Shae continued to look at Son Goku. He had an old dull looking blanket draped over him and his hair was messy and in his face. His clothes were old and torn. His face was covered in ash and he looked pale, as if he had not been in the sun in many years which Shae did not doubt.
Even thought Shae could not get over the fact that she got a response out of Son Goku, she could not bring herself to talk, afraid that she would cry. Looking at Son Goku's face she could tell that 22 years ago, this man was full of spirit, full of happiness, and full of nonstop fun. Seeing a spirit like that, broken, was heart wrenching for Shae. Whatever broke his spirit had brought him into seclusion, into silence, and into loneliness.
Shae had to get a hold of her emotions. She wanted to talk to him. Besides, she didn't have much time to begin with.
"Son Goku," she said again, as he continued to look at her, almost as if looking through her, recalling old memories.
Shae did not know where to begin. "That is your name, isn't it? Son Goku?" she asked him. "Tell me. Is it?" He continued staring at nothing. Again, there was silence. Shae waited. She didn't have time but she had to be patient. It was the only thing she could do. She knew that she would have to earn Son Goku's trust. This was the only way.
Son Goku brought his gaze back to Shae and nodded, almost reluctantly. But Shae could see eagerness there. Eager to be recognized. Finally. She wanted to let him know that everything would be ok. "I will get you out of here," she said to him. He looked away. Shae kept talking. "My name is Shae Eda. I'm a lawyer. I'm your lawyer. And I won't give up on you." She paused. "Please trust me. I won't give up. Because I know you haven't."
Silence.
Nothing.
Shae stood up and walked away from him. This was tough. She wanted to help Son Goku but it seemed that he did not want any of her help.
"I know you can talk," she said to him, "I want you to talk to me." The quietness was getting to her. Son Goku still wouldn't answer. "Tell me what's wrong; tell me the real reason why you're here. Tell me your secret." Shae knew that she was being a bit too pushy but she was getting frustrated. Maybe if she was open and honest with him, he would start talking. So Shae tried.
"Listen, I don't know why you don't want your freedom. But please understand that your freedom means everything to me. It means a lot to me. And to every little girl out there. My dad, before he died, he was also a lawyer. He fought for women's rights. And I want to continue his legacy. He kept fighting for it. But his work was left unfinished. I want to continue what he left. And now, after many years of hard work, I got my first case. But as everyone says, no one can win this case. They want me to lose. So that no woman can ever step into a man's world again. But I'm not about to lose. I won't fail my father and I won't fail my fellow women. I just need your help. That's it. Please talk to me. Please?"
Shae poured her soul out. She stared at Son Goku hoping for an answer. He did not even move. How was she going to get this man to talk? Then Shae thought of something she read on his case file. Part of the reason why he was in this cell.
"Well," she started, "Let's at least get something established. You're not from here, the Western Territory, are you? You're from the Eastern Territory."
Son Goku turned in her direction and nodded.
Talk dammit! Shae screamed in her head. Ok, calm down, Shae, she thought to herself. At least we're making progress.
"Can you tell me how you got here?" she asked him gently.
Silence. Not even a nod or a shake from his head. Shae didn't know what else to do, so she sat down across the cell from him. And the two of them sat there surrounded by silence. Shae decided to let her hour pass by waiting for Son Goku to talk to her. She hoped that he would.
Shae began humming to herself. Then, she sighed. She looked at the man across the cell. She liked his name and said it out loud.
"Son Goku."
And then she sat there in more silence. For how long, she didn't know.
"It's been awhile since I've been called that."
And just like that, Son Goku had spoken his first words in 22 years.
