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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The camphor tree stood over me like a loving grandparent over a small child, bent at the waist, with outstretched arms. Its branches hung over my head, now, reaching halfway across the large open room. I felt love for this tree. There was a life force within it that beckoned me & seemed to be pleased to welcome me back to it once more. The gnarled wood like elderly hands, its age was deceptive; it was only as old as we were. Master Splinter had planted it here, a seed he had brought with him from Japan, beneath a grate that was raised above the ground top side, in a small Noho park on the Lower East Side. We were two & a half stories down, yet I remember so many nights, being woken to pull tarps up under the crown of the tree to catch rain. The water would then pool down the trunk to feed into the roots, & keep it from flooding the Dojo floor.
The sunlight from the world above us glistened through the branches from the opening in the ceiling now, illuminating the room in a dusty twilight. I pulled my socks off & bowed to the space before me. The cool wood floor felt soft & silky on my bare feet. It was wonderful!
I watched the children dash to the far corner of the room & one by one they tumbled shoulder down or rolled onto their backs, mindful to not expose their necks. Each one would rise on their feet to retrieve a piece of candy from Michelangelo. They were tumbling to practice ukemi before him. This was the ability to fall away from an attack without injuring yourself. To take the motion & force into yourself & use the attacker's movement forward against them if you could. The use of bribery with candy would not have impressed Master Splinter, but it seemed to work just fine for his youngest son who was now the apprentice here. The uchedeshi.
Mikey was more so in his element than I think I had ever seen him. He beamed at the kids & proclaimed; "You all did awesome, little tadpoles!" They all wrapped their arms around him as he knelt down on one knee to address them. "Next time Hana mei; no biting when you're angry with your sister."
They stood back at attention, in a slight bow forward, with their hands to the sides of their legs. The little one, Flower hung her head & quickly stuck her tongue out, looking at her older sister sideways. Fern just blinked at her & turned her attention back to her uncle.
"Shida mei, make sure you get some ice for Yoshi; his eye looks pretty wicked. You did amazing, as always girl!" The slender girl bowed respectfully.
"Now otagai ni rei." Mikey feigned seriousness childishly as he stood, but they respected him & they turned to one another & bowed in turn, then back to him, & they bowed again. "Ok, sensei ni rei," he said with gentle authority. As they walked away, back to their Master, Mikey stayed behind to randomly break in to consecutive backflips under the watchful camphor tree. Saki mitama; Love, the happy soul.
The children all moved in line across the floor & as they passed the shinza high up on the far wall, they turned one by one & expressed their rei ho. There were a few new additions to the shrine. Along side the snap shot of the guys when they were little, standing in front of their father, & the portrait of their mother Shen with baby Miwa; there was a picture of Casey & me. I don't know if I was more taken aback by the fact that they had put the picture in such a place of importance for the whole family, or by how suddenly irritating the content of the picture itself, was to me.
We were teenagers, it was taken before Master Splinter had died. I stood staring at it from across the room. I had my arms crossed over my chest & his was draped over my shoulders, heavily. My whole body posture was pulling away from him. I'm pretty sure I had flopped his arm off me, right after the camera flashed. We were friends, but it seemed everywhere we went, people felt the need to ship us. For no other reason than the fact that HE liked me. If anyone knew better; Donatello knew that alone was not enough to get my attention. Yet in the end, I had used what everyone thought anyways, to my advantage; to hide the truth & help me disappear from this place. Now I was back where I belonged, ready to accept help when I need it, & D was the one trying to run away.
I turned my sight back to the children who were now mirroring the young sightless Master who sat at seiza on top of his feet, palms down on his legs. They bowed deeply in zarei, with their round little faces to the floor boards. He smiled approvingly as he raised his body back up & they all put their small hands to the soft wood & breathed deeply. It was a way of thanking him for the education they were gaining under his care. It was beautiful. He was beautiful, like a jeweled Bosatsu Buddha. His deep jade green, sheild-like shell surrounding his silhouette like an aura. Adorned with a trim of creamy golden swirls like the embellished hem of a robe. His smooth, cool ocean blue skin, patterned by black leopard spots. His cloudy grey eyes made him look surreal. Nigi mitama; Peace, the harmonious soul.
Such small masters of the family business; curled face down on the floor like graceful little dolls folded into sleeping poses. I knew soon they would go from inflicting pain on one anther to test their strength, to learning just how much pain they themselves could withstand. It was the path to realize the power of fight or flight, & to learn to control it. To resist those natural instincts through consistency, a tenet of the warrior. Master Splinter had called it Mushin.
Shida was holding her arm as she stood. It was swollen & she bore the teeth marks of her sister. Yoshi's eye was dark purple & swelling shut. She signed something to him & suddenly they were laughing & rushing past me, out the doors & straight to the kitchen for breakfast.
Just like us when we were young. I wonder if you cleaned up the noodles off the floor. Did Raph take care of it? Are you coming to work?
"I love you!"
I felt warm chubby arms squeeze around my leg. Hana was giving me the strongest hug she could.
"My beautiful sweetheart, I love you!" She looked up at me with her deep, dark green eyes. She just stared, unwavering like her profession of my beauty & her love for me should have my full attention. She did!
"Well I love you, too my beautiful sweetheart!" I rubbed my hand on her bumpy little half shell & pulled her tighter to my knee. For her to be so little & use such hearty expressions, one knew she heard this herself, often & it filled me with comfort.
"I said so first!"
With that she took off running. Just like her father; everything with aggression. He was the rude soul, Courage; ara mitama. He was the best of his brothers at inflicting & withstanding physicality. He was also the best at falling into tears & fits of heartfelt passion. He felt everything. In every way, but always intensely. Sometimes those of us that have the most courage, do so because we need it the most to survive each day.
