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Dear Diary,
Everything’s gone. Everyone’s gone. It’s like the whole world has gone silent. I’d never realised how loud everyone’s minds were, even from all the way up here in the Northern Wastes. Now it’s totally silent. For the first time it’s just me in my own head.
Well. Me and Tien.
He’s gone out. I don’t know where. He said he needed to get some supplies. He didn’t specify what exactly. He probably has to scrounge for food. Or find some firewood. Or to bury the bodies of our friends.
They must be dead. They’re silent too. Goku’s exuberance, Vegeta’s pride, Krillin’s humour, Piccolo’s confidence, Gohan’s excitement, Yamcha’s cockiness. Even Dende’s quiet kindness. It’s all gone. I don’t
I can’t
Dear Diary,
Sorry I broke off so sharply last time. It all got a bit much for me. I’m sure you understand.
Tien is still out. I think he must be burying our friends. We’ve been scattered all over the world for so long. It’ll take him time to find everyone and make sure they’re respectful. Hopefully the animals haven’t
Anyway. It’s been maybe three months since the ‘event’. I guess that’s what we need to call it. I don’t know the details. The sky went black and then red. Everyone’s minds called out and then fell silent. It was the worst thing. Like. It hurt. It hurt so, so much. I can’t find the
Oh Tien’s back. I’ll let you know what he found.
Dear Diary,
Dende’s alive! Tien found Dende! He bought him back here and he’s safe with us now! I’m so excited. I was so happy to see him I couldn’t stop flying around for hours. Tien isn’t excited. He’s been very still and solemn and quiet. He doesn’t talk a lot anymore. It’s kind of scary. But I suppose I can understand why. It’s been a hard few months.
Dende is very quiet too. He’s lost in his grief I think. He told us that Piccolo left to save Gohan. But he never came back. Dende has been hiding out on the Lookout ever since, using his Kami powers to see what is happening on the surface. We asked, but he won’t tell us. Or can’t. He just keeps repeating the words “They’re dead, they’re all dead” over and over again until I had to take him to bed. Tien couldn’t. He was
Tien’s gone out again. I wish he would talk to me. I wish he’d let me come with him. I could help. I could take it.
I’d be okay.
Dear Diary,
I don’t know why I bother writing to you.
No one’s listening. No one cares.
Dear Diary,
Please forgive me for being so rude last time. I was just scared, I guess.
Tien came back. I sat him down and had strong words with him. It’s the first time we’ve really fought in a long time. What better time than the end of the world? He’s agreed that he’ll tell me what he’s been seeing out there. But not today. Hopefully tomorrow. He needs to sleep first, ruminate on it. Find the words. Dende said he’ll try to help. He’s still grieving, even more than Tien and I are. Everyone on earth is gone. He loved them all. They were all his people. And he watched them die.
Hopefully they can tell me after some sleep.
Dear Diary,
Apparently it’s like a zombie thing? Or a parasite? People have had the life crushed from them and now they’re coming back. They’re walking around. Tien has been finding our friends and…and killing them. Again. He tried talking to them at first. Tried to bring them back here, to safety. But they tried to kill him. They tried to bite him. He had to kill them, he said. They would have killed him if he hadn’t, he said.
But he couldn’t meet my eyes.
Dende backed him up on it though. So I suppose I can believe it.
It hurts. Thinking about our friends.
I had to go outside. I watched the sunset from the roof of the cabin. The clouds were low. The whole sky lit up red, like fire. Or blood. The mountains around our cabin looked like knives. Tien came and sat beside me. I couldn’t say anything. He put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me into his lap and held me while I cried. I’d needed to cry. I’ve been trying so hard to be strong. I’d forgotten to decompress.
Tien always knows. What to say. What to do. How to help. He’s a really good friend.
Dear Diary,
Tien has gone out again. He’s going to try to find Vegeta and Bulma now. Even though he promised I could come out next time I’ve decided it’s not a good idea. I’m going to stay here to take care of Dende. He’s become flat (I guess?) since Tien admitted to killing the others. Killing Piccolo. He won’t get out of bed. He won’t drink anything. I need to pull him out of bed and force him to drink.
I’m really worried about him. I don’t know how much longer he’s going to last if I’m the only one here to keep him alive.
He doesn’t want to live. That’s the problem. How can I fix that? Even when all of the Namekians were killed by Frieza and Vegeta, he wanted to live. How am I supposed to bring his heart back? His soul? I’m only me. I don’t have that power.
Dear Diary,
They’re around us. All around us. People. Demons. I don’t know how they found us. They’ve surrounded our cabin. Tien never came home. Dende is still too shocked and apathetic to help. He’s been lying in bed all day. It’s up to me. I’m going to get rid of them all.
I’ll be back when I can.
In the meantime, if you find this...
I love you, Tien. You’re my best friend, always.