〜Flow of Time〜

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Chapter II

Revised 6-22-16

A voice echoed all throughout the forest, from where it came from, she could only guess. Running between trees and over moss-covered rocks, Chihiro searched for the one calling her name. Every way she looked, the terrain arched high and low but never flat. The one she sought would never be found at this rate.

"Haku!" The girl yelled whilst jumping atop a boulder. A soft reply came from somewhere far ahead; almost nonexistent.

Kicking off the rock, Chihiro darted through the forest, ignoring the small stones and twigs that occasionally stabbed at her feet. The further she wandered the more she worried of becoming lost. Though soon enough the rushing sound of water came drifting to her ears. Emerging from the trees, the land came to an abrupt end as she stood atop a cliff side to a magnificent gorge! Looking around, all she saw were hundreds more trees stretching across the land for possibly miles. There was no way Haku went to the other side of the gorge, so Chihiro continued her search and scanned the area for any signs of life to no avail.

"Haku~?!" Shouting once again, her voice echoed all the way into the far distance. Taking a careful and wobbly step forward, Chihiro bent her knees and looked down the cliff to the river below. It wasn't long until she felt sick and straightened her legs to stand back up; Haku wasn't down there either though wouldn't that be impossible to?

A pain in her chest welled up at the worry of not finding him. It scared her to think something bad could have happened to him, there wasn't much she cold do at eleven years old. "I'm here Chihiro." Jumping from his sudden appearance, Chihiro gasped from surprise. "Sorry I left you alone." Looking into his friend's worried eyes, Haku gently slipped her hand into his own. When Chihiro shook her head saying it was alright, the boy smiled gently and broke his gaze from Chihiro to look off at the scenery before them. The raging waterfall not far from their side roared as it plummeted down the cliff and into the river between the gorge. Taking the chance to really look, it was all so beautiful.

Unconsciously squeezing her hand, Haku's eyes followed the water's path down to the river below them. Meanwhile Chihiro glanced his way feeling a little dizzy from looking down there again. Haku didn't notice her staring, and continued admiring the scenery with the slightest smile still upon his face. Looking up to his hair, it had grown considerably since they first met; Chihiro watched as the long strands swayed gracefully to the blowing wind. The dark color stood out against his pale skin and adorned the color of his eyes.

"Chihiro," Haku finally spoke up. The girl blinked, the slightest tint of red blushed her cheeks out of embarrassment being caught staring. "Let's go."

Their held hands raised into the air only by a little. "What," Chihiro questioned while looking around in confusion. Haku took a single step forward, then she realized he was about to jump! "No! Haku wai—"

"Don't let go." His voice seemed to whisper in her ear among all the deafening sounds of roaring water and rushing wind. With hands clasped together, Chihiro had no choice but to fall with her friend out into the gorge! The cliff flew by her watering eyes, as the sensation of falling sent her ghostly face into an ear-to-ear grin. Cheerful laughter reverberated off the cliffs while her companion held a gentle smile, knowing she'd enjoy it. As they splashed into the water becoming completely emerged, Haku embraced the girl who couldn't that well swim and guided her back to the surface with ease. Screaming over all the noise, Chihiro exclaimed. "That was amazing Haku!" Both with smiles on their faces, they floated with the river's current back to the valley as the sun began to set.

。。。。

"Chihiro," a groggy, unrecognizable voice drifted to her ears. After hearing the same word over and over, Chihiro finally registered the voice to be her mother's. "Chihiro are you still sleeping?"

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