WISTFUL BRACELET
A Fanfic by Kuroi Tenshi
Date: 9/30/01
Type: angst/a bit of humor (but not too much), and more angst.
Disclaimer: Hold no ownership of DBZ or its characters. Writing for entertaining purposes only. Has little/no money. Unwise to sue.
Comments: looked over to the empty chair, rendered in old, washed out oak, whose scratches could still be noticed in the moonlight. Her eyes turned to the spot on the table, worn out as well, and empty. Only the pale blue light danced on top of it, coming in from the window. The moon showed her face again, month after month, and reminded her of her loneliness.
Chichi couldn't her but sigh, and the sound echoed in the dark kitchen, still impregnated of sweet and delicious smells from the nights' previous dinner. In the other room, her two sons slept soundly. She half smiled as she thought about Gohan and his experiences in high school, which he had just stared just a few days ago. She could still remember when he was but a baby, so small yet so strong…and smart. Yes, she was damn proud of her oldest son.
And little Goten…as she thought of him, her heart felt a puncture, and she swallowed hard. He reminded her so much of his father. So alike, in so many ways: the laugh, the strength, the innocence…the appetite! She chuckled to herself, thinking it strange that he should be more like his father while Gohan turned to be more like his mother. Another sigh, and she wondered what it would have been like if she had had a daughter.
But as she looked out the window, and stared at the pale orb in the indigo sky, it was just one of the many scenarios that were left in the imagination, and her heart became sore again, from the pain and sorrow, from the long years of loneliness that came of being a widow of a man who had no other ambitions but to fight and eat. Pain from not ever knowing if it had all meant anything to him, or if he knew what the feeling was at all. She sometimes thought he never knew what love really was, at least not the kind of love shared between a husband and his wife.
It was true that they had procreated two sons, and so they had shared the most intimate of moments, but even at that time, she felt that the question was still left unanswered. Not out of denial, but out of ignorance. No, Goku didn't really know what loving a woman was. Really, the sex just was good to him, like eating was. Nothing more…
And so Chichi, in her dark kitchen smelling of curry and rice, sitting alone in the middle of the night, lightly stroking the spot where her late husband would sit and devour plate after plate of food, wondered, like she did night after night, why her husband never really got to love her.
"Um…Kaio-sama?"
"What is it now, Goku? I'm busy."
Goku eyed Kaio-sama (also known as King Kai) as he fixed one of the wheels of his new Rolls Royce. Bubbles and Gregory watched intently. Goku was growing desperate and so cleared his throat in order to get his attention.
"What? This better be good!" Kaio-sama barked.
"Well, I was wondering," Goku started, "If it was possible for me to return to earth for a little while."
Kaio-sama's eyes widened. "Whatever for?"
"Its kind of personal."
Kaio-sama's jaw dropped. Bubbles and Gregory mumbled in their respective voices. "Personal! I didn't know you held personal matters, Goku! What could be personal for you?"
"Please, it wont take long, I just need a few minutes. Pleeeaseee?" He made a cute doggy face, and Kaio-sama jumped back four feet in shock.
"All right, I'll talk to Baba about it. But I'm not promising anything."
"Woohoo!" Goku cried, jumping up and down. "Thanks a bunch, Kaio-sama!"
"Now Goku, watch out for the….NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Goku's face reddened as he looked at the mega dent he just made in Kaio-sama's new car.
It was getting very pathetic. Chichi walked around the kitchen, watching the shadows dance in the silence, broken only by her occasional sighs, and then she would sit, and sip on her tea, feeling miserable all over again. Last night had been a routine, but tonight she felt even worse. It was a special night, at least for her. No, correction, ONLY for her. It doesn't really count when only one of the people remember it.
But as she continued to self-destruct in her thoughts, she felt that it was time to really leave it all behind. Inside she really did feel stupid to think that maybe, just maybe, he might remember someday. But even if he did, what good would that be. Its not like he can tell her because he's DEAD.
The words spun in her head like mad bees, buzzing and unable to stop. Dead, and she never knew just how. Dead for the sake of their son, and while she truly didn't blame Gohan, she couldn't help feel so hollow after that. Nobody knew just how much Goku was a part of her, not even Goku himself.
"And if he knew, he wound understand what that means, anyways." She thought out loud, carefully suppressing the tears in her eyes.
"Understand what?"
She turned around to meet this voice that had broken her concentration. For a split second she wondered if she had just imagined it, but as she turned and looked, the hypothesis disappeared. What stood before her was simply too good to be true.
Her husband, Son Goku.
"Oh my…" her hands flew to her mouth. Goku stood right in front of her, smiling like usual.
"I know it's not much, but I did the best I could. Baba could only make me come back as a spirit. And only for a few minutes, but I figured its better than nothing." He quickly said, stepping closer to her.
Chichi gasped. She forgot that she had been trying to suppress the tears and they came rolling down her cheeks. She instinctively tried to hug him, but grabbed only air.
"Oh.." she sighed. "I see."
Goku stared at her. She obviously aged, but she remained beautiful, in his eyes. He smiled. Although he would have never thought of marrying this woman, he was glad it happened that way.
"I'm sorry, Chichi. For leaving you all alone."
Chichi felt her knees buckle under her weight, which felt twice as much, and slumped on the chair which used to be Goku's. She couldn't hold it any longer and began sobbing, burying her face in her arms.
"Chichi…" Goku began, walking over behind her. "Do you have that bead bracelet on you?"
Chichi's head suddenly lifted up. "Bracelet ? How do you know I have a bracelet?"
Goku chuckled. "You made the bracelet from the beads."
"How do you know about the beads? I never told anyone." Chichi replied, staring into the ethereal figure that was her husband.
"Each year, by the rose garden in the back yard, on this day, you find a crystal bead. And you made a bracelet out of it. I know, because I've been sending you the beads. " Goku explained, smiling.
"One for each year…" Chichi breathed, drawing back her sleeve, to reveal a delicate bracelet made of six clear beads, glistening in the moonlight.
"Oh my God, you remembered!" Chichi cried. Goku smiled widely and walked closer to her, standing right in front of her.
"I really wish I could have been here rather than sending you stuff, but at that time, it was all I could do. Besides, I was too busy training! You know, there's an entire world of fighters in the Other Realm, and I met this guy who is mega strong and…" Goku rambled on, and Chichi quickly turned to her usual temper.
"That's all you talk about! You're DEAD and you can't even stop thinking about fighting! I'm tired of your irresponsible behavior, blah, blah blah……!" Chichi's head fumed as she went back to being the hotheaded wife of a block-headed Saiyan. Goku lifted up his arms, clearly scared, even though he was already dead.
"Shh! Chichi, you'll wake up the boys!" he pleaded.
"Hmmph! So you remember you have SONS, do you!" she mumbled, turning her face away from him. Goku then exploded in laughter. It was as if he had never left, and they were just like in the old times.
"Oh Chichi, you have no idea…how much I've missed you." He sighed.
Chichi's eyes snapped open. "You…missed me?"
"Yeah, isn't that funny! Who would have thought I'd miss your constant yelling, your whacking me over the head, your fuming rants, your…"
Chichi's face began to redden as Goku went on and on about her wild temper. She was just about to smack him (if you could actually smack air), when she actually FELT his hand on her shoulder.
"…and the amazingly beautiful look on your face when we make love?" he punctuated the last line with a soft peck on her lips, making her gasp as she actually felt it. He took her hand and turned it palm side up, then placed on top a single crystal bead.
"One more year, in life and death, always. I love you, Chichi."
He hugged her tightly. She felt his body against hers, and wondered how that was possible. And she heard him whisper before he began to dissipate.
"My little dragon princess."
And as he breathed those words, he was gone. Chichi looked down at her hand. On her wrist dangled 7 beads, shimmering in the faint light. A smile crossed her face.
"I suppose I can make a wish now," she chuckled. Closing her eyes, she wished, and lastly, went to bed.
-owari.