Sixty year old Japanese film-maker, Hayao Miyazaki, is at his cabin in Japan. His cabin–deep in the woods and far from civilization–is the place where he usually goes to, which he would be doing a lot of since he announced his retirement not too long ago. The sun is just rising, bathing him and everything else around him in golden rays of light. He is sitting on a wooden bench on the deck with his old boxer dog, Kamaji, sleeping on his lap. He leans back as a cold gust of wind rushes past him, causing his ear-length gray hair to fly over his glasses and tickle his wrinkled forehead. The air is cold, meaning that it is almost winter. The trees all around his cabin are almost completely bare, nearly free from all their leaves, making the trees look old and frail. There is no sound, except for his dog’s snoring. This is just what a man his age needs. It is quiet. It is peaceful. It is utterly boring.

        He takes a deep breath of the fresh, clean air only nature could produce and wishes that it is the air-conditioned air of his office at his movie studio, Studio Ghibli. He shakes his head and reminds himself that he must not think about work. That is all behind him now.

        He scratches behind Kamaji’s ear, feeling the short coarse fur scratch his fingers in return. The dog, who is snoring loudly in his sleep, groans in response, upset that he is disturbed from his sleep. His dog, who once possessed endless energy, never used to be this tired all of the time. He continues to pet the dog, watching as his hand moves up and down the short brown fur. His hand is wrinkled and scattered with age spots. The joints are stiff and some of the nerves can clearly be seen as intricate patterns on the back of his hand. His hands, which were once young and smooth, are now victims of age. Just like he and Kamaji are. “I guess we’re both getting too old, huh boy?” he asks the dog and only gets a loud snore in response.

        He feels another cold gust of wind and sees the dry, yellowing leaves that are on the trees begin to fall off. He watches as the leaves fall, joining their companions on the ground. The wind is merciless, taking the leaves who dared to stay beyond their time. The seasons are changing–the leaves that were once young and green are now dying and falling to make room for the new leaves. But there is one leaf that does not fall. The wind was hitting it repeatedly but the leaf struggles to stay on its branch. “Stubborn little thing,” he said. “You shouldn’t fight so hard.” He knows the wind would take its victim and the leaf would fall eventually.

        A loud noise takes his attention away from the leaf, and he looks toward the dirt road that is near his cabin and sees a car coming toward him, leaving a trail of dust behind it. Kamaji jumps off the bench and begins to bark loudly at the newcomers, his short tail wagging rapidly. The noise from the car and his dog shatters the silence that seems to grow around him. It is refreshing.

        He stands up to welcome the people who are getting out of the car, remembering that a friend and his family were coming to visit. Kamaji is jumping up to lick their faces, his tail still wagging a mile a minute. He watches as his friend calls repeatedly for someone that is still in the car, and only after that name is called five times does the person come out. It is a girl who looks to be about ten years old. He watches as the girl walks slowly up the steps, goes to the same bench he was sitting on, and hugs her knees to her chest. Her brown hair is brought up in a loose ponytail causing loose strands of hair to nearly cover her eyes. She seems to be indifferent to everything around her, even as her parents scold her for not listening. But as Kamaji jumps on the bench and starts to lick her face, he can see her smile a little and pet the dog’s head. He stares at this girl in interest and knows there is something more to her, he can feel it.

        Ideas immediately begin to form in his mind. He begins to think about making a story about a girl just like her. A story about a girl whose tremendous strength is revealed as she overcomes tremendous obstacles. He knows this girl could be just like that if she just let herself be. He stops himself from thinking any further, reminding himself that he is retired. But he looks at his old dog, who is acting like a puppy again and then at the leaf, and he smiles. The old leaf is still determined not to fall, and he knows it would fall sooner or later, but not yet.

note: This was a descriptive essay I wrote for my English class. It is a fictional telling of how Miyazaki might have been inspired to make "Spirited Away." While him meeting the girl at his cabin was true, the rest was all made up.