A Face Among the Crowd [SPIRITED AWAY FANFIC]

Chapter 4

Yawing from a deep sleep, I rolled over and nearly fell off my bed. Damn! Rien must've left because when I'd fallen asleep his arms had been around me, preventing me from falling off the edge.

I jumped out of bed, bed head and all, and ran down the stairs.

Yep, he was gone.

The front door shut and locked, the silverware and tuber ware from last night's meal placed neatly in the sink, and no dead spirit body to be found.

I sighed and sat on the counter. Opening up a pack of chocolate muffins, I surveyed the only thing left that signified Rien had been here; the first aid kit. It was still sitting open on the table with missing bandages and gauze.

Whatever; if the man was going to be that rude and just leave, than I would forget about him and his so called 'job' of hunting spirits. Anyway, I have a lot of homework.

After showering and changing for the day, I decided to go out to the park and take photos. One of my favorite passions is taking pictures of anything I can find that will fit inside the zoom shot.

I walked over to the park bench, the sunshine hitting my back and the rays beaming off my sunglasses. I sat there, staring at all the children playing with their mothers and the fathers throwing Frisbees with their sons.

Dogs barked, children laughed, birds chirped, and adults talked. I smiled at the boisterousness of it all, but saw no opportune pictures waiting to be taken.

So I got up and walked off to the wooded area near the exit. I took pictures of the birds, flower petals, and bumblebees. I kept walking on and on; not really paying attention to where I was going.

I ended up at the entrance of an old tunnel with a little statue in the middle of the walkway. I snapped a picture of the statue and decided to walk through the tunnel and see what was on the other side.

It was dark and dreary, but not that long. I kept walking and eventually ended up on the other side.

It was a beautiful meadow with rolling hills of tall grass and a dry river bed curving through it. There were empty shacks strewn in the meadow, but farther down, after the river bed, there was a whole host of buildings.

They were beautifully run down, just ripe for the photography. I jogged up to the rocky river bed so I could snap some photos of the old houses. I hopped over the craggy rocks and skipped past the little pebbles.

I started strolling down the empty streets of the little village I had found. This was perfect! I could spend endless hours here taking pictures with no one to disturb me. There were beautiful opportunities with empty chairs and lightless lamps.

Before I knew it the light was fading and the cicadas were coming out to sing. So I started walking off towards the direction I had come because you couldn't take pictures without light and I had forgotten my flash.

I finally reached the rocks in the riverbed as the last streak of sunlight faded from the sky, but as soon as I took three steps over the pebbles, I was ankle deep in water.

Frantically I looked around and noticed the water was quickly rising, now up to my waist and wetting my hair.

I couldn't make it to the other side, it looked miles and miles away. As fast as I could I heaved my wet, cold body onto the earth surrounding the riverbank. Shaking, quivering, and scared I lay on the dirt trying to catch my breath.

What the hell was that?

Gasping for breath I sat up and looked around me, taking in the ghastly sights. Everything was alit with lanterns of various colors. Boathouses and cruise ships surfed the water where music could be heard coming out of. The "village" was now alive wi-with monsters?

No. Rien had talked about spirits… could this be?

I sat there for a while taking it all in, my camera resting my lap. So I took this moment to take some pictures, capture the beauty of it all. But eventually my joints cramped up and I knew I needed to get up. So I walked over to the side, out of view from the spirits. Hoping I wouldn't be spotted, I traversed a back path that led to what looked like a large factory's kitchen quarters. No, it was actually a bath house.

I peered into the windows and noticed the weirdness. There were frogs as cooks, and spirits as maids. This was all so unimaginable.

I crouched down below the window and in the brush. I felt hot tears drip from my eyes and roll down my cheeks. They splashed onto my knees. My maxi dress was clinging to my body and I was cold. My hair was sopping wet and my makeup was running. I was lost. I knew no one. I was scared.