Spirited Away 2: The Illusion of Death

Chapter I

Author's Note: I hope you enjoy reading and support me through this, there's no motivation like hearing from your readers! See you next week.

By 〜HannieNannie

"Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live."

- Norman Cousins

There was a lot of screaming followed by clamor. Everything was noisy until lost in nihility. As if her world never darkened she woke up on woodland underbrush. No real thought came to mind, just a settled gaze upon the endless haze.

Elbows furrowed into the ground allowing her body to rise, it felt strange – effortless. Scrutinizing the nameless vicinity, no thought lingered in her mind except to stand on her feet. The frigid air chilled her body becoming nearly insensible; it was hard to feel her own leg taking a step forward.

Not sure where there was to go or why... the proximity held no familiarity.

Taking a moment to consider her surroundings, there wasn't much to look at thanks to the fog enshrouding the distance. Barely penetrable by the moonlight, it was dark and hard to see anything at all. Ominous and quiet, there wasn't even a single buzz of an insect or ambiance of nature despite being surrounded by woodland and thicket. Stocky boles would materialize from the mist that she would carefully maneuver around despite vertigo threatening her balance.

A powerful whistle thundered in the air, piercing her eardrums until they rang in the silence. Like a forlorn call coming from somewhere in the perpetual night.

Surrounding her, the fog diminished enough to discern that she wasn't alone. Side-by-side, shadows emerged with the physique of a human. Before long, more entities appeared out of the caliginosity.

The shadows were diversified in both size and width, they had no details except for their unique clothing. As the crowd grew larger; soon they were all walking toward a single soft glowing light. Emerging from the fog, a lamppost lit the stairway to a train station where one apparition passed out tickets. Waiting her turn, the shadow of a man faced her impassively and handed over one of the slips of paper. Stepping up onto the gray stone it was as cold as it looked; the only thing covering her feet were socks and one shoe.

As a train with two passenger cars waited to depart, it sounded its whistle a final time. Everyone waited patiently to board; some even carried a large bag of luggage. As for herself, she waited with nothing – not even the slightest clue of what's going on.

There was nothing left to do but move forward.

Boarding the train, she sat down and looked at the ticket still in her hand. The two passengers next to her seemed to be mother and child, they paid her no mind. All the available space was taken and some gentlemen were straphangers. The train eventually closed its doors.

Looking out the crosswise window, the station was left behind, along with it, a life once lived forgotten.

The obscurity of the fog darkened to pitch black as they entered a tunnel. The vibrations of the moving train and rumbling of the tracks reverberated back to her ears. A new world opened up, along with it the light of dawn. Watching the sunrise through the same window, the rays eventually reached the water. Casting an illumination that glittered across the surface, it followed the movement of the train.

She felt compulsive to get off and before long the train reached its first station. It screeched and hissed trying to come to a standstill. Very few of the passengers got up and detrained while she remained indecisive in the same spot. Something was pulling at her, but she subtly ignored it. Making the decision for her, the doors closed. They were headed to the next station, similar to the last. All the while as they traveled on submerged tracks, she continued watching out the crosswise window.