Prologue

I don't remember much about that fateful Monday morning, but here's what I do remember:

I was staring blankly up at the ceiling when my brother came out from nowhere and leaped onto my chest. It felt like a teddy bear had been thrown on me, that's how light he was. I hastily shut my eyes so he wouldn't know I was awake. This wasn't a typical Monday morning for me; It was the Monday my life was destined to change forever, and I wasn't eager to start it.

"Just a little longer," I remember thinking." Please, I want to stay in bed just a little longer."

"GOHAN!" My brother shouted, inching his mouth closer to my ear." Mom says it's my job to wake you and help you get ready for your first day of school!" Since shouting was doing nothing to spur me out of bed, my little brother placed his fingers just above my eyes and pushed up on the skin, forcing my eyes to open. Gosh, it was actually kind of painful now that I think about it...

Oh, huh? What was that Videl? You want to know what he looked like? Hmm. I know I must've been staring directly at him, but I can't remember his face. Oh, but I do remember his angelic laughter when I picked him up and spun him around the room like an airplane. He was grinning from ear to ear by the time I set him down, and I remember feeling less worried about the day. There was something reassuring about my brother's face that I felt...safe. I can't remember who, but my brother reminded me of someone else. I know, I know. I'm not making any sense am I?

Oh, my Mother? Let's see...I remember that she was even more worried than I was. After I took a shower and got dressed, I asked my brother what he thought of my outfit. He swung his legs off the bed and gave me a hasty thumbs up, announcing that breakfast was ready and ran out of the room. I fidgeted with my sleeves and smoothed out my shirt before joining my brother and mother at the table.

I can't describe to you what the room looked like, and I can't identify any landmarks outside the window either. The room was very white ,Videl, as white as the piece of paper you're writing on. Nothing else had a shape except for us and the table.

My mother had a loving voice and she was biting her lower lip when she wasn't expressing how she thought going to high school now might be a bad idea. Maybe I was a bad guy before, because she seemed to think I'd turn into a delinquent like my Dad's friends. Before you ask, no I don't remember his face either, and I don't know why he wasn't at the table with us that morning.

Eating my mother's breakfast made me feel so much better. All of my worries about fitting in at high school faded away. Suddenly, I was looking forward to telling my family about my adventures when I came home that day.

I told my mother and brother that I'd see them later as I gathered my book bag and bounded out the door.

I think mom shouted that she loved me, but I can't be sure.

I can't remember anything else. All I can remember after that is the light:

The light was warm, a shimmering silver, and more amazing the sun! Like lint being sucked up in a vacuum hose, I could feel myself being sucked into the light. It was guiding me to my next destination. I was no longer apart of this world, and I wasn't supposed to look back or run away from the light, but I did. The light vanished as quickly as it appeared, forsaking me to a world of darkness.

I ran through the dark in a panic, unsure if I could reach the world of the living again. I was probably breaking some otherworldly rules, but I didn't care. Even if it meant being sent to hell, I knew that I needed to do everything I could to return to Earth.

That's when I heard the shrill sounds of the sirens and found the red lights i had been searching for. Before I could register what had happened, I was sitting beside you in the ambulance, my hand going through yours like mist as I tried to hold you.

Laugh if you want, but you're in danger Videl. That's why I'm here: to protect you.

Oh, how do i plan on protecting you as a ghost? Oh, um, haha, I guess i haven't thought that out yet.