A Forgotten Life

Chapter Twenty One

Being dead is weird. It wasn't anything like I thought. There wasn't the whole light at the end of the tunnel sort of thing. There was only darkness... And a strange fuzzy feeling...

There was no sense of time in the darkness. I could have been dead for thousands of years now, my friends and family lost to Majin Buu and Earth reduced to nothing but rock and space dust. Or, only seconds could have passed since Buu's energy beam took my life.

Funny... I didn't remember his blast actually hitting me... But it must've. How else would I be in the dark, fuzzy room?

More time passed... I think...

A thought struck me: If I was dead, why haven't I seen King Yemma like Daddy said he had? Was I... Was I in Hell? Maybe only the really good people saw King Yemma. The ones like Daddy and Gohan who've saved the world. Maybe I wasn't good enough...

All the bad things I've done in life swamped around me. All the times I didn't do my homework like Momma had told me to. Every time I had been mean to either of my brothers. Maybe it had meant I couldn't go to Heaven...

Relax. The word echoed not really around the room, but more like as if it had become the room. There was a nice, warm feeling attached to the word, like when a parent would comfort their child when he/she was upset. It made me feel happy and relax, as was the purpose.

You're not in Hell. You're merely waiting. More words... But who was saying them?

I am a Helper. I help souls like you who are waiting.

Waiting for what? I asked, feeling lethargic and calm, like right after you take a warm bath and you're about to fall asleep. Something that sounded like a laugh echoed around me instead of words. 

Well, just wait and see, the voice told me. Instead of feeling frustration like I would have if I were alive, I felt as if I were falling into a deep sleep...

...and was woken up suddenly, as if ice cold water had been thrust upon me. I gasped, my iced blue eyes flying open. I looked wildly around me, trying to make sense of my surroundings.

I was in a very large room, standing in front of a huge desk, which was occupied by an even larger man. He had pink skin and wore a neat suit. His hair was dark brown-black and the way he wore it reminded me of Grandpa.

"Rosamoona Hokusai," the large man said, his voice reverberating throughout the room. It was deep and powerful, holding what sounded like a touch of impatience.

Standing here before this man made me feel incredibly small. I took a small step back and cleared my throat.

"Y-yes?" My voice was as small as I felt.

"Daughter of Goku," the man continued as if I hadn't spoken. "Hmm... Sacrificed yourself so your friends and family could get away from Majin Buu... Not that that matters anymore." The last part was said with resentment.

My stomach lurched. Doesn't matter? What did he mean?

"Wh-what do you mean?" I asked. "Who are you?"

But once again the large man didn't answer my questions. Couldn't he hear me?

"Excuse me? Sir?" Still nothing. I frowned. What was going on here?

Still frowning, an idea popped into my head. Instead of pausing to think about it, I carried it out.

Bending my knees, I leaped onto the high desk, my bare feet lightly touching the wood as I landed, my tail helping to keep me steady.