Spirited Away II: Return to the Spirit Realm

Chapter 21

The sun slowly descended down the vast blueness of the sky as the hour of dusk slowly approached. The flourishing golden light seeped away and the sky stained itself in brilliant pinks and oranges. Eventually, the glowing sun disappeared altogether beyond the horizon, its last rays piercing the sky before they, too, vanished.

The now black sky dotted itself with millions of tiny white dots. A crescent moon stepped out, sending a dim, white glow across the ground's permafrost. For once, the wind was silent. Calmness hugged the world, like a mother cradling her baby.

That calmness did not last long.

Yubaba looked out a huge window from her office, watching as angry clouds suddenly swirled in the sky, hiding the brilliance of the illuminating stars from view. The wind, with a loud shriek, picked up its pace and swept over the fruitless and frozen earth. The previously undisturbed branches in barren trees shook and small twigs, hit by stronger branches under the force of the screaming wind, snapped from their branch and fell to the ground. The dim light of the lamps were the only source of light in the rayless, ruthless night.

Yubaba felt a small twitch of guilt. "You helped the Dark Spirit," a tiny voice whispered in the back of her mind."You helped it tremendously. By doing so, you destroyed countless amount of lives. Whom are you avenging? Didn't you commit enough of misdeeds already?"

Yubaba scowled irritably at the voice and turned her attention to another - a welcome, major voice in her mind, that led her all her life. In that voice there was no selfless desires nor any warmth; merely lust for power, greed, and selfishness.

"You are hardly at blame," it said snappily, almost as if challenging the tiny voice that spoke beforehand."Your life has been nothing but trouble ever since that pesky Sire admitted that he loved your sister, not you! If you did not sign a contract with the Dark Spirit, you could have starved to the death on the streets, considering how much you had with you at the time. What else do they expect from you?"

Yubaba could hardly tell who - or what - was being referred to when that voice said "they" and, frankly, she did not care. Dismissing both voices with a mental, decisive flick of a wrist, she wearily made her way from the window to the desk and sat down on the large chair.

Truth be told, Yubaba was proud of herself. Her name could have been dirtied by her own workers, she could be considered the name stealer, the unkind witch ... what did it matter? That riffraff she took from the street apparently had no brains whatsoever in their heads and, moreover, knew nothing about her past.

Did they really have the stupidity to think that life brought the entire bathhouse and its wealth to her on a silver platter?

It did not matter what they thought. It just mattered for them to do their job. Of course - one servant girl boldly defied Yubaba in doing her job, disobeyed every rule she set up for them to follow and, for that, she was called to her office.

Speaking of the reckless weasel spirit, where, in heaven's name, was she now? Yubaba made it veryclear to her the day before that she was to see her first thing in the morning in her office.

Yet, she was not here.

Yubaba frowned and regarded her office around her closely. She looked at numerous papers - some deals to sign, others offers to consider, and others yet, requests to be read - stacked neatly to the side of her desk. She looked at jewelry boxes, housing sparkling gemstones; she looked at the thick, soft carpet beneath her feet; at the liberal riches her office showed her, and yet, the entire office being but a fraction of her entire wealth. If her plan worked out perfectly, Yubaba would have to let go everything she saw. She was more than sorry to see it go, but not hesitant; after all, what would she not trade for a peaceful, safe life in some wilderness, with her adoptive son by her side?