Chihiro, don't be sad, see you again 6

Chapter Six

When the excitement associated with the attempted murder of Chihiro and her parents died down, it turned out that some of those who obeyed Malvina were now eager to lead the remnants of the gang, but their desire remained just a desire. Haku returned to the classroom, and those who were beaten and insulted rallied around the boy and Chihiro. Gradually, peace and quiet returned to the classroom. No, the classmates did not forget anything, but, feeling the protection of Haku and the sincere care of Chihiro, the schoolchildren stopped being afraid. As I said, Malvina was now in a mental hospital, and her most ardent supporters were transferred from the Tiger School to a labor school, which was no better than a juvenile prison. However, as I said, the gang had recently numbered about 30 people, and these were not only Chihiro's classmates, but also girls from other classes. Sometimes, when Chihiro went to the cafeteria or to the self-study class, it seemed to her that the looks of the former gang members were burning right through her. Except for those cases when girls and boys had to be apart in class, Haku was always next to Chihiro. I tell you as if half a year had passed since Malvina tried to make an attempt on the lives of Chihiro and her family. But in reality, only two weeks had passed. After his return, Haku rarely expressed emotions, he was just there all the time. He was a caring boy and was always worried about Chihiro being fed and warm. When the sun was shining, Haku held an umbrella over Chihiro's head, when it was raining, he also held an umbrella over the girl's head, afraid that his friend would get wet. Haku talked about ordinary everyday things, and Chihiro supported this conversation, realizing that the real conversation was ahead. A week later, Haku disappeared, but fortunately, a day later, he returned again, and the boy's face was again worried. Chihiro asked several times what happened to the boy, Haku was silent for a long time, and Chihiro did not rush him. Finally, looking doubtfully at Chihiro, he still decided to have a serious conversation.

- Chihiro, - Haku showed the girl the basket, - shall we go on a picnic today? I will bring the basket with food, you will bring the blanket. We will sit on the blanket under the flowering tree, admire the water of the river and eat delicious things that are in my basket. - Okay, Haku, I agree, - the girl's cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were shining, - I love picnics so much, but I'm always afraid to go on such picnics with my parents. You know, my dad has a bad habit of taking food from the counter without permission.

- This is exactly what I want to talk to you about, - the boy said thoughtfully when they settled down under a flowering tree near the river.

- Okay, Haku, talk, I'm listening.

- What happened to you and your parents a few weeks ago was not an accident. I thought that by freezing your memory, I severed the thread that connected you to the magical park, but somehow the fate of the magical park is now connected to your fate.

- I've long suspected this, - Chihiro said quietly, putting her hand under a falling petal from the tree.

- Yes, that's right, if you were different, you wouldn't have been able to save your parents. You've grown up during this time, but you've remained just as brave and sensitive. Look, the weather has suddenly gotten worse, the wind has picked up. If you don't mind, let's pack our things and finish our food in that cafe that's at the beginning of the park.

- Haku, - Chihiro said cheerfully when they sat down at a table in the cafe, - do I need to go back to the magic park? Is it time?

- Yes, it's time, - Haku agreed, - you don't just need to, you have to go back to the park. Because the events in the real world, in this world of ours, and the events that happen in the magic park are interconnected.

- Do I need to tell my parents that I'm leaving?

- No, there's no problem with that. necessity. When the time comes to return, you will return at the same moment you left the real world for the magical one.

- Okay, Haku, I agree.

- Well, why don't you ask me what happened that made you need to return?

- I know. I saw Faceless in my dream, he was standing and crying near Jiniba's house.

- So, does that mean Faceless has already entered your dream?

- Is there anything bad about that?

- Yes. In the ghost park, everything is not as it seems.

- I have a question, - Chihiro looked trustingly at Haku.

- Ask your question. I promise to answer it.

- Haku, before we parted, you were planning to leave Yubaba's students, what prevented you from doing so?

- My mistake in the contract prevented me from doing so. Yubaba was not against parting with me, however, when she took out the contract, it turned out that I had made a mistake when signing my name, as you remember, this happened before we met and you revealed my real name to me. So Yubaba offered me this option: she offered me to extend the contract for another year, but this time I had to sign with my real name. I had no choice but to agree. However, Yubaba's attitude had changed, she could no longer push me around like before. In addition, the ghosts working in the bathhouse also began to treat me differently, but this was already thanks to you. The story of a living girl who fought with all her might for her parents excited the entire Magic World. You know, but you are very popular in the ghost park, and the glow of your popularity somehow fell on me. Sorry, I'm dragging my feet, I don't want to talk about the trouble that came to the Magic Park. But I have to.

But first, the backstory. Do you know who the Faceless One is?

- I don't know where he came from, I met him when he was already the way we know him. It so happened that I thought that he was cold outside, and let him into the bathhouse. Of course, I don't know who he is, but it seems to me that I feel him, there is some strange connection between us.

- Yes, the moment when the Faceless One appeared under the windows of the bathhouse is now fatal for the entire magic park.

- What do you mean? - the girl became alarmed. -

The magic park is in danger because I let the Faceless One into the bathhouse?

- No, it's a little different. The Faceless One is emptiness, he can be kind or evil, he can be generous or greedy, but by taking pity on the Faceless One, you became the source of his life. All this time, while you were away, Faceless behaved well, but as soon as you had problems with Malvina, Faceless went crazy.

In addition, there was the problem of the park's popularity. I told you that schoolchildren from all over Japan and not only Japan, one could say, children from five to sixteen years old from all over the world, poured into our country after the premiere of the anime to find this park. Their desire was so strong that Yubaba and Jiniba had a hard time maintaining the invisibility dome over the magical park. When the premiere fever ended, the popularity of the anime gradually began to decline. You know that anime is released in our country every day, they grow like mushrooms after rain. Some time passed, and the two main sorceresses of our park relaxed a little. The threat of exposure passed, but it was decided not to remove the invisibility dome. Trouble came from where it was least expected: as soon as you and your family began to have troubles, Faceless began to periodically grow to the sky and destroy the dome. It was like attacks. After the destruction, the Faceless One would shrink again and the next day he didn't remember anything. I'll tell you even more: for some reason, the Faceless One has the gift of foresight, his attacks began long before Malvina tried to beat you up. That's the situation in the park now.

- But, Mr. Haku, - Chihiro continued to smile, probably what Haku told her didn't seem out of the ordinary to her, - now everything is fine with me and my parents. Why does the Faceless One continue to harm the Magic Park?

- You know, the thing is this, - Haku suddenly stopped and began to listen anxiously, - the Faceless One does not belong to the Magic World, nor does he belong to the world of people, sometimes his motives are difficult to understand, even more difficult to calculate his steps and understand what he will do next.

- I wanted to ask you something for a long time, but I forgot, did Yubaba find the traitor?

— No, I didn't find one, and I think that such a traitor probably doesn't exist in the Magic Park. After returning to the human world, I reread many articles on the Internet and came to a certain conclusion. This conclusion is based on the words of the creator of our anime. Sometimes there is a special person among the scriptwriters. Most often, the team of scriptwriters does not start working until they find such a special person. This person has extrasensory abilities and picks up vibrations from another world. And then these vibrations are inserted into the script, turning them into letters. As the creator of the anime said, there was no ready script at the start of filming, the story was created on the go, ideas appeared as if out of thin air, and they were immediately written down. Do you understand what I'm talking about?

- No, I don't quite understand, - Chihiro timidly looked into Haku's eyes, - explain it to me more clearly.

- This means that there is no traitor in the magical land, information about the Magic Park was somehow drawn out of thin air by a special person who was on the scriptwriting team. Now do you understand?

- Yes. Now I understand. So what to do with the Faceless One? Why doesn't he want to return to his previous way of life?

- All the residents of the Magic Park are asking themselves this question now, but they can't find an answer. Therefore, Yubaba, with a heavy heart, gave me permission to go to the real world to explain the problem to you and persuade you to visit the Magic Park again. If I had a choice, I would forbid you to return. After returning, I will no longer be able to erase your memory. But, as you can see, I have no choice. The Faceless One's powers are growing. One day, when he fell into his strange state, he almost destroyed the railway. That is, the Faceless One can now move to the real world, and this is absolutely no good. In the magical world, everything that the Faceless One destroyed, the two sorceresses can immediately restore. But what is destroyed in the real world can no longer be restored.