Title: Journey to the Real World
By: Emmelyn Cindy Mah
E-mail: Romance/Action and Adventure
Summary: Faded memories of Aburaya linger within Chihiro's soul—she must escape the remnants of reality to reunite herself with her beloved Haku, who must in turn break free of the spirit realm to meet her embrace.
Disclaimer: I don't own Spirited Away—nor do I own Chihiro, Kohaku, and any other afore-mentioned characters from the movie. I do, however, own the plot, and several characters that will make themselves visible throughout the course of this tale.
Author's Note: I actually watched Spirited Away long ago. And I actually started on this fic –ages- ago. I just never got to finishing it, because so many things cropped up. I'm going to be re-writing, and adding more stuff—to all the people who've reviewed in the past, here's me, picking up the pieces. Also, I'm going to be changing some plotlines—nothing major. The most major of these is that Chihiro does not remember Haku when she leaves the Spirit Realm.
…And I've grown up a lot when it comes to my writing. Honestly, I am ashamed at my old work. XD
Enjoy!
Prologue: Faded Whispers
She stared solemnly at the grey marble figure before the gloomy passageway. Something stirred deep within her chest—try as she might, she could not shake the feeling off. She felt as if she'd left something important behind.
"Chihiro. Come, we're late."
A small frown adorned her features even as she slid into the back-seat of her silver family car. Restlessness had now settled deep within her—she could not quite understand why she felt so. The crimson-bricked theme-park that they'd stumbled upon had been abandoned—there was naught interesting enough to miss.
"I told you. We shouldn't have stopped."
"It was only for a short while."
"It was a waste of time."
Chihiro chewed gently upon her lower lips—her parents often bickered in such a manner; it no longer bothered her. It surprised her, however, mildly, that she found their words biting.
Had their little trip into the abandoned theme park really been a waste of time? She strained her mind—tugging heavily at her dark brown hair. She could remember nothing of their little foray into the unknown—it troubled her, to some extent.
Could it be that her memories were choosing to lie to her? Did the theme park hold within it a secret?
She sighed quietly, leaning her forehead upon the clear glass of her window. Absently, she plucked at several cherry-blossom petals—these were carried into the air by the faded whispering of the winds, away, away, into the darkened passageway through the theme park entrance.
Perhaps—just perhaps, without making sense, the trip into the theme park had not been a waste of time.
He stood upon the hill, within an outcropping of deep-grey boulders, his deep grey eyes fixed upon the crimson entrance passageway across the fields. Never before had he felt quite so miserable—never before had he lost one quite so close to his heart.
The winds swirled gently about him, the breeze warm and balmy in the sunny, cloudless weather. For a moment or two, he thought he'd caught the sweet scent of cherry blossoms; he smiled.
The petals flew about his still form, swirling about his tunic—his breeches, before coming to rest upon the ground at his feet. He watched them silently; unmoving.
And then, quite without warning, he reached down, and took within his fist several of the petals—he lifted them to his lips, and sighed.
"I am sorry that you will not remember me." He murmured quietly—a single petal fell from his grasp as he turned. "But I shall remember you, Chihiro—"
"—always."
Author's note: The end of a revised prologue. I shall be revising the other chapters soon! This should be much better when compared to my old writing style. I hope you guys enjoyed the new twists!