CHAPTER IV

-magic-

"Do you believe in magic…?"

Chihiro admired the tear-like rain drops falling down from the sky. The city's heart kept on beating under this downpour. She randomly observed the dancing night lights from her window. For some minutes she pondered on Kohaku's odd question. The weirdest thing was that he seemed to talk freely about random things, as if he was from some other dimension. Chihiro had already come to the conclusion that he was surrounded by such a strange aura. However, no matter how much she thought about it, she could never find a reason why.

Ever since she first saw him, she started believing that small pieces of her earlier life came to the surface. Like fragments of memories…small pieces of images or sounds. An underwater railway, a huge room filled up with tons of toys and teddy bears, her hands stained with blood. They could even be things she had dreamt of, she didn't know for sure.

She snapped out of what seemed like hypnosis, and grabbed her messenger bag from the floor. Glancing at her watch, she muttered a little curse. If she didn't run, it would be the fifth time she'd be late for her painting lessons. The cool air cheered her up a bit, as she walked and merged into the sea of umbrellas.

She reached one of the city's central parks and took a narrow path between some trees to save time. It was dark and there was hardly anyone around the park. She instantly regretted going that way and felt a small trembling. Her steps became quicker, splashing into the shallow ponds created by the rain. Here, the sound of the drizzling on the tree leaves was almost a noise.

Chihiro discerned the end of the park some fifty meters ahead, where cars and people continued roaming around. She felt relieved and continued onward. However, her vivid walking ceased when she noticed something to her left. She got closer to one of the wooden benches and observed what looked like a dark mass of clothes. No, it was a human. There was someone sitting on a bench, probably a man, and he was drenched from head to toe. Chihiro felt that urge to go closer once again, because something yelled inside her head that it was someone she knew so well…

The person looked up as soon as Chihiro held her umbrella above him. She didn't feel the tiniest bit of surprise. Strangely enough, she knew that she would meet him before even choosing to cross the park.

"What are you doing here?" she asked calmly.

"I'm…trying to think…" Kohaku's voice was as weak as a whisper, but it reached Chihiro's ears effortlessly.

"Out in the rain? You're gonna get sick…"

"No. I'm okay" he responded and smiled back at her.

"You seem sort of…lost. Did anything happen?"

"Not now. It's something I've been trying to figure out for a long time."

"Maybe I…maybe I can help" she smiled and made sure to sound encouraging.

"I don't know if you can actually-"

"Well, then just hang out…I won't be a bother, I can't stand thinking that you'll be all by yourself…"

Kohaku looked down for some seconds and then returned the kind smile.

-//-

"My head aches…"

Kohaku wrapped a towel around his head while water drops dampened his dry white shirt. He sat on the floor and kept on staring down.

"It's normal after sitting out in the rain for so long" she responded quietly. Her eyes observed the rest of the room. It was quite plain, with white walls and simple furniture. She was quite surpsised at how tidy the apartment was, given that Kohaku was a male.

"You know…" he said and smiled at her "The truth is that I'm nothing like what I told you. I'm not from Osaka, I have no grandmother here, I don't even know if I do have a family."

"I…figured that much" Chihiro's voice didn't hide any coldness or irony, just compassion.

"I'm sorry for lying. I just couldn't find anything else, because you see…I don't know anything. Nothing at all…"

"You mean like…amnesia or something?"

"Well, I woke up alone somewhere some months ago. I didn't know where to go, what to do…I somehow ended up here, without knowing why I chose this particular place. Amnesia you say…? No. It's more like I didn't have any memories to begin with. I look around me…and it's as if I don't recognise this world at all…"

No memories of this world…

Those words triggered a chain of thoughts in Chihiro's mind. For she had the exact opposite feeling. The fact that she'd been somewhere else before, but she couldn't remember where. Only scattered memories passed before her eyes.

"But there's one thing I know for sure. Chihiro, I think that I came here because of you. You drove me to that school, and strangely enough, I felt as if I had to talk to you. You seem to be the only thing that makes sense around here."

She instantly thought that hearing something like this would definitely make her think that the guy is nuts, but it seemed completely normal for some reason.

"I think…I know what you mean" she whispered. Kohaku looked at her in wonder, with those eyes that reminded her something between amber and emerald.

"Actually, I've been feeling weird ever since you came" she continued "I can't explain why. Just…don't think I'm crazy or something, I think that you started revealing another side of me."

He looked at the floor troubled, noticing the slight blushing on her face. He saw her looking down as she rose her hand to cover the left side of her face. A girl crying…Her straight brown hair is stained by the tears, flowers and plants are all around her…

It was the first time Kohaku had visioned such an image. Where did it come from? And why did that girl resemble Chihiro so much?

"Are you alright?" her voice made him snap out of it. She was sitting in front of him, holding his shoulder so tight that it hurt "Oh, sorry. You went blank and…I thought something had happened to you…"

"No, I'm fine" he smiled back at her.

"It's getting late. I'd better get going. I'll see you tomorrow at school…I guess" she said and Kohaku discerned some spark in her eyes before she left.

For the first time, Chihiro was absolutely sure about what she had to do.

Thanks for the reviews guys! It's been a long time since the third chapter, I've been really busy. Anyway hope you like this one. Finally, teh story has started becoming more intriguing.