Chihiro's Return

Chapter 1: Return to Tochinoki

It was my day off. Normally, I would have stayed home and worked in my garden or done some cooking. Normally, I would have spent the day relaxing and making sure I was caught up on work. But that day was not a normal day. That day, I was going for a drive.

It was farther than I remembered. Of course, I hadn't lived in the blue house with my parents for years. I could still see it, there on the end, as I entered the woods. Dad hadn't repainted it red like he'd threatened before I left. The overgrown road felt long beneath my wheels. Then again, I'm a slower driver than Dad. Safer, too. I remember wondering that the area hadn't been built up after all those years.

At last, hundreds of little cinder-block houses later, I could see it. The two-faced stone head against an old red wall - more crumbled than 15 years before. Naturally, I would have to go in. I still wasn't sure if everything that happened those four days was just a dream.

'They still haven't fixed that leak,' I thought as I walked through a large, nearly empty room. The steady drip I heard was unmistakeable. In another moment, I had stepped onto fresh green grass. Hardly anything had changed since my first visit here, but that was hardly surprising. This place was half spirit world - it would probably stay young and vibrant forever.

Suddenly, I wondered if I really had the courage to do this. Haku had said we would see each other again - but it had been 15 years! Was I supposed to come here like this? Had he meant to come to the human world again. I remembered how he said he could go no further that last day. Was this field an ocean to him then, as it had been for me up to that point? Since his river had been filled in, would it always be so for him? I sighed, and sat on a rock as I reached the dry riverbed. 'I should have brought lunch,' I thought. 'I could have had a picnic.' The thought brought a chuckle to my lips. If only Mom could see this.

In the near distance, I could see the tall staircase the served as a dock at night. A little farther on, the restaurants where the spirits ate when they came from their homes for a relaxing evening. Farthest of all, the roof of the bathhouse. A tendril of steam rose into the sky, marking the location of the great boiler that heated the bathhouse.

It was then that I knew. I had to do this. I stood, and strode purposefully across the grassy space to the stairs. I took them two at a time. Time was all that mattered then - this must be done before nightfall. 'Don't go in,' I reminded myself while passing the restaurants. The intoxicating smell was just what I remembered. I shivered at the memory of Mom and Dad turning into pigs as punishment for their gluttony. Then, I remembered that I had nearly disappeared as a result of not eating the food of the spirits. I glanced nervously at my hand. Still solid, but who knew how long that might last. Three days' worth of meals probably didn't count after so many years. A moment spent reflecting on that was more than enough. A few more landings and I was at a bridge. Across the bridge was the bathhouse, Yubaba's bathhouse. A shiver ran down my spine. What if she stole my name again? Haku had left her employment - he might not even be here anymore. Of course, that was nonsense. Where else would he go? Would he take the train? I'd been down the whole route. There was nowhere he'd want to go, I was certain.

He had to be in the bathhouse.

He had to.

Didn't he?

'Pull yourself together,' I thought. 'It's not like it's the end of the world if he's broken his promise. Almost everyone you know has done that.' Somehow the thought was comforting. Although it was true. 'Maybe you should just go home. You've seen the bathhouse, isn't that enough?' It wasn't enough. I'd come this far, I should do what I came to do. I reached behind my head and touched the shining purple hair tie around my ponytail. 'Still good, after all this time using it.' Resolutely, I set off across the bridge. It was so quiet. I remembered the bathhouse didn't get too much use in the daytime, that was mostly the time for cleaning. Even so, the silence was giving me chills. I brushed the curtain aside - and stepped inside the bathhouse.