Chapter 1: The Thief and The Witch

The cool spring air blew softly down a lush, green valley where a large group of small shacks resided. They were made of mud and clay with hay and weeds weaved together as roofs as well as large pieces of aluminum and metal on some of the homes. This is my village known as Chidori. Cherry blossom petals floated lazily along with the wind, making the poor, desperate place seem like a diamond in the rough. To me, though, the place was beautiful because essentially, it meant 'home'. A home that I was about to leave.

Certainly, it wasn't for my benefit that I was leaving. It was for the benefit of the entire village that I departed on this journey. This village was basically starving in the midst of their poverty, and I was going to get some help for them. I was on a search for the legendary Dragon Balls which, when together, would grant me any three wishes, I believed. That was what my grandmother had told my siblings and I when we were younger. So far, I had one. It was a beautiful golden color, gleaming in the sunlight. One star stared back at me on the surface of the ball. Only six more to go, I thought solemnly as I slung my patchy, itchy bag over my shoulder and left my stuffy house.

"Prana, be careful…" my sickly mother begged as she waved from her bed. She didn't want me to leave, but she also knew that I was the only that could. All of the grown males were needed to hunt and provide repairs, and I was the oldest female without a child.

"Don't worry, mom, have a little faith," I replied, giving her a bright smile.

She nodded as my younger brother, a skinny nine-year-old, dabbed her forehead with a wet clothe. My grin weakening as I slipped through the door, I took a deep breath to settle the butterflies in my stomach.

"Bye!" I called behind me as I set out through the village.

Once I collected all of the Dragon Balls, I would wish that my village would abundantly prosper. I knew that it was somewhat of a vague wish, but hopefully, Shenron would grant it.

I was wearing an old, patched-up gi that had belonged to my mother when she was my age. She was the one who had taught me how to fight, and now, I would be fighting for her because once I had collected the Dragon Balls, I would be able to simply wish her well.

The village was now a small speck behind me as I headed up towards the mountains. The next Dragon Ball would be difficult to find, but I was sure that it wouldn't be too hard. This one was pretty easy. I had been doing some katas in the woods one day, and it had simply caught my eye with it's shiny surface contrasting so greatly with the earthy tones surrounding it.

I looked at the one-starred ball again, entranced by the sheer beauty of it. I was determined that I would find the others, no matter the cost. Trudging up the difficult and rugged terrain, I discovered that the land only escalated from where I stood. I sucked in a deep breath and moved forward, focused and fearless.

I camped in a tight spot of trees, feeling much more secure than sleeping out in the open. It was completely dark, and all I had to eat was bread that I knew was going to go stale in just a few weeks- maybe even days. With a roughness unlike myself, I chewed on the tough bread. I refused to be intimidated by the impending darkness that seemed so ominous around me.

Slowly, I laid my head down and stared up at the stars. Up there somewhere, I saw a falling star, speeding through the night. Silently, I wished for something that could tell me where I would find the remaining Dragon Balls. Also, secretly, as I came to start doing recently, I wished for someone to care about me and someone for me to care about-in a different way than merely my family.

The next day, I trudged uphill again, and once I reached even ground, at around mid-morning, I discovered a dome-like house with smoke curling upward from the chimney. I walked quietly over to the front door, hoping for some help and food. As I knocked on the door, I thought silently about what I should say. However, the stop was in vain because no one answered. Feeling a bit anxious and irritated, I walked over to the narrow window and peeked within. It was filled with the beautiful scent of cooking, and not only that, I saw fruit sitting by the window. Something other than bread, I thought with a regrettable lust.

Another object that caught my eye was a round device with a green grid for a screen like some sort of radar. As I took one of the juicy round apples, I snagged the device as well. I pushed a red button experimentally, and the thing emitted a beep and turned on. My suspicions were correct- it was a radar. For what, though, I couldn't be sure. Taking another big bite of my stolen apple, I stared with confused eyes at the pulsing green screen before me. A yellow dot was in the center, and I wondered what that could mean.

"Who are you?" asked a cranky old voice.

Snapping my head up, I beheld a squat old lady with dry, grayish skin and frizzy gray hair. Her brows were furrowed with anger, and she gave off the appearance of a witch. Immediately, being the superstitious villager that I was, I jumped to my feet and dropped the apple, preparing for an escape.

As I swallowed the last bit of my apple, and stammered, "P-Prana… I-I was just hungry…" I did my best to look innocent.

"So you thought that you could take one of my apples?" She raised one eyebrow as her eyes fell on the small radar. "And my Dragon Radar?"

I took another step back and tripped into the grass. "So that's what this is…" I laughed nervously.

The witch-like lady paused for a second and smiled menacingly. "So, are you looking for the Dragon Balls as well?"

"Y-yeah, I have to help my village. We're very poor."

"I respect your noble reasons, but the way you went about doing it was wrong. So, I'm going to give you a blessing within a curse. I'm going to give you special powers of knowing when a Dragon Ball is near, but I'm going to lock you away in that one-star Dragon Ball that you have. You can come out to grant one wish to the one who's meant to have it," the woman whom I now knew was a witch said these words with a wicked air to her voice, and before I knew it, I was crammed inside the Dragon Ball.

Everything went black, and I couldn't hear my own heartbeat.