{Part 23}

                                    

                                          
~Videl~

Even though her memories were gone, the way that Risa hugged her and looked at her with what could only be a deep, motherly love made Videl feel like a huge piece of her that had been missing since Cryo had found its way back to fill the chasm of emptiness inside her chest. Risa had taken care of her since she was 10 years old, until she legally had no choice but to leave her on her own when she turned 18. The discovery answered an unvoiced question of how Videl had ended up alone on Titan in her parents' quarters, without a roommate to share with. 
Videl had once shared her place with someone besides her parents, and that knowledge made her place feel less haunting. The walls weren't just privy to the ghosts of her parents' lives, or the ghost of the Videl who had died in Cryo. They had once housed the memories of her life with Risa, and knowing that comforted Videl. At least one more question had been answered, but it left her with even more important questions. How had her parents died? What kind of people were they? If they had been alive when it happened, how would they have reacted to her losing her memories of them? Whatever memories the real Videl had held onto of her parents from her 10 years of life with them - the ones that she had surely deeply cherished - were lost forever. Videl felt like she was mourning for someone else's loss. The grief of a little girl. A girl that wasn't her, but also was. The feelings were too confusing and overwhelming to contemplate.
She was glad to have a big dinner to cook to distract her from her thoughts. As Kane and Risa were getting seated in her meager, little dining area, Videl was following a recipe for a vegetable stir-fry on her holo-menu. It seemed fairly simple, and she thought that it would be delicious if she got it right. She decided not to try the scary-looking, automatic vegetable slicer with the complex settings that she hadn't attempted to figure out yet, and opted to cut them by hand. She preferred her fingers attached to her body, at least for now. Then, she began to mix the ingredients for the sauce, enjoying the smell of the spices that the recipe called for. She could feel Kane and Risa's eyes on her and she looked back over her shoulder, noticing the sudden pause in their idle chit-chat that she'd been too preoccupied to listen to. 
"What?" Videl mumbled inquisitively, assuming one of them had asked her a question that she hadn't heard. 
"Is Kane pulling my leg?" Risa asked as she squinted at Kane with a disbelieving look. "Or are you really his date to the Cotillion?"
"It's the truth," Kane nodded, his hands raised to show his palms. 
"Yes," Videl offered her a confused smile. "Why?"
"My Stars!" Risa exclaimed in surprise, her next words coming out so fast that they nearly blended together. "You always refused a date to the Cotillion! Never let me fix your hair, or take your picture for your first two - and you looked so  beautiful, Viddy! You absolutely hated having to go." Risa was shaking her head with a grin.
"I'm actually really excited," Videl replied, turning back to resume her mixing and hide her blush.
"You are?" Risa was radiating with joy. "I can't believe this! Third time's the charm, I suppose!" 
Risa's sudden gasp made Videl accidentally drop her utensil with a clatter as it landed in the sink. She quickly turned around to see Risa's hands pressed together in a praying gesture.
"Oh, please, will you finally let me take your picture this time?" Risa pleaded, her face so hopeful it made Videl's heart twinge. "You and your handsome date? I promise I'll try not to cry!" Risa's eyes were filled with tears just thinking about sending her off to the Cotillion with Kane, so Videl highly doubted the last part was even possible. Though, Videl didn't oppose the idea - she was touched that Risa cared so much for her. She couldn't refuse the kind woman's wish.