflection mimics her words. The train tracks emerge in thin air, the bathhouse disappears behind her. "Haku! Haku! Haku..."
Chihiro wakes up by the sound of her alarm clock. She pushes a button stopping the timer, the echo of Haku's name silences a few seconds later. "What an experienced dream?"
Chihiro falls back into bed, no words or thoughts play a role as she plays the dream over and over watching her younger self rescued by Haku.
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Lin woke up with a major headache, it was morning, it brought relief to her the bathhouse wouldn't be open till tonight. Lin repeated what she told Haku, did Yubaba's spell wear off when she entered Haku's mind because he was in the Human World?
Lin got up and stretched her limbs head to toe, she rowed back to the bathhouse, the morning she was greeted was an early fog, lights shut off as she walks up the stairs to the bathhouse. Lin sneaks back into her room without waking everyone up.
Lin crawls into the covers, and falls asleep till open time.
Waiting until the coast was clear, a familiar yet similar paper 'bird' crawls its way off of Lin's shoulders.
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Tiny droplets fall freely off a green leaf, the droplet splashes across Haku's left eye. His shoulder blade burns of fire thanks to sleeping on hollowed ground. Tonight he would make note to put more leaves.
His stomach growls and his tongue is dry to the bone. Haku stretches his back bringing the circulation back, as he stretches, he spots a well in the middle of the forest not far from his camp site.
Haku passes the small frog statue similar back from the Spirit World but this one seemed different from all the others. A bucket lays carelessly next to the well.
Haku ties the end of the rope on the bucket handle, he lowers the handle waiting for a splash, he picks up a rock to create weight for the water to fill. Few moments later, he cranks the handle brings in a bucket full.
The water was cold and refreshing letting gravity trickle water down his throat. Haku wipes his mouth with his arm, he looks down at his clothes which were full of dry mud after last night's storm.
"I can't meet Chihiro like this."
Haku strips off his clothes leaving his under shirt and pants on which were not stained from the mud. He draws in six more buckets of water washing frantically with a boulder rock he cleaned before scrubbing the muck off his clothes.
After an hour of scrubbing the muck off his clothes, he hangs them on a branch where the sun beats down to dry.
Haku draws another batch scrubbing his face, arms, and feet. A ladybug crawls up on his arm, Haku gently smiles. "Fly away little guy."
He blows on the ladybug making it spread its wings and lands on a leaf in the tree.
A crow squawks flying from one branch to the other with an earthworm in its mouth, preparing to feeds it infants. Haku imagines of having his own children with Chihiro, that is if he finds her and their love confirmed. It would pain him to imagine the fate awaits of the thousand year illusions, he would take any other spell if it wasn't for Mother Spirit.
Her power was far more greater than her ever own than the universe can offer such a spirit, and what are the odds of Chihiro entering the tunnel. Humans have crossed the tunnel many times in the past, but were never to be seen or heard ever again.
Did they die as they vanished into unknown premises, or did the evil witch turn them into some kind of animal to avoid any suspicions of Humans entering their world? Either option would be the other way around, because the only way to eat is from the Spirit World, no one knew where they disappear or just died.
Haku checks on his clothes, which were damp, the sun was getting higher and he was wasting more time, he smoothes them out on the grass to make it less wrinkled and puts them on, he exits the little forest and what lies ahead of this beautiful yet second day to find the one he loves.
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"AH! Ah, ah, ah."
"Yes, this is correct No-Face, I somehow managed to help Lin get her message to Haku. Since Chihiro left, my sister never tried coming up with her schemes of stealing my golden seal. We owe her a great bunch." Zeniba twirls her seal with her fingers.
"Ah ah. Ah, ah ah ah." Whatever he said, Zeniba shook her head. No-Face head slumped pushing away his uneaten pie.
"I wish I could help Haku if he can't reach her which the deadline is tomorrow. Mother Spirit's power is far more greater than my own, I am afraid since we all live forever, it'll seem like eternity of suffering illusional pains. We must hope for the best."
No-Face taps her shoulder, his face was unreadable considering it was hidden behind his non-existent face. He nods approving of his idea sharing with the witch."Ah ah."
Zeniba taps her chin, his idea made sense. No-Face's idea was to have Haku come live with them if he meets his deadline without Chihiro, and won't have to suffer signing another contract with her no good twin sister. The option seemed worth while.
"I think we could offer him the deal, but don't be disappointed if he wants to find his own way."
No-Face nodded.
Zeniba forgave Haku for stealing her precious seal, in return he kept his promise to take care of Chihiro. Zeniba gets up from her chair, she summons No-Face to not follow her outside. Zeniba closes the door behind her, she looks up at the brightest star in the sky.
Her old-granny smile turns to sadness. She closes her eyes, and concentrates on the bead of her forehead. A flash of the speed of light, using all the energy and power of her everlasting enternal life, it vanishes.
The star in the sky becomes dimmer and dimmer, disappearing from the sky as if it had been swallowed by a black hole. Zeniba makes one last note before she turns in for the night.
As the train blows its whistle from the horizontal distance, the moon giving light over the land, and her lantern hanging from the post to welcome guests. She looks down at her hand, the star. "Wishes are illogical. But not from here they're not." She giggles." Help Haku find his path to Chihiro, and one more for her to confirm her love for him. Now go!"
The star springs into thin air and travels as far as the eye could see, the star flashes its light and it was gone.
(A/N Happy New Year! I spent my Christmas and New Year with a chest cold. Took away my writing time. Sorry about that, and what was Zeniba talking about? What about that Star? Well, you'll have to read to find out. Plot bunnies are kicking in.
Leave me reviews. Thank you, see you next chapter.)