31_days | [23rd October][Spirited Away] The Girl Who Knew the River

Title: The Girl Who Knew the River
Day/Theme: 23rd October/"La primavera"
Series: Spirited Away
Character/Pairing: Haku/Chihiro, artist/model AU
Rating: PG-13/12

Nigihayami Kohaku

The Girl Who Knew the River

1999

Oil on canvas

43cm x 50cm

National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo

Nigihayami Kohaku:- (birthdate unknown, circa 1970- died 2001)

This highly secretive and reclusive artist was best-known for his landscapes, which often included conservational or mythological themes. His most famous work was “The Girl Who Knew the River”; a possible depiction of the Western legend of the Lily Maid of Astolat. Debate has raged for years over the identity of the model, the most common theory being that she is Nigihayami’s wife, Chihiro, who was a renowned environmental activist. She and Nigihayami drowned in a boating accident when she was 29. Neither of their bodies were ever recovered.

“Are you all right?” asked a voice, and Chihiro sat up shakily.

“I think so,” she said, putting her fingers to her head. There was no blood, so she accepted the hand held out to her and got to her feet. “What happened?”

“You slipped in the puddle,” said the stranger, nodding at something behind her. Chihiro made a face.

“You’d think these would have better grip,” she groused a little, lifting her foot to examine the sole of her trainer. She sighed at the worn rubber – she couldn’t really afford a new pair right now – and then looked closely at her assistant’s face. “Hey – you seem familiar…”

“We’ve met before,” he told her, smiling enigmatically. At her quizzical glance, he added, “It was at the conservation rally in Kyoto last month. You probably don’t remember.” Chihiro shook her head, feeling guilty, but he just chuckled a bit. “It doesn’t matter.”

“What’s your name?” Chihiro asked. He paused before he answered, as if reluctant to give her something so precious.

“Nigihayami Kohaku.” The familiarity of it settled on Chihiro’s shoulders like an old blanket freshly-washed, as if she’d known it all along and had merely forgotten.

“Ogino Chihiro,” she replied and they smiled at each other.

“Why did you ask me to model for you?” Chihiro stretched out on the sofa. Kohaku was sitting on a chair across from her, his attention half on her, half on his sketchpad. He was quiet for a long time.

“I don’t know,” he said finally. “Why did you agree?”

Chihiro eyed him thoughtfully, but didn’t challenge him on his evasiveness. Kohaku would tell her if he wanted her to know. Meanwhile – “You’re my friend,” she responded awkwardly. “I like you.” It wasn’t as if it weren’t true.

Kohaku nodded. “Yes.”

“I want to show you something,” Kohaku told her. They were sitting on the grass and his fingers were interlaced with hers, his thumb stroking circles on the back of her hand. The white water rushed along the river bottom several metres below them; here the current was very fast. “Will you trust me?”

“I trust you,” Chihiro assented. “What is it?”

“This,” Kohaku said, and leapt off the bank into the water, pulling her with him.

“I – ” Chihiro was gasping for breath. Water dripped from her hair, running in small rivulets down her face. She blew a strand out of her eyes, it came out like a splutter. “Kohaku – ”

“I am sorry,” Kohaku said formally, “if you were frightened.”

“I wasn’t scared.” Chihiro was shaking her head. “I mean, I was, but – Kohaku…”

Kohaku smiled, full of tenderness and love and badly-hidden relief. “Will you come and fly with me?”

Chihiro squeezed his hand; he had never let go, even when she had panicked, flailing. “Yes.”