S P I R I T E D A W A Y 2

Chapter 4- "I'll find your memories again..."

The whole night Haku watched Chihro sleep as he sat on an old wooden chair.  A tear fell from his eyes.

“Don’t worry Chihiro, I promise, we will be together soon, I’ll find your memories again, everything will go smoothly. Just promise that you will remember me okay?” Haku whispered into her ear, as she was sleeping.

That morning, he was awoken to loud footsteps. Chihiro had already woken up and stolen some breakfast from the bathhouse.

“Oh, sorry Haku, did I wake you up? Here I got us some breakfast. So how did the spell go with Granny? You didn’t utter a word last night.” Chihiro asked.

“Good,” Haku lied. “We can return safely.”

“So you can come now? What did she do, do you have a new home.” Chihiro said excitedly.

“Yes.” Haku replied. He wanted to say ‘Yes Chihiro, my new home will be with you.’

As they got ready to leave, Haku looked around the Spirit World one last time. ‘I’m going to miss this place, it filled with memories.’ He thought.

They were at the top of the stairs, when Haku recalled the moment when Chihiro first left. ‘I lied,’ he said to himself, I didn’t know how to get back. ‘ This time I won’t let her down.’

“Come, on, Haku! Are you nervous? Don’t worry, it will be alright.” Chihiro assured him.

Haku swallowed his guilt and shame and went down the stairs. They crossed the field and went through the old building once again. Haku grabbed Chihiro’s hand and held it tightly as they entered the tunnel.

“Haku, don’t be scared, it’s okay you can stay with my family, I’m sure they won’t mind.” Chihiro said. They were only meters from the end of the tunnel…

Haku was silent until they stood just two step away from the end He turned to Chihiro and said; “I promise, I will find you again,” Chihiro was confused. “Take one good look at me and remember it. I love you Chihiro.”

Before Chihiro could say anything, Haku gave her a peck on the cheek, and pulled her out of the tunnel…

White lights surrounded the pair, Haku looked around for Chihiro but she wasn’t there. He fell into a deep sleep. Chihiro’s memory of Haku and the Spirit world were cleared; she too, fell into a deep sleep.

She woke up in her house, in her new bedroom. The time resumed to when she came back from the Spirit World the first time. It was around 4:30pm. It was like she never went back again.

She yawned very loudly as she got up and pulled the hair tie from her hair. They glittery piece of elastic that was made at Zeniba’s cottage was in her hand. Chihiro looked at it.

“Where did I get that from? She said as she chucked it on the dresser without thinking about it.

After washing her face and brushing her teeth she headed downstairs. She was surprised to hear her parents fighting and shouting. She huddled on the stairs, eavesdropping to their conversation. They were talking about divorce. They weren’t like this before. Chihiro went back upstairs. She started to think what would happen if their fighting continued. The thoughts that ran through her mind scared her.

The fighting continued and time passed slowly. It had been 3 days already.

Haku, on the hand, had settled into a foster home in a deserted town with a population of 2,244, he was a reincarnation of a boy who had the same name.

His foster carer (which he had already gotten used to) tells him that around 8 years ago he turned up from nowhere at the orphanage. He was around 4. And his carer took him in when Haku was only 7. His carer’s was a lady named Misoka, which meant ‘Last day of the month…’