My Fanfiction Spirited Away

My Fanfiction Spirited Away (haven't got a name yet)

Hi everyone :) Here's my fanfiction. It's so embarrassing having to put it here :'( It's around 2,400 words. Sorry, believe me, I already tried to cut some part off already = =" If you have time (and patience haha), please read it and please do leave me some comments, either positive or negative ones. I need someone to point out where I can improve (so don't be polite, just say it!)

By the way, at the beginning I said that I wanted to write about the first encounter between Yubaba and Haku, and Pear Jin suggested I could write a story about Yubaba and her baby too. This idea was very interesting so I planned to write about both Haku and Boh's (Yubaba's baby) stories. Unfortunately, I couldn't squeeze everything into a 1200-word fanfiction so there is only a story about Yubaba and her baby here :'(

“My baby!! Where is my baby!?!” A woman, dressed in deep blue clothes with a large glowing red ruby pinned on the middle of her collar, screamed in terror, breaking the silence of a peaceful morning.

“Calm down, Yubaba,” said another young woman in the room. “I saw Boh crawled outside. Maybe he just needed some fresh air” Raising her left hand, decorated with colourful jewel rings, she pointed out toward the partly open door without lifting here eyes from the sewing machine she was working with.

“YOU SAW MY BABY CRAWLING OUTSIDE AND YOU DIDN’T GRAB HIM!?!” shouted Yubaba. Lines and wrinkles on her face became more obvious as her face distorted with rage.

“Told you, he needed some fresh air. You can’t keep him locked up in this house all the time.” Her hands stopped moving now as she looked up to face her twin sister straight in the eye.

The two sisters stared at each other for a brief moment before Yubaba once again broke the silence. “It is not safe out there, Zeniba.” She spoke slowly, stressing each word as though to make sure they reach her only audience. “And you know that.”

The young woman merely shook her head when her twin sister rushed out the door. Yubaba’s hair that glistened in the early sunlight was ashy white. Zeniba caressed her long pony-tail unconsciously and sighed.

Unlike Yubaba’s, her hair was still jet black, as a girl this age should be. They had been exactly alike, like their own reflections in a mirror, before things changed. After that time, whenever Zeniba looked at her sister, she could only see the reflection of herself, in a hundred years to come.

***************

“Boh, sweetie, where are you? Sweetie…” Yubaba’s voice trailed off in despair. She had searched through their flower garden but her baby was nowhere to be seen. Doubtfully, Yubaba turned to the forest surrounding their house, not sure which way to go.

“Kohaku!” A thought came across her mind and she broke off into a run towards the faint sound of the flowing water.

***************

At the end of the forest where its edge met a sparkling river stood a white dragon with two golden-brown horns and an emerald mane. Her question poured out of her mouth as soon as Yubaba saw him.

“Kohaku, have you seen Boh?”

Before he could answer, Yubaba caught a glimpse of reddish liquid that merged with the tide near the river bank where she was standing. Shimmered by the gentle morning rays as it danced along the current, it created a beautiful ruby gleam. Yubaba’s eyes fixed on the crimson liquid as if she was in a trance. Then, her sense returning, she let out a high shriek and rushed up the river bend without further words with the white dragon.

***************

“Baby… my baby…” Yubaba murmured as she was running. Her memory flashed back to the first day of their encounter when the river brought the baby – covered in blood – into her arms. Each and every detail of what happened on that day was still fresh in her mind: how she ran madly to her house, holding the bleeding baby, how the warmth from him was fading away, how she desperately begged her sister to cure the baby, how she quietly refused saying he was dead.

“No, he’s still breathing!!” Yubaba recalled the conversation with her sister. “Save him…please, Zeniba.”

“He’ll stop soon enough, don’t worry. He isn’t meant to be here, nor live here.” She gave Yubaba a faint smile but there was sadness in her eyes, showing that it was not an easy decision for her as well.

“Please, Zeniba, we can’t have children and you know how much I’ve always wanted to have one,” pleaded the young Yubaba, her voice trembling. “Please save him, Zeniba, and I’ll never ask anything of you again.” She felt to her knees, sobbing silently.

The young sorceress examined her sister silently while contemplating the final decision. “I hope you know what you are asking for,” muttered Zeniba sternly. “And I hope you remember that this world has its rules. Whatever you get, you’ve to give something of equal value in return.”

“I know that.” Yubaba looked up, her eyes gleaming with hope.

Zeniba got to her feet and reached out for the ancient book from the shelf. The book of which she had been taking care for a long time while waiting for her sister’s power to awake. Written in it were thousands of spells that could magically grant everything it was asked for. She opened its black cover and flipped swiftly to the page she wanted before staring intently at her sister, trying for one last time to talk her out of it.

“I said you have to give something and I mean it. This is not gonna be like those times I cure a rabbit’s broken leg or a bird’s bleeding wing you brought back with you. You won’t just feel sick for a few days. It’s the life of this baby we’ll being back, and, even if I don’t know exactly what you’ve to pay, its price is gonna be extremely high. Are you sure?”

A determined smile spread across her flawless face “never been so sure, sis.”

“Well then, one last thing, Yubaba.” Zeniba’s voice flew with the gentle wind which began to blow stronger in their room. “It’s you I’m saving, not the baby, and I want you to remember that.”

***************

The last flashing light in the room vanished at the same time the whirling wind ceased. Yubaba was now holding a giggling baby tenderly in her arms with a beam on her face. Zeniba, on the other hand, was completely utterless, aghast by the appearance her own sister.

“Thanks a lot, Zeniba,” said Yubaba with the voice that even herself hardly recognised. Her sweet, soothing voice of an adolescent became hoarse like that of an old woman; Her silky black hair that had once resembled the colour of the darkest night sky turned ashy. It was as if all the youth had fled from her, left behind only wrinkles and lines on her face, proclaiming false days and nights she had never been through. “It’s alright, sis.” Silent tears ran down her cheeks but in her eyes shone the greatest happiness as though the utmost wish had been granted.

***************

A familiar cry from the green bushes nearby brought Yubaba back from the past. The old woman abruptly changed her path and pushed herself through the shrubs, only to find a little baby surrounded by a group of menacing Takuads – tiny monkey-like creatures with extremely sharp nails. They always hunted in group – to compensate their size – and often used their nails to make numerous cuts on their preys before patiently waiting for them to bleed to death.

There were visible wounds all over Boh’s body but none was fatal. As soon as he caught a glimpse of his mother, the baby tried to call her but his voice trailed away to be nothing more than a whisper. “Mama..”

“Sweetie!!!” screamed Yubaba, forcing her way to him, ignoring the enclosing Takuads. “Get away from my baby!” The aged woman, holding the baby tightly in her arms, whirled around and bellowed at the brutes which slightly drew back, obviously seemed to be taken aback by her sudden appearance and action. “GET LOST!!!”

Although she knew no magic, as her sister said she was not yet ready to learn them, there was bizarre energy floating in the air. The energy so intense and threatening that even the brutes like Takuads could sense it. After a moment of indecision, the confused Takuads reluctantly retreated. Not wasting any more time, Yubaba hurriedly headed back to her house where she knew her sister would be waiting.

***************

“Well done,” said Zeniba with a big smile on her face when she saw Yubaba entering the house. “I could even feel it awakening from here.”

Ignoring her sister’s praise, Yubaba held out her baby who was still crying from the bleeding wounds. “He’s not deadly injured like last time. Can you heal him?”

“Of course.” Her sister’s smile widened, handing the black cover book to her. “Even you can do it now.”

“Me?” asked Yubaba, astonished.

“Yes, I told you your power has awakened. You weren’t listening, were you?” Zeniba laughed merrily, her hand turning over pages to find the one she was looking for.

Looking nervously at the same antique book once brought back the baby’s life, Yubaba took a deep breath and began chanting the spell for the first time.

**************

“Here, sit down.” Zeniba offered her sister a chair after the baby chuckle filled the room once more. “I guess you’ll be feeling sick like this for a few days.” She closed the book and turned to place it back on the shelf.

“Thanks, Zeniba,” murmured Yubaba as she sat down. She was breathing heavily but her eyes fixed firmly on Zeniba, or rather the black book in her hand.

*************

The chilling night wind flew in from an open window and gently woke the young sorceress up. Zeniba stirred for a moment before springing out of the bed, feeling that something had terribly gone wrong. The room was eerily quiet and showed no sign of other lives apart from hers.

After lighting a candle, she quickly checked Yubaba’s bed and the baby’s cradle close by, both of which turned out to be empty. Zeniba swirled back, her eyes instinctively searched among the books on the shelf, looking for the only one she knew it was not there. Glancing swiftly around the room for the last time, Zeniba rushed out the door with a strong sick feeling in her stomach.

***************

The restless sound of the wave grew louder with the smell of the sea thicker in the air by every step she took. It had been a long walk from where she lived but Zeniba finally arrived. In front of her was a small bridge which connected the land and an enormous bathhouse. Although it was late at night, the lights inside the bathhouse were brightly lit and the white smoke was leaking out slowly from the windows.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” A familiar voice behind her broke the silence.

Zeniba looked back and stared at her sister for a long time before asking with noticeable pain in her voice. “Why are you doing this, Yubaba?”

“I put all the effort in making this bathhouse, and it’s indeed very beautiful, isn’t it?” Yubaba repeated the question while her eyes were still lingering on the bathhouse. Embraced by the darkness of the night, the building, painted in red, resembled a dazzling, gleaming ruby. “It’s gonna be his home from now. Boh will live here and I can be sure he’ll be safe.”

“You stole the book and came all the way here just because of this thing, Yubaba!?”

“Oh, yes! Here is your book.” The old sorceress handed the book back to Zeniba who grabbed it skeptically. “Thanks a lot though I know you didn’t want me to take it. I’ve already memorised all the spells so the book itself is of no use to me. Hope these spells will become handy someday.”

“It’s not gonna do him any good, Yubaba,” snapped Zeniba. The book was clutched tightly in her arms. “You just changed the place to lock him up from our house to this bathhouse. Yeah, I know I told you he doesn’t belong here and those who share our world will not welcome him. But this is definitely not the way to strengthen or protect him!”

“He doesn’t have to be strong, just be safe with me is enough.” Yubaba looked back at the bathhouse once more, this time with the profound sadness Zeniba had never seen in her sister’s eyes. “One thing I haven’t told you, sis.” Yubaba mumbled silently as if talking to herself. “The price I had to pay for this bathhouse; He got his home now, so I lost mine.”

“What do you mean, Yubaba?” The question slipped through Zeniba’s lips not louder than a whisper. The hand that was holding the book stiffened with alarming fear.

“I can’t stay here. I can't stay at our house, or anywhere else because I used my magic to give him his home. It's, like you say, something equal in return,” explained Yubaba slowly. “The bathhouse opens at night so I’ll be flying, wandering aimlessly in the daytime when everyone here is sleeping.”

“You’re out of your mind, Yubaba. I’ve always known you’re mad about this kid but I’d never thought you would go…this far…” Zeniba shook her head, not wanting to accept the truth.

“You’re right, sis. He’s the only thing I could ever wish for, and with everything I have, I’ll protect him,” admitted Yubaba silently.

“I know I can’t talk you out of it, but mark my words, Yubaba. This bathhouse will only harm Boh and you yourself, one way or another. I can feel something evil intensely from it.”

Though knowing that those words were spoken out of her sister’s anxiety, Yubaba merely smiled vaguely in return.

Far away to her right, where the sleepless sea touched the sky, a golden line began to form itself, softly, patiently across the horizon. The old sorceress observed it quietly before taking a step back from her sister, preparing herself for the very first flight.

“Zeniba, I don’t know what we’ll become and which roads we’ll take from now on,” sighed Yubaba. “But I’m sure that I’ll always make decisions for Boh’s sake, even if it means I’ve to threaten others, and maybe you’re not gonna like that.” Her words were softly spoken but a solemn warning could be clearly sensed. “I won’t like it but if you’re in my way to stop me someday, I’m afraid I’ll have to be hard on you, sis.”

“Don’t worry.” Zeniba grinned, waving away the uneasy feeling from her own sister. “Leave that for tomorrow to worry about and actually I think I kinda get use to it already. Isn’t that what you’ve been doing all this time, causing me endless troubles?”

Yubaba took another step back and a weak smile appeared on her face “By the way, you were pretty quick, sis. I didn’t expect you to be here so soon.”

“Well,” uttered Zeniba proudly, giving a heartfelt smile back in return. “I’m sure I could find you even if you crossed the line and entered the world beyond ours. We’re twins after all, aren’t we?”

*************

Arghh, finished editing at last! For those who read Pear jin's comment and is confused about what she said, she has been helping me to point out those confusing part in my fanfic and, with her very useful suggestions, I finally have an understandable ending haha. Thanks a lot, Pear jin! ;)

But if there's something that's not clear for you (any of you who are reading this), please please please do tell me. I'd highly appreciate that.

8 NOV: got Grace comment and edited again. I added only one sentence "Written in it were thousands of spells that could magically grant everything it was asked for." but I think it can explain what confused Grace. Thanks, Grace :)

Again if anyone finds any part confusing, please let me know. Thanks.