sixth station

Once

Once upon a time, there lived three witches called Yubaba, Zeniba and Sakura. Their power was unrivalled by anything, spirit or human, and they could alter the mind and even the laws of nature. They acted as a bridge between the spirits and the humans. But their power certainly wasn't human, and they weren't really spirits either. They didn't belong in either world.

The youngest, Sakura, was perfectly content with her life. She used her power for good and protected the border between worlds. The spirits loved her. Even the humans had tales about her, legends of her actions.

But Yubaba and Zeniba were not content. Even though they were prosperous, beautiful, and had loving friends and families, they wanted more. To become immortal. They wanted to turn completely into spirits.

So they used their combined power to do that. It was dark magic, a feat that should not have been attempted. They gained more power and became immortals. Sakura warned them that it would have a cost, but they did not listen. 

Their actions took a toll on them. They became repulsive, their beautiful faces transformed into those of ugly hags. A strange curse turned the people they loved against them. Yubaba, the vain and cruel elder witch, was left by her husband whilst looking after her newborn baby. Zeniba's friends left her.

The two sister witches took it in different ways. Realising the error in her actions, Zeniba retired to a cottage in a place called swamp bottom. Yubaba started a bath house in a town in the spirit realm. Yubaba's workers were afraid of her. She was a cruel and harsh mistress. The people who worked there had a contract which bound them to her for eternity. 

Sakura was chased out of the spirit realm by the elder witch. Yubaba believed that the curse she had received was Sakura's fault, since Sakura was entirely unaffected. In a fit of rage, she wiped Sakura's memory, making her believe she was human.

She was adopted by a human family, and raised alongside their daughter, Chihiro. She stayed well away from the spirit realm. After all, how was she to know the truth?