Chihiros World

4. Lost in the forest

At night Chihiro dreamt that she was lost in the forest behind her house. She was running from something but she was not sure from what.

Suddenly it caught up to her and before her was a big black dragon. Not completely black actually some of its scales shifted in a dark purple colour. The dragons mane were also in the same dark purple almost black shade.

It started growling at chihiro as in telling her to stop running but she knew where she had to go, if only she could find the entry she would be safe!

She started to run the other direction but then she heard someone yelling her name ''Chihiro stop'' the voice said. She turned around and in the place of the big dragon Eiji were now standing. ''Chihiro I'll show you the way if you can trust me''

Chihiro hesitated but walked slowly towards Eiji he started to walk away. ''Where are we going?'' Chihiro asked but got no answer. They walked for what felt like half an hour and then there they were, by the gate to the spirit world.

Eiji turned to Chihiro and looked her straight in the eyes and said ''This is the way you have to go, you can not forget it Chihiro.'' he said.

''Chihiro? Chihiro?'' she heard a woman voice say. ''Chihiro are you okay honey?'' Then she woke up.

''Mom?'' Chihiro said surprised that she were back in her room. ''It seemed like you were having a nightmare'' Yuuko said with a worried expression on her face. ''I am okay mom'' Chihiro answered. ''I'm just worried because of...well of your past I guess, I never want to lose you again even though it was my fault for sending you away that time'' Yuuko continued.

''Do you think that I'm crazy mom?'' Chihiro asked. ''Of corse not honey, not anymore... You just had a wild fantasy as a child''.
''What if it was true mom? What if you are the ignorant one'' Chihiro said getting upset, ''Chihiro you do not still believe in all that now do you? You have healed so much! Me and your father are so proud of you'' Yuuko said looking a bit worried.

''Of corse not mom'' Chihiro lied. Chihiro had thought that everything might have been a dream after all but after talking with Eiji and also her dream she knew that it had to be true.

''I've made breakfast for you, why don't you come downstairs and we can eat together as we used to before, it is Sunday after all'' Yuuko said.

Chihiro were still a bit angry at her mom for not believing her and in that moment she decided that she would look for the gate today as her dream had told her to, give it one last chance and if it were not there she would admit that she was crazy and try to live a normal life in the human world. Maybe even start dating, not Eiji though, he was a bit scary.

Akio also came down for breakfast and all of them ate together which they had not done in a very long time.

''Chihiro me and your father have been talking and we think that you should transfer schools and study in another city, try to get away a bit from this place, you have recovered so well but I can still see the pain in you and leaving this place might be the best thing for you'' Yuuko said.

''No I don't want to leave'' Chihiro burst out. ''I know honey and just because of that it might be the best thing for you to do'' Yuuko continued. ''I don't want you to leave either but I think it is best for you'' Akio said. ''I have a lot of good friends in university here, Rumi is here too'' Chihiro said upset with her parents.

''We know we just thought that maybe it is the best way for you to put the past behind you'' Yuuko said. ''And if I don't want to put the past behind me? will you lock me in again like you did before?'' she knew that those words would hurt her mother. ''It's just because of this attitude we want you to move on Chihiro'' Akio said angrily.

''Well you don't seem to care about what I want at all so why even ask'' Chihiro said and stood up. ''Thank you for the breakfast but I am done talking with you'' she said and walked up to her room.

Chihiro started to pack a bag right away she brought some clothes clean socks and underwear, her toothbrush she also packed some medicine and her bathing suit, just packing some random thing not sure what to put in her bag anyway.

Then she took one of her notebooks and started writing. She wrote everything about her adventures in the spirit world and how she were going to go look for it. she wrote that her parents shouldn't come looking for her since she would be in a different world and even though she was angry she wrote that she loved them but she had to do this for herself.

She also wrote an e-mail to Rumi where she told her everything and that the person she would miss most was her.

She put the notebook open on her desk and went out. Her parents did not seem to be home so she did not have to sneak out.

She tried to remember the way she had walked in her dream. Then she came to a place that looked similar to where the dragon had disappeared and been replaced with Eiji. It was so weird that the place actually looked like the one in her dreams, did that mean that it was real? Magic did excist? But the more she walked the more all the trees started to look the same and nothing like she could remember anywmore.

Chihiro were about to give up and go back home hoping that her parents had not seen the note yet, though Rumi would think she were crazy when she got the email she could always blame it on being drunk. But then she saw it! A lot of frog status and a small road. She followed it, almost running from excitment, and there it was, the huge building her dad first had thought belonged to a old amusement park.

Chihiro fell to her knees and started to cry. Had it been here all along? She thought. Why didn't anyone believe her when it all were true? She wasn't the crazy one, they were for not believing their own daughter. Chihiro cried for a bit, not sure if it was from happiness or sadness before finally standing up and walked through the gates.