A Forgotten Life

Chapter Twenty One

"Hey! Can you hear me?" I asked loudly, crouching slightly to look at his face, which was almost quite literally in a book.

Jumping, the man looked as if he'd seen a ghost. Which, actually, I guess is kinda accurate. His coal black eyes were filled with surprise, followed closely with frustration.

"Yes, Miss. Hokusai, I can hear you."

"You can?" I wondered, blinking and standing up straight. "Well how come you didn't answer me?" Even though I had been scared of this strange man a few moments ago, there was something about him up close that made the fear go away. Probably because of my earlier observation: he reminded me somewhat of Grandpa.

"Because believe it or not, you are not the first soul I've seen this past week. Nor will you be the last, since the whole planet was just killed. As for who I am, King Yemma is what you may call me. Now, my nerves are wearing very thin and I would appreciate it immensely if you would please get off my desk."

I blinked again, his words sinking in. "The... The whole planet is dead...?" I felt tears well up in my eyes. "All of them? Momma and Daddy? Goten, Trunks and the others? They're all... Dead?"

King Yemma makes a face, one that says he hadn't meant to tell me that. But it was too late now.

"How long has it been?! How long have I been dead?! Is there anyone left to fight Buu?!" 

"Please, Rosamoona, just calm down." King Yemma made a gesture with his hand, as if he wanted me to walk closer to him. But I stood where I was, hands clenched into fists. I wasn't going anywhere until I found out what was going on.

"If you just step off the desk, we can talk about this kindly," a voice to the said. My eyes widened and I gasped. Twirling around I saw a short man with skin what was nearly the same shade as King Yemma's. He had glasses over dark colored eyes, the same color as the hair that lay on his head.

"It's you! You're the one from that dark room! What are you doing here?!"

"I've already told you; I'm a Helper. I help to move along souls, like yourself, who've died. I calm them if they get upset, just like I did with you," he explained in the same calm voice as earlier. There was a slight smile on his face, and I had a feeling he wore it often.

"Dinji is one of the many servants that see to all the souls while I judge them," Yemma said. "He's the one what put you in that 'dark room'."

"But why?" I asked. "Are the others like that?"

"Yes, they are. We did that to everyone. It's an easier way to keep them all calm while they wait. Less fights, less pushing and shoving. Now, if you'll come down off the desk, we'll explain more to you," Dinji told me. His calming voice passed through me, relaxing my tense muscles. Nodding, I jumped back down, landing on the floor I had been standing on.

"Now, the first thing you should know is that-" 

Dinji was interrupted by a warm gust of wind followed directly by a loud buzzing noise. When it was passed, I felt different. More... whole? I looked down at my body, but saw nothing different. Confused, I looked back up at the Helper.

"What just happened?" I asked. He smiled, like always.

"Looks like someone wants you back to the land of the living," Dinji replied. "You and the rest of the planet." He pointed behind me. Turning around, I saw the source of the loud buzzing was hundreds and hundreds of voices talking at once. And that was just what my ears could hear. After the silence of the dark room and then here with only a few people talking, all this seemed almost overwhelming.