Information
Dragon
Ball New Generation
The Xiol Saga
Chapter
38 - On Earth
It
was a beautiful Monday morning. Sunny weather, and a cool
breeze lifted through the city. Gokou was up and early
that morning. He had things to do today, and now being 10
years older meant more than going to school and playing chase
with your friends.
"Gokou! Are you awake? I've got to leave for
work soon, so make sure you lock up the house alright?!"
Gokou sighed as he got dressed and combed his hair.
"I'm awake Pastri! I'll lock up."
"Okay then. Make sure you come help me later today.
Its suppose to be a busy day."
"Yeah."
Gokou heard the door open and close. Pastri and Gokou
still resided in their Grandmother's home, but nothing has
changed between them. Cousins still look out for each
other. He turned to a photo frame sitting on his desk.
Smiling, he waved goodbye to the picture.
"Wish me luck Grandma."
A quick power breakfast helped the young man, aged 18 1/2, ready
for the strenuous morning. He bolted out the door before
realizing he forgot his port folio. Gokou ran quickly, and
by that I mean quickly, to a large building in the city. Looking
up at the skyscraper, he entered with care. There sat a
woman behind the desk, and he approached her.
"Excuse me, I have an appointment with Fujiwara-san at
9.30am."
The woman searched through her books and nodded.
"You're one of 20 people who are applying for this
job."
"I am?"
"Yes you are. I don't want to frighten you, but these
are professionals you're up against."
Gokou nodded and took a seat. When he was called in, he
took careful consideration at what he was doing, trying not to
trip over. The man behind the timber table searched
through Gokou's portfolio. He turned pages over and over,
and compared them to others. This made Gokou nervous and
he began picking his nails. He decided to enter the work
force straight after high school, and it didn't bother
him. This Grandmother and cousin told him he was a
natural, so he shouldn't be worried right?
The man placed the folio down and took a good stare at Gokou,
before asking him why he wants the job.
"It my passion. I love it, and it allows me to see
more of the inside, than the outside of things."
After several more questions, the man beamed in delight.
"How old are you?"
"I'm only 18 1/2"
"18? I don't believe it. You're work is the
best I've seen. Far better than the other
applicants. Usually I would get back to everyone, but I
think I won't find any better than you."
"Do you mean-"
"Yes my young boy," the man stood up and shook Gokou's
hand, "You've got the job."
Gokou was surprised, and he couldn't wait to tell Pastri, his
Grandmother and his friends.
"You know this job will be quite demanding. At the
moment, we are behind schedule with the pictures of the next
magazine. I need you to start straight away. I need
the pictures by the end of today. Can you manage
that?"
Gokou nodded.
"Of course I can. Its all part of being a landscape
photographer."
***
Pastri
was working hard when Gokou returned with the good
news.
"I'm happy for you Gokou-kun. Because you start
today, I can't ask for you're help anymore."
"Sorry Pastri." Gokou told her.
"It doesn't matter. I can manage. This cafe is
so busy now I think I'm going to have to hire more
workers."
Gokou smiled and drank the milkshake Pastri gave to him, free,
for getting his job on the first go.
"I told you you were a natural."
The boy blushed, when the door signaled a customer coming
in. He turned around to see Vegeta holding a large
bag.
"Hey Vegeta!"
The spiky haired young man smiled and began walking up when a
couple of girls sitting nearby stopped him.
"Excuse me, are you doing Medical Science, Research and
Intelligence?"
"Yeah."
The girl turned to her friends.
"I told you so."
She faced Vegeta again.
"You're the son of the Capsule Corporation president
right?"
"Yeah."
Her smile grew bigger, and so did her friends.
"And tell me you're single!"
Vegeta just stared at them, and was about to walke off when she
grabbed his arm again. She handed him a piece of paper.
"Call me okay?"
Vegeta smiled, walked off and shook his head. He sat on a
stool next to Gokou and asked Pastri for a nice cold Coca-Cola.
"Busy again eh?" Pastri asked.
The boy nodded, and threw the piece of paper away in the waste
basket. He sighed and rolled his his sleeves.
"Its always busy. I just had a whole morning of
university, and I'm famished."
"I guess I'll get the usual for you and Gokou huh?
You both look like you could do with a big lunch. Guess
what?"
"What?"
"Gokou got himself a job this morning. He's a
landscape photographer for a nature magazine business."
Vegeta congratulated him, and turned to Pastri.
"So it looks like your cafe is doing real well."
"It is isn't it. Honestly I wasn't sure it was going
to work, but I'm lucky I went ahead with it. The Son Cafe
is successful!"
They laughed, and began eating lunch. Gokou explained to
them that he was suppose to take some real nice landscape photos
of gardens for the front page.
"The topic this month is about wild flowers and
gardens."
"In this city? Where would you go?" Pastri
asked.
"Lucky I can fly eh?" Gokou laughed, "But I think
I might try the city botanic gardens."
"Why there?"
"I don't know. Something different? Surprise
me!" and with that Gokou left.
When
he reached the gardens, he brought out his professional camera
which his Grandmother brought for him. Gokou walked
everywhere, but couldn't find a suitable place to take photos
of. He wanted perfect photos for the magazine. After
all, it was his first time. After seeing a path leading
into the inner area of the gardens, he walked in, admiring the
views. What he saw was spectacular! Nature never
looked so pretty.
Gokou adjusted his camera and took some snapshots before taking
his final shot for the main page.
Snap! went the shutter.
After taking the photo, he realized someone was in the
picture. Someone was sitting close to the trees in the
distance. Gokou approached the person, going to ask them
to move for a minute. He tapped their shoulder.
"Excuse me. I'm going to take a photo, so is it okay
if you move out of the scene for a moment?"
The person didn't bother turning around, and continued holding a
paintbrush.
"I'm sorry, but you're in the area where I'm
painting. Can you move for a moment?"
Gokou shrugged and stepped back, not realizing the sarcasm of
the question. Gokou repeated himself, and the person
repeated her sarcastic answer. It was getting later, and
Gokou became worried that the lighting wouldn't be perfect and
the deadline he faced.
"Please move!" he tensed.
At that the person stood up and turned around. Her eyes
glowing.
"I am not going to move my easel! I'm painting a
picture in front of me. If I move, I'll be impossible to
finish it."
Gokou stepped back.
"Calm down. I also have work to finish too."
"Well I was here first. Go take a photo
elsewhere!"
The girl sat back down and continued painting. Gokou
watched, seeing it was a beautiful painting, and walked
off. Before he was about to leave the inner area, he
turned around and decided to take the photo.
***
The
following morning, Gokou sat at the breakfast table watching
television when the telephone rang. It was Mr. Fujiwara.
"You're pictures are fabulous! I especially like the
one for the cover page. It really captures the moment of
nature. What also gives it it's edge is the woman painting
in the background. Good job Gokou!"
The young man couldn't have been happier. He went into
work, cheerful as a lark. His boss asked for some more
photographs of the seas and sunsets, and so Gokou headed to the
beach. Not liking the strenuous activities of the beach,
he headed into the more deserted area where humans rarely
go. Gokou climbed over the rocks and laid on them.
His photos had rock pools, fishes, the ocean and skies in
beautiful textures and orders. It was getting towards
sunset, but Gokou continued to work. Mr. Fujiwara had
given him a laptop where he could put his photos into the hard
drive and enhance their quality. The place was so
peaceful, as he looked around him. The water was soothing,
the sky was unexplainable and the cliffs above him were
magnificently structured. It was then he noticed someone
sitting over the edge of the cliff. He had thought that
person was about to fall off, so he jumped to action and flew up
the cliff. This startled the person and she almost dropped
all her things.
"Its you!" Gokou said, surprised.
"You scared me, and you made me put an extra stroke in the
painting where there isn't suppose to be none!"
It was the same girl he saw at the garden the day before!
"I'm sorry! Real sorry! I thought you were
going to fall off the cliff."
She sighed.
"Well, you thought I was going to fall and came to my
rescue. I can't be mad at that." she turned to her
painting, "I think I can paint over it..."
Gokou watched her carefully add strokes of paint, and blended
the green into the blue of the ocean she was
painting.
"Hey!" Gokou beamed, "I took photos of
that."
"Really?"
Gokou showed her the photos on his computer, and she commented
on their beauty.
"You caught the moment."
Gokou smiled and introduced himself.
"My name is Gokou-"
"I know," she butt in, "I saw the photo of the
garden on the front page of Nature Inspire. Inside was
your name. You did take that photo."
Gokou smiled awkwardly and told her what his boss said.
She laughed, and they continued talking about their jobs as they
sat over the cliff. As it got late, the young woman
decided to head home or her family would be furious. Gokou
stood up, and asked her name. She never told
him.
"Oh, my name-" as she stood up, the rock supporting
her foot gave way, and she fell. Gokou was alert, and flew
after her as she fell deep deep down. He had caught her
just in time before she'll hit the ground.
"You okay?" Gokou asked.
"Thank you Gokou."
There was a slight pause as they both laid on the ground next to
each other.
"By the way, my name is Art."
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