Edge of The Ocean
Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away or any of its characters.
A/N: Geting interesting so far eh? I hope you think so!! I guess I should have set the gere to Romance/Mystery instead huh? Heh, oh well... all shall be explained in due time.
Chihiro pulled into the familiar parking lot of a large hotel and got out of her car. She smiled at the building; even though it was hard work she was attached to it for some reason. Truly she could not think of a better job though she knew there were better ones.
"Chihiro! Happy birthday!" Said a fellow maid as said young woman crossed the threshold of the hotel she worked in. The maid smiled tenderly and handed her a plastic cup filled with "life sustenance" for Chihiro as of late. Chihiro smiled gratefully, taking the hot cup of coffee from her. The dream had distracted her so much she had not been able to grab a cup before leaving her home.
She held the coffee up to her nose and took in the exquisite aroma. "Thank you Kimi; you're a life saver!" Chihiro said and squeezed the old woman's arm appreciatively. Kimi smiled and nodded at her.
"You are very welcome child. Tell me, why are you here though? You work yourself to hard! Didn't you have the day off? You should be at home soaking in a tub! Why did you insist on coming today? You know we worry about you… Oh but look at you! You're so thin! Do you get enough to eat? Oh dear, you really should relax more often, all this working can't be good for you… You should enjoy your youth! Where's your boyfriend? You-" The old woman was hushed by Chihiro's hand gently over her mouth.
"Kimi, Kimi!" She said with a laugh. "Relax please. I happen to enjoy my work. If I stayed home I'd just sit around doing nothing…" More accurately, thinking about the dreams or spending all day by the river… she smiled reassuringly and continued.
"I stay thin because I go to the gym everyday – don't worry I get enough to eat I know I'm not fat or anything. And you know I don't have a boyfriend." She finished. Kimi smiled softly and patted her arm.
Truthfully Chihiro had no idea why she didn't have a boyfriend; it wasn't as if she wasn't offered either. True Chihiro was not a supermodel but she was not unattractive by any stretch either. She possessed a poised, "ordinary girl" like beauty; like a cherry blossom – a delicate flower.
Over the years Chihiro lost the innocent, rosy color in her cheeks and was replaced by the delicate and mature lines along her face and womanly curves on her body. She now stood taller than most Japanese women – at 5'6 she looked almost foreign. The truth was most of the times she felt foreign.
She could not count on her fingers and toes how many times she was offered to go on dates or hit on or even had suggestions made on her. The last thought made her blush; sometimes the suggestions were more blunt and straight forward than others.
Many times she had been offered to visit a man's apartment… she was not naïve any longer, she knew exactly what they wanted and declined every time. What she didn't understand is why she always refused to go on dates or simply to the movies… the thing was that she never really settled after coming back from the "amusement park" with her parents; she always felt like a part of her was left behind there.
The truth was, she was saving herself. For what or who she was not sure. She did not understand why so declined so many attractive boys she might have had a future with but something in her – her heart maybe, told her to… so she did. It was as if she had already been "claimed" by someone but of course that was ridiculous. Chihiro watched Kimi walk off, leaving the "birthday girl" in peace.
Suddenly a voice from behind caught her attention and she turned to greet the speaker. "Chihiro, happy birthday – I thought I gave you the day off today?" Mr. Anderson, the hotel manager asked, strolling up to her from his office and handing her a cute little body with a pink ribbon on it.
Chihiro smiled and accepted the gift with a nod. "Thank you sir… Yes I know you did but I like working." She said, wondering what he got her. Mr. Anderson was probably the nicest boss she had ever known. She had worked in several jobs before but this one seemed to feel at home for her.
Mr. Anderson raised an eyebrow at her response; not at all used to hearing his employees admit they liked their job. It did not displease him however and he laughed softly. "Well alright than! Room 165 needs to be cleaned soon before more guests arrive." He said. Chihiro smiled back at him and nodded. Her boss let her go to her locker to grab her work things.
Thankfully the day gad been mercifully easy; not many people had stayed in the hotel this week so there was not a lot to clean. When the day ended, she accepted the gifts, the hugs, and the kisses and got in her car to drive home.
"Chihiro..." Chihiro closed her eyes momentarily and saw the dragon. Was the dragon speaking now? "The river... my river... wait for me..." Chihiro frowned, she didn't remember hearing voices in her dream... what about the river was so important? Why was it that she knew it had some importance but she couldn't remember?!
Again her dream came to her and she frowned. 'Why can't I stop thinking about that… that dragon-boy?' she wondered as she pulled into the road. She sighed and tried to clear her mind but she couldn't. The teal colored eyes and soft smile of the young man filled her thoughts. She huffed and pulled the car to a lane that took her to her other home… the Kohaku River.
End A/N: See? A longer chapter!