I don't own these characters or profit from them.

When Marnie Was There: The Last Secret

By, Clayton Overstreet (based on the Ghibli movie)

Time is a funny thing. Scientists and mystics will both tell you that it does not exist. That people only see it as one thing happening after another because it is easier, but that the whole thing is just in your head to make things easier. The same for space.

For Anna returning to her aunt and uncle's house was like she had never left. Even though she was now an old woman and her relatives were long dead. The house had sat empty since the Oiwas had died. Their children had not been interested in the old house, only too happy to leave the countryside for the big city, so they had left it to Anna who had spent so many happy summers there. Nobody had complained and after they passed their children had never even been there. A shame for them, she thought, but Anna had been happy to know the place was hers and was waiting for her, even when she had been too busy to come back.

When he had driven her out to the old place her son, Yama, had looked at the place with distain. There was dust everywhere and a tree growing through the floor of her uncle's old workshop and through the roof. "This place is a dump. Mother please, I'd really prefer it if you went back to the hospital…"

Anna laughed. "For what dear? So I can lie in a bed and listen to the doctors count down every minute until I die? I'd rather it be a surprise." He frowned. "Oh don't make that face. I've had my years… even if I can't remember half of them at this point." The old woman patted her son's shoulder. "Please, just respect my wishes. I've always planned to come back here to die. I count myself lucky that I lived long enough to do it."

"I just don't feel right leaving you here like this, alone."

"My dear, I could never be alone here. And you have your job and your family. Truthfully whatever happens I want you to remember me the way I was. Imagine if I end up looking all twisted and blue like the victims of some horror movie monster?" She shaped her hand into a claw and roller her eyes back, pulling her jaw to the side and sticking out her tongue while making choking sounds.

"Mom…" He said caught between sadness and a snicker.

She grinned, flashing her dentures at him. "Now you be a good boy. The neighbors around here will keep an eye on me and when the time comes the coroner or the police will call you and you can just sign all the papers and the next time you see me I'll be all prettied up in my coffin."

Tears came to Yama's eyes, falling down his brown cheeks. "Oh mom…"

"Now don't cry boy," she said sternly. He threw his arms around her in a careful hug and she smiled, patting his head. "There now. You heard the doctors. It'll only be a few weeks. I always did enjoy sitting quietly and letting time pass. Did I ever tell you about my old friend Toichi? He used to go out on this lake and…"

"And he'd take you with him and let you sit in he boat and just watch the world go by, sometimes with your friends. I know mom."

She smiled as he stepped back. "I've always loved this place more than anything."

"I know mom," he said. "To tell the truth I think that's why Sayaka and I…"

She nodded. "I know dear." She shook her head. "I wish I could have given the two of you more of myself. That I could share my secrets with you. I just…"

"Don't say that," he told her. "We understood… most of the time."

"I suppose family always disappoints in one way or another," she said. "It comes from expectations. Remember those violin lessons Sayaka insisted on?"

Despite his obvious sadness he laughed. "I did try."

"It sounded like you were trying to strangle a cat," she said, smiling as he blushed red. "You never even got to do a recital at school, let alone join an orchestra."

"I liked soccer better anyway," he said. "You're sure you don't want me to stay here with you? I can take the time off work."

"Oh no you don't boy," she said haughtily. "You promised your granddaughter that you would take her to Disneyworld this year and I won't have you cutting off her trip because you sat around watching an old lady die. Maybe if you set up a betting pool… I'd wager my life insurance check on next Thursday…"

"Mom…" He paused looking out the window. "That'd odd…"

Anna turned and followed his gaze to the burned out ruins across the lake. "What?"

"For a second I thought... it looked like the mansion was still there…" He shook his head. "It must have been a trick of the light."

Cackling she hugged him again and shooed him out, knowing that if she did not kick him out he would never leave. She watched as he reluctantly got into the car. When he did not turn on the engine she grabbed a tomato off of her aunt's vines. They were growing wild and it was a little thing, but it made a serviceable projectile as it bounced off his passenger side window. "Beat it brat, before I have the cops come and haul you off my property!" Laughing he started the cat and waved goodbye before he finally drove away. She watched him as he went down the curvy road until he was out of sight.

She enjoyed the silence for a moment and then went about unpacking. She went back to the room she normally stayed in when she was younger, rather than her aunt and uncle's bedroom. Then she started working on cleaning the house. It was a lot of hard work for an old woman, but two days later the place shone.

When she finished Anna took her computer tablet and a fold up chair. She hobbled along the shortcut path down to the road and then the shore by the marsh. Her muscles ached from all the cleaning. On the way she imagined what it would be like if she had some sort of magic moving house or was a magician, so that she could have gotten it all done easier. It would have been great if her old body was just a disguise, the result of some spell, and at any moment she would shed it and be young again.

Sitting by the water she remembered when she was younger. The marsh looked the same, but now she knew she could never trudge her way through it, even at low tide, and reach the mansion even if the building still stood. Seeing it gone she felt her heart ache a little. Sayaka had been suffering from dementia since she had turned sixty. What had once been little niggling doubts about their relationship had turned into full blown paranoia. She had not known the whole story, but she had known that the part of Anna that she had never been able to touch had been connected to the old mansion and the diary still hidden there. She had apologized later, not sure what had come over her, but by then it was too late and the mansion had burned. There was no police trouble, since it was her property and they never even tried to claim the insurance, but that act had tainted their last few years together. Watching Sayaka's slow degradation was part of why Anna never wanted her family to see her go the same way.

Sitting on the shore she thought over the twenty-three years that had passed since then. She absently took a picture of the lake with her tablet and then began to draw in the mansion, the view fresh in her mind. She had regretfully given up pencils and paint brushes years before. Arthritis and just old age aches had taken some of the dexterity from her hands even with all modern science could do, but fortunately there were applications that allowed her to continue drawing. In some ways bringing to life her ideas even better than her hands had ever been able to.

She was just adding in a blond figure in a night dress to one blue painted window when a voice behind her said, "Is that me?"

Startled Anna stood up and turned. "Marnie?"

"Of course silly," the blond said. "Don't tell me you forgot about me."

"Not once," Anna said softly. She hesitated, afraid that if she moved Marnie would vanish like a soap bubble, but then she rushed forward, pulling her into a tight hug. "I missed you so much."

Marnie hugged her back. "I missed you too. What's it been, a whole year since you were here?"

Anna let go and stepped back. She was about to dispute that, but then she just smiled. "Something like that."

"I was surprised when you just appeared," Marnie said absently. "Take a look at what this nice old lady is drawing." Confused Anna looked around. She did see an old woman, sitting nearby in a fold up lawn chair, a glowing tablet on her lap. It took her a moment to realize that it was her. Looking down Anna gasped, seeing that she was young again. Also that as she stood near the water, it lapped at and then through her feet. "I think she's fallen asleep. Look at the grin on her face. She must be having a good dream. Do you know her?"

Anna was going to point out that the old lady in the chair was not breathing. Then she took Marnie's hand. "She's just some body. Come on, let's go for a walk and talk and let her rest in peace."

"Sure, I'd like that. Tell me all about where you've been."

They walked along the edge of the water. The sun was setting and the tide was high. Anna was enjoying the feeling as she moved. All the little aches and pains… even the ones she had when she was young… were gone. She knew that she could walk forever now, especially with Marnie's hand in hers. "I don't know where to begin…"

"Just tell me everything," Marnie said.

"I went back to school… I came out here every summer until I graduated. I went to a special cooking school in France and in my free time I took art classes. When I graduated I got a job for a cruise line. I went to America and worked on a river boat and later got to work on one of those around the world cruises. On my vacations I came back here and Sayaka… the girl whose family bought your old house and remodeled it… asked me out on a date. We hit it off, wrote a lot, and she eventually booked passage on my ship. Eventually we got married…"

"Girls can do that now?' Marnie asked, sounding jealous.

Anna nodded. "Yeah. In most places except the ones where the men are real jerks about it. Even there most people aren't too bad about it. I don't think anyone's been thrown in jail or executed in years… if ever… It's perfectly acceptable everywhere else." Anna saw the frown on her face and bumped Marnie's shoulder. "Don't look like that. I remember when I saw you and grandpa Kazuhiko dancing at that party and when he took you away from the silo. And when you told me you'd never loved another girl as much as you loved me. You've been in love with other people too."

"I know," she said, blushing prettily.

"You and Kisako?" Anna asked. "I remember how she talked about you and the mansion. Plus since your diary never mentioned me, I'm guessing she was the flower girl you danced with the first time around."

"When we were younger," Marnie admitted. "Things were… different back then. You can't imagine what would have been considered acceptable as punishment for such a thing. And Kazuhiko was always such a kind boy. I loved him dearly and… that was simply the way it had to be."

"I know," Anna said. "my point is, history is history and you have always been the woman I loved most. Sorry about your house. Sayaka… near the end… I never told our secret but some things people who love you can just tell. Even my son would get jealous when I spoke of this place and thought of you."

"Son?"

"I adopted. Seemed only fair. Like you once told me adoptive parents choose their children. I loved him and raised him as best I could."

"I didn't mean for our secret to separate you from people you cared about," Marnie said a little sadly.

"I know."

"Speaking of relationships you know that I'm… I was your…"

"You're Marnie," Anna said. "My first love. That's all we knew then. That's all that matters now." She saw Marnie's shoulders relax a bit. Then she looked out on the lake. "Is that Toichi?" They saw a familiar boat out on the lake. The occupant waved at them. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Being out on the marsh always was his idea of heaven."

Marnie squeezed her hand. "So what else did you do?"

"Saw the whole world," Anna said. "Went to every continent, quite a few countries. When I was not cooking I drew. A few years back I even published a book of them, picking out my favorites. Lots of people wrote me, asking who the pretty blond was, if I'd made her up or if she was someone I knew."

Marnie giggled. "And what did you say?"

"I said, yes," she said and they both laughed.

Marnie said, "I heard somewhere that if you create something with all your heart it can have a soul."

"I've heard that too. You know if you'll come with me, I'd like to show you the world. I was hoping you'd be here waiting when I…" She hesitated, glancing back down the shore in the direction where the old woman's body was cooling in the twilight. "…got back."

"In a way I think maybe I was always waiting for you," Marnie said. "But you know I can't go too far from…"

"I think you can," Anna interrupted. "If you come with me. I've spoken with a few people who know a think or two about the subject and some people… they get stuck in their memories. The good and the bad. It can take a lot to snap them free, but if you can then they can move on…"

"I did… you did that for me. I suppose it's funny, but afterwards the only regret tying me here was you. I'm not blaming you for anything, but… I love you do much."

"I love you too. We can go Marnie. We can see Europe, Australia, the rest of Japan, China, the Americas… I think we should definitely visit the Winchester mansion. I could spend a thousand years showing you. We can start at this city I know not too far from here. A witch who lives there has a delivery service where she flies packages around on her broom. She'd been in business for ten years when I met them on a cruise once after I retired and went on a trip without having to work. Her wife… I think her name was Ursula… is an amazing artist herself. We traded notes."

"Sounds perfect," Marnie said. "I'd like to see that. And when we've seen it all or if we just need a break I can show you a few places in the spirit world. I know a great bathhouse run by this old lady witch where spirits go to relax. I know a forest spirit that looks sort of like a cross between a cat and a bus who can take us any time."

"Neat…" They came to the ruins of the mansion. Looking back she realized that they must have walked across the water. It reminded her of how Marnie had once left her that boat, only to be waiting for her when she rowed across the lake. Looking back she and Marnie froze. People were waiting for them.

There was Anna's foster mother and father, Emily her real mother next to her father, her aunt and uncle, and Sayaka. Near them were Marnie's mother and father, Kisako, and a few other people they had known and cared for over the years. It took a moment to realize they were standing in a bright light, not in the material world at all. A voice spoke and Kazuhiko was there. "Are you ready to go?"

The world seemed to freeze, but then Anna put her arm around Marnie. It was longer and a quick look showed that they were both older now. Not the old women they had died as, but in the prime of life, just in the middle of their twenties. Both women looked at one another, startled and amazed that even though they had thought it impossible, both clearly thought the other was even more beautiful than before. Turning back to their waiting loved ones Anna shook her head. "We're not ready yet." She saw Sayaka, who too had been returned to the flower of youth. She had traded in her glasses for contacts when they were younger and being dead did not need them, but was wearing them anyway. Sayaka looked resigned, but also hurt and Anna felt her heart twist as if grabbed by a fist. Nevertheless she held Marnie close and the two of them stepped back.

Their family nodded and a moment later is was as if they had never been there.

Marnie chewed her lip. "Was that the right choice?" Anna leaned in and kissed her. Time passed. Maybe moments. Maybe years before they broke apart. "Yeah, this is the right choice.

Across the lake officials had been called. People were gawking as they loaded the peaceful form of the old woman into an ambulance. It was a full moon and one young girl in the crowd looked across the water where among the burned out ruins of the old mansion, where kids dared each other to go to see ghosts, she saw two beautiful women holding hands and staring out across the water. Then they slammed the ambulance door closed and she blinked. The women were gone and she was not even sure she had seen them in the first place.

The end of the beginning.

Author's Note

Okay I just saw When Marnie Was There like an hour before I wrote this. Here is a lot of debate online about whether this is a story of friendship or a romance between two young girls. I have not read the book this movie is based on, but having seen it, I can't even begin to imagine why anyone would think that Marnie and Anna were not in love. Friends don't get jealous when they see their friend dancing with a boy. Friends don't feel a desperate need to keep their relationship secret. Friends don't blush when their friends dance with them. And friends really don't keep declaring how much they love each other over and over again. It's like in the Wizard of Oz books when Dorothy and Ozma keep spending a lot of time together holding hands and kissing… not to mention that whole "Come to my room." scene. Anyone who thinks those two aren't in love is blind, deaf, and possibly so deep in denial that they need to keep an eye out for crocodiles and Egyptian water craft.

Now I know the arguments. One that they're young. However that didn't stop the other girls their age discussing boys in the movie.

Two that Marnie turned out to be her grandmother. First off, Ana at least was unaware of this and it's hard to say if Marnie knew either. That whole ghost time loop thing… trust me years of research and parapsychologists are still iffy about the whole thing. Then again they're the same age when they meet and I have two words for you that sum up how this works in anime: Tenchi Masaki.

Plus it's not like some people throughout history have not kept relationships in the family and they're both girls so it's not like reproducing is a problem. And they barely knew each other as relatives. Even Marnie's daughter barely considered Marnie her mother.

And let's face it. You cannot watch the movie, especially with the original Japanese dialogue in the subtitles, without seeing that they are in love. Real, stars in the eye I can forgive you anything, love. True Marnie married, but that was her best friend and in a time when two women being openly together was unthinkable (despite the face that 90% of the most famous female film stars of the black and white movie era in Hollywood were sleeping together…) whatever they might do in private.

All that aside I have here the judging form for Stalking, the most popular sport in anime, for Marnie, the rules of which are available either on Fanfiction . net or in my book "How to Be an Anime Character" available from . (Note: The rules are slightly flexible based on situations)

Judging Form

Stalker/s: Marnie

Target/s: Anna

Reason/s for Stalking: Familial bond and girl crush

Event/s: Skulking/Speed Stalking

Points on a scale of 1-10 and why:

Duration: 6 points Unknown specific time due to time dilation effects and ghostly weirdness. But from the moment the target came on the scene to the end of the movie.

Cost: 10 points Used up every last bit of ghostly power and risked pissing off evil guardians and embarrassing herself in front of friends and family.

Danger: 3 points. Already dead, in a time loop, and has a backup boyfriend. Still snuck out and risked wrath of mean hair brush lady and getting locked in her room.

Effort: 5 Points Coming back from the afterlife and setting up a magical boat ride.

Revelation: 10 points Set up a rowboat and candle, brought her in on a moonlit night to tell Anna that she has been watching and loves her. Caused love at first site and went off perfectly.

Style: 9 points. Not bad, but deducting 1 point for freaking out in the silo and reverting back to the previous time period when it was her boyfriend instead of Anna with her. Added points for appearing in her dreams without seeming needy.

Monologue: 6 Points. Bit of a whiner.

Surprise: 7 Points Surprise picnic, plus the ghost stuff. Still a bit predictable and a few involuntary vanishings.

Information: 8 Points Knew where Anna lived, with whom, how long she'd been there, and a few other things despite being trapped at her mansion. Was also able to use it to her advantage and even set up a boat to get Anna to her.

Achievement: 10 Points Won the heart of the girl she loved. Shook Anna out of her funk. Told said girl how she felt about her. Had fun doing it.

Bonus Points: 3 points for coming back from the dead and breaking free of her time loop to do all of this and being willing to let Anna move on rather than haunt her for her whole life like some ghosts.

Total: 77 points Stalker Rank Class: Upper B

B-Class: 61 – 80 points

This level does not so much seek out their Target, but once the Target comes into the same area as they are it is all they can think about and the Stalker will drop almost everything else in exchange for their goal involving the Target. It may be a rival, enemy, love interest, or all of the above. Once the Target is identified they will obsess over every aspect of the Target and the Target's movements until the event that brought them together ends and they go their separate ways. When not in the Target's area they may occasionally think of them, but the Stalker has their own life/afterlife to live once the Target is out of range. If the target returns though they will immediately focus on them again.