Book One In The Ahh-Ness Of Things Series: April & Donnie were once inseparable, but now almost six years have passed since she left NYC. What if April O'Neil could set the record straight, once & for all! The only girl down enough to chill with the...
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April:
I waited until the sun went down to head out. I always loved the way the city felt, coming alive at night. It had been so long since I had been home, I don't know why I stayed away. I guess things change. Our story; the story of my family has been told several times, a few different ways, but never by me. Sometimes when people figure out who I am, they asked me what it was like; growing up down there beneath the city, growing up with my brothers; being who they were. I have made a living out of telling the world what it needs to know, understanding the human need to communicate. How things are, how they should be. But when people ask about my family, I never know what to say. I guess people want to feel connected to them. The truth is; we were just kids, trying to figure life out, like anyone. The world has changed. Back then, people didn't know about mutants. They didn't know about aliens or the Krang. Terraforming, human experimentations. Life was so much... Simpler? I guess we really didn't know about anything either, we just wanted to be alive. Have fun, be normal, make friends that accepted us & not feel so weird or out of touch. If I had to go back, I wouldn't change a thing, I guess that's why I came home; I missed my family. I needed somewhere to belong.
It's true when they say home is where the heart is. It is also often true when they warn you that you can never really go home. There's a lot of people who aren't going to like the way I tell this story, but you know what, it was my life and life is so much harder than we think. People want to tell you how your story went, they will put you in a box with a nice neat label. Life is never neat and one lable does not fit two identical boxes; no two truths are ever, exactly the same.
I waited until sun down, I was just so damn excited, but after all these years, I still have to be careful when going home. One never just barges in the front door with my family. I put the do not disturb sign on the door of my hotel room, packed my bag; changes of clothes, plenty of socks, toiletries, my camera and some notebooks. I grabbed the old T-phone off the charger & powered it on; full signal, I couldn't believe it still worked! I hadn't been able to use it in years, but now I was back in range, which meant the guys were close by. I tried to call now as I slipped out the window, down the fire escape. Of course it still worked! Donnie made it, I mused. Not worried at all, no one was picking up, I was going home! Just like old times, I laughed at myself as I dipped into the alley. Down the street past Mr. Murakami's. Around the corner, down the old cobblestone path, to the back by the dumpster. On the other side of the wall was the old playground where I used to sit doing my homework, way back when. Overhead, the water tower still stood, like a post, where we looked out over the city hand in hand. Where we would stand watch. Where we used to talk about life, love, freedom from fear, no regrets, the excitement of our youth. Where we danced under the stars, and where we had watched the world fall apart. There it was at my feet. The heavy circular doorway. The land of my childhood. "NYC Sewer."
