Spirited Away: The Wait [ORIGINAL]

Hidden Motives

     Cold. It was too cold. Chihiro was greeted by a blast of icy cold raindrops that pelted her skin and clothes. The dress absorbed the rain and in no time at all, she was soaked to the bone. It was a heavy thunderstorm out, and the black clouds that covered the sky gave out an ominous and nasty feeling. The harsh winds nearly blew the underweight woman off her feet and swept her off into the deep abyss below.

     Her tears spilled out freely and she looked to the sky, though shielding her eyes with one hand to prevent water from getting in. Soon, her tears were mixed in the rain, and she couldn’t tell if she was crying or not. Only her constant sniffing told her she still was.

     She contemplated running up the stairs; she had no desire to see that stranger whom she thought she knew. But frankly, she was too scared to go up and no matter how upset she was at him, she was not going to leave and get herself turned into a pig if discovered. What was more, her body couldn’t take the exercise, especially not in that weather. She had to go back in soon or she’d catch a cold, and it’d most probably develop into a high fever which would be troublesome to deal with. She didn’t have her medicine here.

     No matter though, she already had it planned out, didn’t she? She would go back to the human world, back to the hospital for treatment.

     Then why was she hesitating? Her head was telling her to give up and go back to where she truly belonged, but what she truly wanted was to stay in the Spirit World. What for, though? Why in the world did she want to stay there? It wasn’t like Haku remembered her; she was a thing of the past. There was no more use in staying in the Spirit World.

     Maybe it was the part of her that wanted to think that he was just pretending, like it was all a bad joke on April Fools’ Day. But the more rationale part of her knew that it was all real. Despite herself, she smirked at her pathetic state.

     To think that she’d actually kept him in her heart for a whole 10 years while he’d forgotten about her. He did a rather clean job at that too. She was a fool; she actually thought that she could have a chance with the dragon. He was a spirit while she was a dying, sick human. Why on earth would he want to keep such a repulsive thing in his memory, let alone be her friend?

     Something caught in her throat and she choked on her tears. She just didn’t want to think anymore. It was too overwhelming. All she wanted was some alone time. But could she go out? Maybe she could risk it.

      ‘You’re crazy,’ a voice spoke in her mind.

     ‘Maybe I am,’ another voice rebutted.

     She took a feeble and wobbly step towards the tall, menacing staircase that was most probably infested with termites.

     One step. She was going to forget Haku.

     Another step. She was going to throw away the memories they had shared when they were young.

     Yet another step. She’d continue living her life and sever all ties with this world; hopefully Kamaji and Lin wouldn’t get too angry with her for that.

     She was going to take her next step when her legs gave way. She landed roughly on the ground, her butt getting most of the impact. “Crap…” she groaned, clutching her spinning head.

     Chihiro checked her forehead with the back of her hand. It was kind of warm. Oh, great. She was getting sick. That was practically a sign for her to just get lost and back into the human world already.

     “Don’t move.”

     She jumped at the sudden appearance of a voice behind her. Thinking she’d been discovered, a small gasp escaped her lips and instantly a hand was shoved against her mouth, muffling any squirming sounds she made. Chihiro’s eyes widened to see the man’s body pressed against hers, shielding her against the wall. The body warmth he emitted felt nice and she wanted to lean against him. His hair touched the sides of her face and it tickled her. A strong sense of déjà vu came over her.