Hello again everyone. First and foremost I would like to thank each and every person who reviewed this story.
Smalsa, DelSan13, Angelical Love, Jasmine-.-Momo-chan, Guest 1&2 and last but certainly not least ImaginaryInk (who btw happens to be my awesome beta, seriously guys some of the material you see here are her ideas so when you review me please thank her as well) and to those who read but did not review, I thank you all.
You all are truly amazing, seriously my heart skipped a beat every time I read your reviews and the fact that some of you followed the story just makes me feel so special. I really appreciate all of you and your reviews and I promise that I will give you all a great story.
On another note, I made a mistake with the timeline in the first chapter. The current year in the first chapter is NOT 1977, it is 1962, and takes place in the present/future (it'll make sense later I promise). Vegeta is 37 years old in the first chapter.
The current year in this chapter is 1935 and Vegeta is 10 years old, but not your average 10yr old of course. This chapter as well as the next few will take place from 1935 up until 1962. Don't worry there will be time gaps.
Anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter…enjoy!
***P.S. Don't let the title fool you!***
Strawberries, Milk & Honey
The chaser stopped a few feet from him, attaching the silencer onto his gun before cocking his weapon. Vegeta scooted backwards on the palm of his heels, his back hitting the wet brick wall. He was panting heavily, swallowing hard with every breath that he took. He glanced at the wall, his heart sinking at the fact that he was cornered with no way out. He turned back and fixed his teary eyes squarely on his executor, his mind racing and his lips quivering uncontrollably. This was it. His time was up. The hooded man raised his arm and pointed the gun at his head. Whispers of prayer resounded in the dark alleyway. He closed his eyes and accepted his fate. Tonight, he would leave this world and all of the pain behind him. His only regret was…was…was what?
Vegeta abruptly sat upright as he awoke from his nightmare drenched in a cold sweat, panting heavily as he clutched the front of his tee shirt, trying desperately to slow his accelerating heart. It was that nightmare again. He'd been having the same reoccurring nightmare ever since his mother showed up dead on their front door step two years ago, and as the nights went on, the nightmares felt more and more real. Vegeta started to ease his breathing as his heart rate began to slow down. He took in the familiar surroundings of his bedroom, causing his fear to slowly subside.
His room was dark, almost pitch black. The only lighting in his bedroom came from the moonlight shining through his window, dimly illuminating his entire bedroom. He'd never kept a nightlight like his mother wanted him to. Never needed it. He didn't have much in his bedroom, just a small bed against the far wall from across his bedroom door right underneath the only window in the room. He had a small wooden desk and chair next to his bed and a small closet next to his bedroom door with a light switch in between the two. The bedsprings squeaked as Vegeta swung his legs off of his bed, feet touching the floor as he removed the remaining bed sheets from the rest of his body. The creaks of the bedroom floor were the only sounds heard throughout the room as Vegeta padded across the wooden floor to his bedroom door to go down stairs for a midnight snack.
As Vegeta entered the kitchen, he started to ponder about his latest nightmare. It was the same nightmare, yet it was different somehow but he couldn't exactly place what was so different about this particular nightmare. Reoccurring nightmares wasn't something that was unfamiliar to Vegeta. He'd heard of many people having reoccurring dreams and nightmares but he'd never known that they could feel so real. Vegeta remembered the pang that he'd gotten in his chest when he woke up.
That was it!
That's what was different about this nightmare. He'd had that nightmare numerous times but never had he felt that heart-wrenching feeling that still lingered in his chest, even after he woke up from his nightmare. The feeling that he'd felt was something akin to…regret.
"But regret for what?" Vegeta asked himself getting confused as he continued to brood over the newest realization of his nightmare. There wasn't much that Vegeta regretted in his life save for the passing of his beloved mother. Yet he felt relieved every night knowing that his mother no longer suffered in this cruel world and that she had gone to a better place. For the most part Vegeta accepted everything else in life, be it good or bad, easy or tough, life was life. He knew he'd see his mother again one day and he had nothing else and no one else to live for, so there really was no reason for regret. Vegeta decided to leave that part alone for the time being.
Every time he would have that nightmare, it would always get more and more vivid. He couldn't actually see his attacker's face, but this time he was able to see the silhouette of a man, whereas before it was nothing but a black fog or a shadow of some kind. Vegeta chose to let it go for the moment as he rummaged through the icebox searching for something to eat before he went back to bed.
"Hmm, nothing to eat as usual." Vegeta snorted, as he slammed the door causing the entire icebox to wobble with its contents inside.
"What the hell is all of that racket down there boy?" Vegeta Sr. grumpily asked from over the upstairs railing as he was rudely awoken by all of the noise coming from the kitchen.
"Nothing. Go back to sleep old man!" Vegeta rudely yelled at his father.
"Listen here you little runt, if I have to come down there, you're gonna be very sorry!" His father warned.
"Yeah yeah, whatever pipe down." Vegeta snapped. "Bastard." He murmured that last part under his breath. The last thing he needed was a fight in the middle of the night with his father.
Vegeta heaved a sigh of relief as he heard the retreating footsteps of his father, as he muttered curses under his breath and reentered his bedroom, slamming the door in the process. He knew it was over…for the night at least.
Shaking his head Vegeta walked back to the icebox hoping that there was something he'd overlooked, that he could put together for a simple meal. Though Vegeta didn't really eat much the months after his mother's passing, he of course, like any other human being would eventually get hungry. Vegeta had to fend for himself as far as food and clothing went after his mother was murdered. His father was no help after all. He couldn't even put food on the table. Every day Vegeta would sneak extra food out from the cafeteria at his school during lunch time; and in the late evenings he would wait by the local diners and restaurants to take the leftovers that they would throw outback.
When he opened the icebox, the first thing that caught his eye that he didn't recall seeing the first time he opened it, was the milk. Vegeta furrowed his eyebrows.
"That wasn't there before. Was it?" Not bothering to dwell on it too long, he shrugged his shoulders, grabbing the milk in question and putting it on the counter for a drink. As he looked in the cupboard above the counter searching for a mug to use, he came across a jar of honey, which was strange because it was in the wrong cabinet. He took the jar of honey out of the cupboard wondering how it got inside the cupboard when an idea struck him.
Whenever he would have a nightmare and couldn't go back to sleep, his mother would always give him some warm milk with honey mixed in. Then she would rock him back and forth until he fell asleep eliminating his nightmares for the remainder of the night. Not wanting the memories of his mother to overwhelm him, Vegeta sighed as he poured the milk into a small pot to heat up. After a minute or so when the milk was warm enough, he poured the milk into his mug and added three tablespoons of honey, mixing it with the milk just like his mother did.
"Mmm, tastes just like the way Mother used to make it" Vegeta delightfully groaned out as the warm soothing liquid ran down the contours of his throat and into the pit of his stomach. In that very moment, a strong gush of wind blew through the kitchen window causing the window shutters to hit the back wall of the kitchen, violently.
"What the.." Vegeta gasped as he jumped out of his seat almost spilling his drink in the process.
"Who the hell opened the window?" Vegeta whispered to himself as the window shutters repeatedly beat against the back wall of the kitchen as the wind intensified.
"Close those goddamn shutters and stop making all that damn noise down there brat!" Vegeta Sr. shouted from his bedroom.
Vegeta didn't respond. He just did as he was told, still trying to figure out how the window got opened in the first place. As he approached the windows to close them shut, a strong scent of strawberries and honey wafted into the kitchen, invading Vegeta's senses. His eyes widened as he backpedaled to the kitchen counter. He would recognize that scent anywhere and as much as it should've made him made him feel better it made him feel much worse.
It was his mother.
He knew it had to be.
The milk showing up out of nowhere, the honey being in the cupboard instead of the cabinet next to the cupboard, the mysteriously opened window and now the smell of strawberries and honey.
It was all too much.
Vegeta didn't know if he was going crazy or imagining things. He loved his mother and missed her dearly but she was dead and there was no going back. The last thing he needed was her spirit haunting him.
Vegeta couldn't take it any longer.
"Stop it please! Just…GO AWAY!" Vegeta shouted at the top of his lungs as he lunged forward to shut the kitchen window, locking the window shutters.
"SHUT UP!" His father hollered from his bedroom, but Vegeta ignored him.
Taking in a gulps of air, he backed up to lean against the counter, his heart racing at an unusually accelerated pace. He slid down against the counter onto the kitchen floor on his hands and knees trying to control his breathing.
"Please Mother just…go…rest in peace, I beg of you." Vegeta quietly beseeched aloud. He truly did miss his mother's presence and wished that she was there with him every day, but she was in heaven now, where she was safe, where she belonged.
After a few moments, Vegeta's heart rate slowly dwindled back down to its normal pace. He sat back against the counter onto the kitchen floor to lessen the strain on his knees. He looked up at the kitchen table where he'd left his milk and honey. He reached up and grabbed the mug which was surprisingly still warm. He swallowed a few large gulps of his milk and honey hoping that it would calm his nerves down like it did for him earlier.
Minutes passed and Vegeta started to feel a sense of calm and relaxation take over his body. He knew his mother's remedy would work. It always did. Once he finished the rest of his milk and honey, he stood up and walked over to the sink, placing his dish inside. He decided to wash his mug in the morning since it was late, although his mother would have berated him for ever having placed any dish in the sink without washing it.
He gave the kitchen one last glance as he made his exit. Immediately upon returning into his bedroom, Vegeta suddenly felt extremely drowsy. As soon as his head hit the pillow he fell fast into a deep and dreamless sleep.
But not before the scent of strawberries and honey hit his senses one last time.
…and Vegeta never had that nightmare again.
Well, what did you guys think?
I know that there are some unanswered questions like who is the killer in Vegeta's dream and why would anyone want to kill him anyway, I mean he's only 10, but I promise that you will have the answers to all of your unanswered questions when Vegeta figures them out himself lol.
Next chapter Frieza makes his debut. Trust me guys it is not what you're going to think!
Bulma will appear very soon, I know I know but don't fret there is a reason for her delay remember patience is a virtue people.
Anyway until next time…please review.