Spirited Away II: Return to the Spirit Realm

Chapter 18

The Lady silently ushered Zeniba into a room. It was the very same room where Zeniba was led to the first time she came - a small, but comfortable and pretty place with awaiting jasmine tea and a few pastries to come along with it.

"Thank you for coming," said the spirit queen as she closed the door. She sat down on the couch and folded her hands. "Please, take a seat. I do trust your coming here was safe?"

"Oh, yes!" said Zeniba with as much cheerfulness as she could muster - which was not much at all, considering her given state of mind.

"Please, sit down," the Lady repeated the invitation, gesturing to a couch next to hers.

Zeniba sat down obediently. Soon, the two got comfortable in the cozy room and were holding a porcelain tea-cup brimming with the sweet, hot beverage in one hand and a cookie in the other.

The Lady took a generous sip of her tea and put the tea-cup down. "If you do not mind telling me now why you came...?"

If any homely, comfortable atmosphere settled in the room, it was gone in an instant. Zeniba looked at the Lady uneasily over the brim of her cup, tore it from her lips, and gave shook her head halfheartedly. But she didn't say anything for the next three minutes. She just stared at the tea-cup in her hand, sending it a bitter frown which really wasn't meant at it. A few fat drops of sweat appeared on her forehead. Finally, she looked at the patient Lady and said dryly, "There was a blizzard."

The Lady sighed. "I suppose you know what a blizzard means?" she asked.

"Oh, yes!"

The Lady didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. At least she wouldn't have to go explain what a blizzard means as calmly as she could. That would be a challenge with the Lady's own nervousness which she was barely succeeding in suppressing. "So I suppose you want to know what the Dark Spirit found?" she said.

"I do not intend to pry, of course," Zeniba said hastily, obviously thinking that the Lady thought she was intending to pry and found it impudent. "What I wanted to know is if everyone is all right - especially you, your son, and Chihiro."

"We're all safe and physically unharmed," the Lady replied with a slight wince.

Zeniba felt her breath catch in her throat. Suddenly, the major purpose for her coming wasn't major at all, and it wasn't because she got a satisfying answer. The Lady's voice had some dreadful, uncomfortable edge to it which filled the elder witch with suspicion and fear.

Especially fear for her granddaughter.

"Your Highness, what happened?" she inquired in a careful, soft voice.

The spirit queen cast an anxious glance at the witch which seemed to determine her decision. "Well," she returned in the same careful, soft tone Zeniba used, "I'd like to mention first, again, that we're all safe and that we will all remain safe."

Zeniba nodded slowly. The uncomfortable feeling inside of her flourished.

"It was searching for a human - and that human was Chihiro," the Lady began, putting hard emphasis on the word "it" so Zeniba would have no doubt that the Dark Spirit was being discussed. She opened her mouth to take a breath to calm down her throbbing nerves, but was interrupted by an aghast gasp.

"What?" whispered Zeniba, bringing her hand to her mouth in sheer horror. Her face drained of all color.

"Chihiro is perfectly safe! No harm fell upon her in any shape or form, and none will!" the Lady repeated reassuringly, hoping she won't have to repeat herself another umpteenth times for Zeniba to actually get the message. Zeniba took another shaky breath and nodded solemnly, as if asking the spirit queen to continue before taking a haste sip of tea. The Lady carefully related all that happened that fateful night and she put especially strong emphasis that, despite the wreckage in her bedroom, Chihiro did not have even a single scratch.