Spirited Away: The Return Home

Chapter 4

The bathhouse's interior still looked pretty much the same.

The first floor was where the bath tubs where located, the second served as a giant restaurant (if that's what you could call it), and then the top floor belonged to Yubaba.

What lay between the third floor and Yubaba's floor, I didn't know. It was as much of a mystery to me now as it was when I was a child. 

Below the first floor there were the servant's quarters that were divided into male and female, along with the kitchen. Even further below the kitchen was the boiler room and the rooms where they stored the food.

I knew all this based on prior knowledge, and a certain female spirit. Without Lin's help the first time around, it would have been a bit harder to find my way from the boiler room to Yubaba's floor.

First I had to sneak past some women walking hanging around the boiler room, and then up the first flight of stairs I could find. This put me in what seemed to be a little gathering room with three exits.

I recalled that the one to the left took you to the sleeping quarters for the female workers and that hopefully meant that the one to the right led to the men's sleeping quarters. It seemed to be the logical conclusion, luckily leaving me with only one option.

I took off running through the only door left and down the hall.

At the end of this hallway was a large room with many elevators, made to allow workers to get around easier. I could somewhat remember how to operate them, so I took the first one I could ride alone. It took a moment or two to get the gears grinding, but soon, with a heavy shutter, I was going up.

To my great relief, the elevator rose straight to the top, not stopping on the way. It was one thing if none of the spirits could smell me, but it didn't help much if they could see me. I certainly wasn't dressed like one of the locals. 

Soon, poking my head out first to survey the hallway, I stepped from the safety of the elevator. The quiet slaps of my bare feet were the only sound echoing off the walls. 

Standing silently for a few moments, I tried to collect myself by taking a few deep breathes, running my hands through my tangled mess of hair. After I was able to pull my fingers through my hair without it being caught, I slowly put my hands on the door to push it open.

A memory sparked and I pulled my hands away as though they had been burned.

"Ah, I see you have gained some respect over the years," the doorknocker said as if reading my mind. It still had that same grating tone, a distant copy of its master's.

Refusing to let it bait me, I all but jutted my chin out. "Yes, I'm sorry for being so rash the last time." I could play this game too.

Being rude to a doorknocker seemed like a new kind of low to me, so I just went for another strategy— charming my way into the apartment. It still seemed like a long shot, but since Yubaba wasn't expecting me this time, I had no other choice if I wanted the door to open.

"Apology accepted, but I should probably inform you that Yubaba is away, along with Haku." My heart gave a jolt. "They should be back within a few hours," the small Yubaba-doorknocker said, her eyes rolling around aimlessly.

"Who's looking after the bathhouse then?" I asked, trying not to let the new information bother me.

"Zeniba."

Not what I was expecting, but it was fine, if not better. Still, I'd hear from Zeniba what the story was. After all, the sisters were very much not on good terms when I last saw them. What could possibly have happened that would lead to this unfolding of events?