Vegeta was staring blankly out of the window. He felt an overwhelming sense of loneliness, as if he was about to cry. He knew he wouldn't, know. He couldn't-after all, super-saiyijins don't cry!
"Vegeta, what are you doing down there?"
It was Bulma in her nightdress. And no wonder, it was three o'clock in the
morning and he'd been wandering around for hours.
"Oh! It's you, woman!" He turned to see Bulma's sillouette. She approached him, for she instinctively knew something was wrong.
She smiled and said "Come to bed, Vegeta", as she gently took hold of his hand. He turned away fiercly, enough evidence to suggest to Bulma that something was definately up.
"I suppose you want me to tell you what's wrong", Vegeta turned to face her, his eyes full of tears waiting to stream down his face. She nodded.
"Well, on my home Planet Vegeta, when I was a young boy, I..." Vegeta froze as he realised he was telling someone something he had kept secret for many years.
"Carry on.." Bulma said, coaxing him along reassuringly.
"As I was saying, I had a friend. His name was...lucky!"
Bulma looked perplexed. "Lucky? I thought all you Saiyijins were named after Vegetables"
"Well, Lucky wasn't a saiyijin. He was a space dog. A creature that lived on my home planet. They were quite common pets actually!"
"So Lucky was a pet?"
"I guess so. But he was more than that. I cared for that little guy. I was only six years old when I saved it during a boulder shower. It, er, he was separated from his parents. I took him in"
Bulma couldn't believe what she was hearing. Somehow she just couldn't envision Vegeta as this kind, caring adolescent, saving the life of a mere space dog.
"From then on, lucky and I were...friends. We did everything together. Through the midst of all the problems and challenges I faced, I knew that I could always depend on Lucky".
"So what happened?" Bulma enquired, as led Vegeta to the sofa to sit down.
"My father. I never felt the need to tell him about Lucky, somehow I just knew he wouldn't approve. Although only now I finally see that having a companion is acceptable".
Bulma said: " What's not to approve of? The fact that you cared for someone?" Vegeta nodded.
"I remember my father telling me once: 'Compassion renders you weak and defenceless.' I wasn't exactly sure what it meant, know."
"And you believed that?"
"I didn't want to. I couldn't see how caring for someone could make you a weak person. Although I believed everything my father told me, I just couldn't bring myself to believe it. At that time Lucky was my best friend, and I didn't want to believe that having friends would prevent me from being as strong as I could be".
"I'm confused, Vegeta. How come you turned out to be..." She couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence, but Vegeta guessed what she was about to say.
"What? Just like my father?"
"What happened to Lucky?" She turned to look her husband directly in the eye."What happened to...Vegeta?"
Vegeta was hesitant. Was he really ready to talk about this? Least of all to that woman. What did she know about anything? However, he managed to shake these thoughts out of his mind as he began to continue.
"One night I was gazing out the window when I could see Lucky in the distance. I leapt from the window pane and onto the ground. I decided to take Lucky away and play. I wanted to get away for a while. I was sick of palace life, my fathers idealistic attitude and his beliefs! So Lucky and I travelled quite far, and that night I slept underneath the stars.
Well, that night, there was a storm. Not the kind of storms you have here on Earth. An endless barrage of rain, rocks and sand fell relentlessly that could quite literally blow you away. Although I was in my mind, a strong Saiyijin prince, I realised I wasn't strong enough against the elements. I clung onto Lucky, shivering and cold".
"So, how did you overcome the storm?" By now Bulma was on the edge of her seat.
"My father had realised I was missing and, although convinced that I could survive the storm, grew concerned and searched for me. I wasn't too far away, but by the time he reached me, I was in a bad way.
I awoke the next morning to find that the storm was over, and that I had survived. Then I remembered-Lucky was still out there! I flew over to where Lucky must be, and searched for him. I then spotted a lifeless creature on the floor with open wounds and matted fur-Lucky!
I put my head to his chest, but there were no signs of life...and..."
Bulma was shocked to see a lone tear stream down Vegeta's face. The prince of all Saiyijins-crying?
"Lucky was dead. I suddenly felt lost, alone. I also found myself thinking that if someone I cared about had died, leaving me feel scared and vulnerable, then maybe my father was right".
"That isn't true, Vegeta. It helps to surround yourself with people you care about-not shut yourself away! You know what I think? I think that having a friend like Lucky can made you a stronger person. You probably would never have survived that storm if it weren't for Lucky".
Vegeta thought for a moment. Perhaps the woman was right! He stood up and again found himself gazing out of that window, thinking about Lucky. Lucky, the friend who was gone-but not forgotton!