Son Chi-Chi,

This is probably the last time I'll ever get to tell you how much I love you. I couldn't live with myself if I didn't try to express it. I know I haven't been there for you over the years. I'm not good at counting, but I think we were married 34 years ago. And, looking back, I wasn't there as much as I should have been. I was gone for a year when I died fighting Raditz, then I was gone for over a year when I went to Namek. I was dead for seven years after the Cell Games, and after spending a great ten years with you, I left to train Uub, which took five years. I left Earth to get the black star dragon balls, which was almost a whole year, and then not even a year later, I had to leave one last time. So that's 15 years we've been married that I wasn't with you.

I always thought I was doing the right thing. I thought I had to leave to keep you and everyone on Earth safe. I see now that I was wrong, Chi-Chi. If I could go back and change what I did, I would, so I could have been with you more. So I could have been with Gohan and Goten more. I wish I could have seen Pan grow, and I wish I could see where their lives take them. But I don't think I'm coming back for a real long time. Shenron said he's taking me away for at least a hundred years. I'm not sure where we're going or what we're going to do, but I had to go. It was the only way to bring everyone back that was killed.

I'm not dead, so if that's anything for you to be happy about, I hope it helps. I don't think I'll be able to visit you, but I'll try to watch over you. I want to be there with you, but I can't be. I'm so mad at myself, Chi-Chi! I shouldn't have left you the way I did all those times. But I can't take it back and make it right. I want more than anything to redo it all and make the right choices this time.

Don't be sad, Chi-Chi. Maybe we'll see each other again someday in Otherworld. Then we really can be together forever. That's all I want, Chi-Chi. You always told me you wanted a happy family, and I did about everything to mess that up for you. I wasn't there. I didn't even meet Goten until he was seven years old. And I left you over and over. Will you ever forgive me? I know I messed up real bad. I should have seen it earlier, but I was too dumb to see I wasn't making the right choices. I could have been with you so many more years than I was. Maybe if I had done something different I would be with you now.

I'm trying not to be sad about leaving this time. I think I'm going to get to train with Shenron and I'll get to see the universe and maybe even other dimensions. We might go to Otherworld and all over. I don't know what's going to happen, but I bet it'll be exciting. I'm not going to forget you, Chi-Chi, but I don't want to be sad. I know you'll be okay without me. There's so much I want to tell you. Things I should have told you when I had the chance. I should have told you how much I love you and how grateful I was for everything. You worked so hard to make food and school the boys and keep the house clean and everything. You're the best wife in the world. I want you to know that. I wish I knew it before.

I don't know how much you'll hate me for leaving you again, and I'm not coming back this time. I bet you want to slap me or yell at me, and I don't blame you. Gosh, I've given you so many reasons to hate me and you never did. Yeah, you yelled a lot whenever I came home after being gone a long time, but you always told me you loved me anyway. I see now you were only mad because I was stupid and hurt you. I'll never be able to make it up to you, and that's what I hate the most about going away with Shenron.

But at the same time I'm happy to go. I'm so tired, Chi-Chi. I don't know how many battles I've fought to save the Earth, but I'm tired of it. Someone else can take over. Vegeta's almost as strong as I am now, and Uub, Goten, Gohan, Trunks, and Pan are all really strong too. I'm sure they'll be able to handle anything that comes, so I'm not worried. You'll be okay. Everyone will be okay.

Tell the kids I love them and I'm proud of them. I hope I'll be able to see them again someday, even if it's in Otherworld. And tell them I'm sorry I had to leave so fast I didn't get to say goodbye. I don't know if they'll understand. Maybe they'll be mad at me too. If they are, they have the right to be. I left them like I left you. It was stupid and wrong. I'm so sorry, Chi-Chi. My biggest regret is not being with you longer.

I want you to be happy. Maybe I can never make you happy the way you wanted, but please don't be sad about me going. I do care about you and I love you so much. I love you all. I'm the one who screwed up. So don't think it's your fault I'm gone, alright? I know you blame yourself a lot, but don't. It was never your fault. It's mine. I'll be with you in spirit wherever you go, Chi-Chi. Don't ever forget that.

Yours forever,
Goku

…

Chi-Chi son folded up the letter along its worn creases and held it close to her heart, a single tear trickling down her wrinkled cheek. So many years ago he left her. She had hoped he was wrong, that he would come back one last time so she could see him before she died. But that hope was gone. She smoothed the loose white hairs back from her face and lay down in bed, the letter still held near her heart. Goku's last words to her. She didn't know how the letter reached her, but she found it on her pillow not long after Goku disappeared with Shenron. And she had read it many times every day since then. She still smiled at the child-like handwriting, but her heart felt heavy as loneliness overwhelmed her. He said he would be with her, but she couldn't feel his presence. She didn't believe he really watched over her. He was probably too busy training wherever he was.

She wasn't bitter about it, not anymore. It didn't take her long to get over his last disappearance. In a way, she didn't care anymore. That was just Goku and she had to accept it. She was weary from grieving over the years. She wasn't happy about him being gone, and she would never truly feel at peace in his absence, but she wasn't upset anymore. What was there to be upset about? This was the life of Son Chi-Chi. Abandoned, deserted, neglected, ignored, forgotten. Her children and grandchildren almost never stopped by for a visit and her husband had been gone for over thirty years. She considered herself a widow even if he technically wasn't dead this time. He may as well have been.

Her heart was weak; she knew it wouldn't be long before she was finally welcomed in death's silent embrace. She had been dead before once. Not for very long, but long enough to know it wasn't so bad being dead. She would be judged by King Yemma and then she would be sent either to heaven or hell. And, since she was sent to heaven last time, she didn't fear her judgment. Maybe there she could finally find true happiness. She could finally be content and at peace. Goku wouldn't be there, but she wouldn't be alone. Her father would be there, and in time so would her sons and daughters-in-law and grandchildren. She would be surrounded by her family for eternity, living their afterlife in joy. No more worries, no more burdens, no more pain.

Chi-Chi pulled her hand-sewn quilt up to her chin, hiding from the cold, and turned onto her side to face away from the vacant half of her bed. The half that had been empty for many, many years. She had a fulfilling enough life, she figured. She had two successful sons who now had their own families. Her grandchildren were growing up and starting families of their own, and she had one beautiful great-granddaughter. She did well for having to raise her boys as a single mother half the time. Over the years she learned to put away her complaints. Goku might never know she had forgiven him, but it lightened her heart when she did. She could never hate her dear husband. She loved him, and she would continue to love him for eternity.

It wasn't long before Chi-Chi fell asleep, the letter now tucked safely under her pillow where she kept it every night. She had it memorized. Every word, every scribble, crease, and fold committed to memory. The paper was yellowed and soft from wear, but she still read it. Again and again she read it. And each time she did, it was as if a small part of her husband was with her for a moment, holding her in his strong arms, kissing her forehead, shielding her from the harsh world.

That night Chi-Chi passed on to Otherworld. Instead of waking up in her cold, dark bedroom, she opened her eyes to find herself in a long line of spirits waiting to see King Yemma. The welcome station was far away, but the line was moving quickly and soon she would stand in front of his enormous desk and be sent above or below. She looked around at all the amber-colored clouds surrounding the pathway, wondering where in Otherworld her husband was. Assuming he was in Otherworld. Maybe he wasn't. She would probably never know. Even if he was, he wouldn't be in heaven. He'd be with King Kai or Grand Kai or whoever, probably.

Only fifteen minutes later she found herself at the foot of the desk, looking up at the giant god who would either damn her or grant her entry to heaven. His rubber stamp slammed down on the paper, presumably a record of her life.

"Above."

Her heart leaped with relief. Though she had never thought she would be condemned to hell, there was always the chance. She had been such an angry, terrible wife and mother at times. Contemptuous, fretful, overbearing, and argumentative. But she did it with the best intention, always wanting the best for her family. All she wanted was for them to have good lives, even if she would never have one herself.

Chi-Chi nodded her thanks to King Yemma and went to her right where she saw an ogre directing her to go. She went through the door to the plane that would take her to heaven, the same one she had ridden many years ago when she was killed by Majin Buu. She paused, gasping, when she saw someone she hadn't expecting standing under the plane, a goofy grin spread across his ever-youthful face and a bouquet of flowers held in his hand.

"Goku?" she whispered. For a brief moment she felt rage burning in her chest, but it almost immediately disappeared. There was no sense being angry anymore. What was done in the past could not be helped, and there was no sense screaming and yelling about it now. Rather than focusing on the hurt he caused her over the years, she decided to focus only on the happiness he brought her.

"It's me, Chi," he said, walking up to her and handing her the flowers. She was surprised when she could hold them in her hand. She wasn't quite corporeal, but she had form now, not just a white cloud of spirit. Her hands looked so smooth, her knuckles no longer swollen with arthritis, her skin pale as porcelain and clear of liver spots.

"But how?"

He laughed, rubbing the back of his head. The same gesture she had seen countless times before. So simple, so childish, something she missed horribly and hadn't realized it. "I felt it when you came to Otherworld. So I used instant transmission to get here. I wanted to see you before you went to heaven."

"Oh, Goku!" Chi-Chi dropped the flowers he'd given her and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him so tightly she might have killed him if he were mortal.

"I guess you're not mad at me?"

She sniffled, fighting back the tears of joy so she could see her husband clearly. She smiled, then laughed at the absurdity of his question. "Why would I be mad at you?"

He decided not to press the issue; instead, he wrapped his arms around her slim waist and held her close, burying his face in her silky black hair. "I love you, Chi-Chi."

"I love you too, Goku." She kissed him softly. "Don't you ever leave me again. Please?"

He smiled and rested his forehead against hers. "I promise, Chich. I'll be with you forever." Could she believe him? Experience told her no, but his eyes told her yes. She finally let the tears fall as she kissed him again.