A/N: I...I have no excuse. Sort of. I'm working on another story so I haven't been as focused on other ones...I'm not going to make anymore promises on when the next chapters will be out since I don't want to fail to meet the deadlines and disappoint (if anyone would be disappointed by this o_o;). Just know I haven't given up on this story and I will finish it, but it'll probably take some time. I'm not sure if I'll add anything to chapter 6. I do have to add something, but I just don't know if I'll place it there or a later chapter. Read the author's note about an update for that as the new chapters come out. Now without further ado, I bring you chapter 7!
Small waves rippled over my feet as train tracks ran along underneath the water. Haku said he'd meet me here at sunset, Lin happily offered to take me to the station and teased me endlessly throughout the trip.
The sun slipped below the horizon, leaving an orange-red sky behind. The train will be here soon, but Haku is nowhere in sight.
I hope Haku hasn't run into any trouble trying to get the tickets.
The stars overhead twinkle just as they did on the meadow, and a light appeared from far away.
"I'm sorry for making you wait so long." A voice from behind startled me.
"It's okay, it wasn't too long. I'm sorry for making you go through so much trouble for me. I know these tickets are hard to get..."
"It's alright Chihiro. I don't mind." A calm smile spread across his face.
The train arrived and the inside lights come on just as we board the train. Haku presented the tickets to the collector before we take our seats. There were only two other spirits in the same compartment as us. The whistle blew and the train soon sped its away across the sea to destinations afar.
At first the two of us sit in silence. I can't think of anything to talk about, but I guess neither could he. He broke the silence first.
"You told me a lot has changed in the human world since you left. We won't reach our stop for several hours if you want to talk now."
"Huh? Oh! Right..."
I started to recount all the events that have occurred since I left the Spirit World. Once we were settled into our new home, I was enrolled at a nearby school and started attending classes. I didn't have many friends there except for Ryuki and Makoto, but it didn't matter much they were the only two friends I really needed. After we finished we all went to the same high school and did very well in most of our classes. I used to hate doing any work, but Ryuki and Makoto definitely influenced me to become a good student.
Makoto was a particularly good artist and in fact, planned to going to an art university in Tokyo after high school. Ryuki on the other hand had a brilliant mind and wanted to become a doctor in the future, though she had no idea where she would go for university. I never gave much thought about what I wanted to early on, but in my second year of high school I joined the school newspaper team and quickly became one of the best authors. I decided then to pursue journalism as a career.
My dad's new job made him travel a lot more so I mostly grew up with my mum for the last few years. However, one day he was returning from an international trip, but the plane got caught in a terrible storm and they were forced to land in the sea to avoid a disaster. But he never came home. We continued to check the reports for any new details about the incident nothing turned up for a while. A week and a half later, a report in one of the major newspapers revealed the facts of the emergency evacuation.
All of the passengers exited the plane and several inflatable dinghies were deployed waiting for the rescue planes to arrive. When the planes did arrive to the location they didn't find any of the dinghies or any people. They looked around the area and found a small rocky island not far from the landing site. They sent scuba divers around in the area and found all of the dinghies at the bottom of the sea. They also found some of the bodies of the passengers but others were never recovered. It was believed that they tried to make for the island, but the waves around it were so strong that they were instead dashed into the rocks. My dad's body was one of the many that weren't recovered.
Mum then planned on moving away from our current home to a different city, but decided to stay until I graduated high school. Ryuki and Makoto were of endless support to me and helped me through the terrible time. I'm still thankful for all their help, though I may not see them again regularly I know we'll always stay in touch.
We moved houses once after I graduated, but since I was going to be attending a university that was very far away, she helped me find a nearby apartment. I would have been moving in about a months' time had I not reentered the Spirit World.
Haku sat in silence for most of the time I was speaking, but placed his hand on mine when I brought up the incident with my dad. I couldn't keep my composure when talking about it, even if we weren't as close towards the end, I still missed him.
"I'm sorry Chihiro. I made you remember things that you perhaps wanted to forget." He looks slightly glum.
"No. It helps to talk about it." I tried to smile but the tears fell anyways. He gently patted my head before swiftly pulling me forward and placing a kiss on my forehead. The motion is so sudden that I froze in place, unsure of what I should do. But he pulled away quickly and told me to continue on.
"What about you Haku? What has happened in the Spirit World since I left?" We still had some ways to go, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask him.
He starts off by telling me about confronting Yubaba shortly after I left. She was furious when he told her his real name, but she couldn't do anything since the contract ended immediately after he spoke his real name. He left the bath house after that, coming in once in a while to to visit the others. Most of the time he spent by his river or running various errands, but he didn't go into details about that.
Not much has changed about the Spirit World otherwise. It had become livelier after I left, apparently, I was the talk of the town. I'm slightly taken aback when I hear this. I don't understand why they would do that, I thought most spirits hated humans and looked down upon us.
"Of course. That was always how it was. But after you came here and changed your own fate, they took a certain liking to humans, but especially to you."
"Me? Only because of a memory?" I fail to see their reasoning.
"A memory is a powerful thing. We're here because most of us have some lost memories that anchor us to this world. If a human enters the Spirit World, usually it's next to impossible for them to ever remember anything about the human world, so they get stuck here and either disappear or eventually become a spirit themselves. If a spirit enters this world after passing from the human world, they usually retain some memory but most of the time it's not enough to pass on."
"Pass on? To where?" I've always thought the Spirit World was the final resting place for everyone that leaves Earth.
"The Spirit World is only an in between world. It's not separate from Earth, therefore, we share the same land and sky. But it's supposed to help spirits transition into the next world. That world is the eternal paradise that both humans and spirits want to reach in the end."
"So what happens to spirits here if they can never remember enough to pass on?"
"Depending on how powerful the spirit is they can either stay here for the rest of time, or eventually fade out of existence."
"What kind of memories do spirits have to remember in order to pass from here?"
"That, no one really knows. Many of the memories have to be about their lives, but nothing else is known."
We continued to talk for a bit longer before falling into another silence. I noticed though, that after this talk Haku's demeanour changed from his usual serious self to a more dejected state.
Opposite us sat a strange spirit with cat-like features such as the head, ears, and the tail. I found out later from Haku that it was a Nekomata. It seemed disinterested in almost everything, though at times when I look up I catch it staring at us. After a while the train arrived at a stop and the Nekomata gets up to leave. It stood at the doorway and gave me a long, hard glance and then disappeared.
"What was that about?" I asked Haku as I continued staring at the doorway. When I don't get a reply I turned around and find him asleep with his head against the window. He looked very much at peace and I couldn't help but smile a little.
I yawned and soon followed suit.
I would love some feedback on how the chapters are progressing and if the story itself is good! Thanks~