Disclaimer: I don't own the characters from Spirited Away. However the plot is mine.

Happy reading! CR

Chapter 25: Turning over a new leaf

Chihiro's POV

'Is this a Christmas miracle?' I asked myself but I didn't have time to ponder over the idea, because all of a sudden the image cleared and I was drawn into it. Haku was so close to me that I could have touched him if I reached out. He was holding a scroll in his hand and his eyes were moving rapidly over it. I knew it was a riddle. I started to search through my many books until I found what I was looking for. Now knowing if he could hear me and not wanting to freak out my parents if they happened to pass by my door and would hear me talk to myself, I decided to draw the answer. I drew a pair of lips and then everything went black.

'Why didn't I write "kiss"? How stupid can I be? Maybe he will think the answer is "lips" or "mouth"? And why would he even listen to me? What if that was something important and I screwed it up?' I kept asking myself. I tried contacting him again, but the darkness was still there.

I decided to call it a night. I had too many things happen to me today. Only when I got into bed I realized how tired I was and how sore my muscles were. 'Not even working at the bathhouse didn't make me this tired' was the last thing that passed through my mind before slipping into a deep sleep.

The next day I woke up when my mom came to knock on my door.

"Are you ok, Chihiro?" came her muffled voice from the other side of the door.

"Huh? Yes, mom...I am ok. Why do you ask? And why don't you come in?" I said still half asleep.

Opening the door the started looking carefully at me.

"Why are you looking at me like that, mom?" I asked in a huff.

"Because it's almost noon" came her clipped answer.

"What?! You must be mistaken. I never sleep past eight o'clock" I said and shifted to take a look at the digital clock that was on my nightstand and saw that my mom wasn't lying. "Wow...I must have been really tired. I talked so much at the session and then ate a lot last night..."I said still sleepy.

"Don't worry. I'm glad you're feeling better. We will be ready to eat in about an hour. What would you want? Lunch or breakfast?" she asked in her usual motherly voice.

"I think I will eat lunch with you" I responded while I stretched.

"Very well. I'll let you get ready and we will wait for you downstairs" she said and left.

'I slept for 15 hours straight' I thought as I got out of bed.

After a long shower I cleaned my room and joined my parents downstairs for lunch.

"So what do you want to do in high school? What courses do you want to take?" my dad asked me as soon as we started to eat.

'So much for a quiet lunch' I thought to myself while pondering on the answer.

"I haven't thought about it, dad. I have time until Monday morning; I think I will decide then. Besides, there is only a couple of weeks left of the first semester. I will try to learn some of the things that my classmates have learned and then choose my classes for the second semester" I said hoping that this will satisfy my dad.

After lunch I returned to my room and tried to contact Haku again, but all I could see was blackness. 'I need to ask nurse Kishi on Monday about that. Maybe she knows something' I thought to myself.

Sensing an itch in my fingers I walked to my desk and started to look for a piece of paper to draw. I didn't really care if my mom and dad found out. I had to draw Haku before I forgot how he looked like or before I forgot how to do it. However I couldn't do it. This made me so mad that I wanted to smash something, but liking my room just as it was I decided to go for a walk in the neighborhood in hopes of calming down.

I ran downstairs and told my parents I was going for a walk and was out the door before they could even react. I walked for about 20 minutes until I found a very interesting building: the public library. I knew I would like it here. It wasn't very big, but still it had at least 50.000 volumes. I could see myself spend a lot of time here.

Stepping inside, I was greeted by the librarian. She was a very nice old lady. Her grey hair was pulled in a bun and she had the kindest eyes and smile ever imaginable.

"Hello, dear. How may I help you?" she asked in a very gentle voice.

"I was just walking and found myself in front of the library and thought to come in for a while" I said a little embarrassed about admitting the truth.

"We are very glad you came. I am Mrs. Fuciko. Feel free to look around" she responded with a gentle smile and returned to her desk.

I started going through the many rows of books. They were about Science, Mathematics, Calligraphy, Geology, arts, Music and many other subjects. But I didn't feel drawn to any of them. Then on the last row was a section that caught my attention: Geography. I picked up the first atlas of Japan and opened it at a random page. There, in front of me stood the name that haunted my dreams: Haku... As in Mount Haku.

'I wonder if this is where Haku gets his river' I thought to myself. After closing the book and saying goodbye to Mrs. Fuciko I went home with a new determination.

"I want to take Geography and environment classes in high school" I said as soon as I walked in.

This took my parents by surprise.

"Oh, my God! Thank goodness you are ok! We have been looking for you for two hours straight" they said and came to hug me.

"Sorry for that. I didn't mean to scare you. I found the library and I must have lost track of time" I responded with an apologetic tone.

"You left so sudden we thought you were upset. Tell us where you're going the next time you want to leave" mom said in a concerned voice.

"I promise I will" I said and hugged both again to reassure them that I was all right.

"Dinner is ready in about half an hour" mom told me going in the kitchen, after giving me a last visual check at arm's length.

"However, you are grounded for tomorrow" said dad and walked to the living room and I knew the discussion was over.

Sunday came and went really slow. I was only allowed down stairs to eat. The rest of the day was spent meditating. This time Lin and Kamaji were sleeping and I didn't had much to see, so I thought of whom else I wanted to see. I realized I haven't thought about Granny at all. For the first minute it was all black, but then the images started to form and I could see Zeniba in the kitchen preparing some kind of potion. I stood there and watched her mesmerized for about half an hour but this made somewhat sad.

'I can see Zeniba, who is muck more powerful than Haku, but not him? Why is that?' I kept asking myself throughout the day. 'There must be something wrong with me. Maybe I'm not concentrating hard enough to reach Haku.' I chanted and started to cry in frustration. 'This is the first thing I must ask dr. Sesimo tomorrow' I thought and curled on the bed for a nap until dinner.

The next day at almost 8 am I was standing in front of my new school: Fukumitsu Junior High. I was so tiny that the other students didn't even see me. The doors to the building opened and through them came out two people.

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Ogino. I am Mr. Suzuki. I am the school principal. We are very honored to have Chihiro come and study here" he said bowing to my parents and then to me. "I've heard great thing about you, Chihiro. I know it's a lot to take in, but we'll let you get settled for a couple of days. Also, for the first two weeks I asked your teachers to take 1 hour out of their schedules to have a private lesson with you to ensure that you understand the basics" he continued in a kind voice and it reminded me od dr. Fujimoto.

"Hello, Chihiro. I am Ms. Ama Watanabe. I will be your head teacher and your Geography teacher as well" said with a gentle smile the woman that stood beside Mr. Suzuki. She was in her mid 30s, has straw blonde hair that was braided in an intricate design and still reached her thighs, kind hazel eyes and the fairest skin. She was wearing a pale yellow summer dress that made her look like a goddess.

"Thank you both for the kind words. I think I will like it here. And I will definitely like Geography" I said and everyone started to chuckle.

After some more pleasantries we walked into the building and took the stairs to the first floor. We walked to the third door on the left and there on the door were written: CLASS 9A.

Ms. Watanabe opened the door and walked in followed by Mr. Suzuki and my parents. I stood a little behind waiting to be called in and I could hear Ms. Watanabe speak.

"Today we will be joined by another student. I know it is unusual to have students come in this late in the year, but she is very special. Last week she was in 5th grade." At this I could hear gasps from all around the classroom and whistles of admiration. 'Maybe it won't be so bad here' I thought as I heard Ms. Watanabe call for me to join them.

I walked in and everybody started to clap and cheer. This was a totally different reception than the one I got at my old school.

"Why don't you get settled here in the front, Chihiro, next to Yumi?" said Ms. Watanabe and I went to the place she pointed at. My parents took their leave and this is how I started my first day of high school.

"You are in luck, Chihiro. This is out Educational class. We discuss the things that happened in the week that has passed. If something happens to you in school this is the place ands time to share it. Nobody judges you and nobody will dare to pick on you because they will have to answer to me" said Ms. Watanabe with a fierce look but then she returned to her usual smiling face. "Would you like to share something with us so that your classmates get to know you better? I don't know how other classes are, but we are like a family. Everything you say is important and everybody is treated like a brother or a sister" she continued in a very gentle and soothing voice.

At fist I didn't want to speak, but hearing her kind words made me reconsider and I walked to the front of the class and started to talk.

"My name is Chihiro Ogino. I am almost eleven years old. moved here in the early September. I live in the Miza neighborhood and I like to draw" I said and received another round of applause.

I went back to my seat and Yumi, my desk mate, said: "I live in Miza neighborhood, too. We could walk home together if you like". She said this with a wide smile and kindness written all over her face. 'I think I will like Yumi. I have the feeling she will be the older sister I never had' I thought to myself.

After I introduced myself the rest of my classmates followed. They talked about problem with boys or girls, struggles with other subjects in school, problems with their parents. Nobody was scared to share their problems, but I decided to wait a little longer to tell them about the Spirit World. 'Maybe i will stay four years here. I like it" I thought to myself and let out a content smile.

A/N: I hope you liked this chapter and Chihiro's new chapter in life. Where will it take her? Follow the story to find out :)

And thank you once more for your support! It means a lot!