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The older Donnie got, the more he wondered.
He didn’t even want to ponder over it, because it was done, over, in the past… but sometimes he just couldn’t help it. His brain would always invite itself into the uncharted possibilities surrounding the event.
Was it fate? Was it meant to happen?
No, it can’t have been. That’s ludicrous. Things don’t happen for ‘a reason’. I know that. It was just a coincidence.
But was it? Maybe it was fate. Maybe it was meant to happen.
Donnie groaned, knowing that his mind would revisit the incident, like it so often did (always without Donnie’s pleasure, because it always meant deep, philosophical pondering).
The event in question took place when Donnie was eleven. It had been a cold, dark evening in October. It had been about half-past eleven at night (approximately) when the story starts.
The streets of New York were practically deserted. There were no crowds of people going about their business, no loud noises of chatter and hurried footsteps (which Donnie was thankful for, he’d always hated loud noises, even back then). All of the humans had returned home and were most likely asleep. For them, the rest of the night consisted of sleep.
For Donnie, it consisted of anything but that.
It was the night. It was the night that he would live his wildest dreams.
Donnie had finally been granted permission by his father to go to the junkyard.
He couldn’t believe how lucky he was.
He would be allowed to rummage around in all of the piles of scrap metal, the heaps of tyres, the stashes of broken headlights, the collection of unused cars and vans. And he was allowed to take some of it back home so that he could use it for new machines.
I’m the luckiest kid in the world. I bet no one’s ever had more fun in their lives than I will tonight. It’s going to be heaven. Bliss. Paradise.
And to make matters even better, which I didn’t even think was possible, I’m going alone.
It seemed that Splinter had noticed his second-oldest’s independence and had told him that he trusted him to go there and make it back safely by himself.
I’m going by myself. No brothers. Could this get any better? I don’t think it could.
No Leo telling the worst jokes known to man or running around like crazy, no Raph trying to boss me around because he’s the oldest or yelling about the dark, no Mikey shouting random things and pestering me about everything.
I’m finally alone. No noise, no everyone else, no problems.
Seriously, tonight can’t get any better.
Donnie was glad to go in the autumn, because due to the cold weather and dark nights there was almost certainly going to be no people in the junkyard.
And people were Donnie’s biggest fear.
He didn’t like to admit it, but he still had nightmares about humans somehow finding their lair and staring with horror at all of them, gasping and pointing and taking pictures. Then they’d most likely split them up and throw them in the back of separate vans, and gets whisked off to zoos or torturous animal testing laboratories, and who knows what would happen to them then.
Shut up. Stop it. Don’t think about that. Don’t let those abhorrent humans ruin the best night ever.
This is going to be wonderful. This is going to be the best night ever.
The junkyard turned out to beat Donnie’s very high expectations.
It was all. Just. Glorious.
He just gawked at it for a few minutes before he did anything, eyes wide and mouth agape. His heart pounded in his chest and shudders ran up and down his arms as he took in the beauty of it all.
Then, he ran.
Donnie moved quicker than he ever had before (maybe even quicker than he’d seen Mikey or Leo move) wanting to see it all. He felt like he’d swallowed a box of fireworks.
He twirled around and let out a little squeal of excitement, overwhelmed with joy.
It’s somehow even better than I thought it would be.
This is heaven. Bliss. Paradise.
This is-
Donnie suddenly froze at the sound of nearby footsteps, getting louder and louder.
No.
No.
No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no.
He was so terrified that this would be it, he’d be captured and carted off that he didn’t even move. He couldn’t.
His vision became slightly blurry and he clenched his fists, sweat dripping down his face.
A bright light shone in Donnie’s face and he hissed, covering his eyes.
He belatedly realised that it was a flashlight and when he looked up a little to see who its owner was, he froze again.
It was a human. A girl, who looked only a few years older than him, with fluffy, dark hair tied up in two frizzy little buns on top of her head. Red glasses sat in front of brown eyes that were currently wide and full of disbelief.
She’s a human. Run. Come on, Donatello, run. She’s dangerous.
But Donnie didn’t run. He stayed where he was, still as a statue.
She did the same.
She didn’t yell or scream or call the police or attack him like he thought the first human he’d encounter would.
She didn’t look horrified or disgusted by him, instead she just looked intrigued.
The two of them stood like that for a few minutes, completely motionless. The only sound filling the air was their heavy breathing.
Donnie wasn’t making eye contact with her (it was one of the many things that made him uncomfortable) but he could feel her burning gaze upon him, like she was staring into his soul.
He couldn’t take it anymore and turned around, dropping all of the things he’d collected and running out of the entrance.
He had to get away. Now.
Before that dangerous girl tried to kill him or something.
Because that’s what all humans are like. They’re all awful.
Donnie blocked out the sound of her shouting for him to come back and sprinted as fast as he could back into the lair, not even stopping for the entire journey.
When he returned home, red-faced, sweaty and panting, he collapsed on the couch. He buried his head in a pillow, wanting to hide away from everything.
He couldn’t believe he’d been so stupid.
I should’ve been more alert. If I hadn’t been running around in my own little world I would’ve heard her coming, and would’ve had the chance to leave before she saw me.
I didn’t even bring home anything like I wanted to.
So much for the best night ever.
“Man, Donnie, what happened to you?”
Here we go.
Donnie lifted his head with a groan and, surely enough, stood opposite him was his twin brother.
“None of your business.” Donnie replied dryly, though it mostly came out as a gasp for breath.
“Was the junkyard not the wonderland you thought it’d be?” Leo grinned smugly. He looked so proud of himself for figuring it out.
Donnie went even redder.
“Uh… no… everything… was… fine.” Donnie stammered, his eyes nervously darting around.
“It was ‘fine’, huh? You’ve come back, nearly passed out on the couch, you’re sweating like crazy and you’re redder than Raph’s mask, and it was all ‘fine’.”
Leo frowned, looking at Donnie as if there was evidence on him that would answer his question as to what happened in the junkyard.
Donnie didn’t reply. Leo had seen through his last horrible attempt at lying and he’d see through any other ones.
He couldn’t help but be relieved when Splinter called the two of them into the kitchen for dinner, ending the conversation.
As Donnie ate his meal and tried his best to ignore Leo’s growing suspicion, he vowed to never go up to the junkyard again.
Just two weeks later, on another cold, dark October evening, Donnie went up to the junkyard again.
It had been on his mind all that time. The beauty of it, the wonder, all the things he’d left behind, and that mystery girl.
Why was she there? She can’t have been working there, it was all closed down and at night when I saw her.
But Donnie wasn’t going to see her. He was going to try and get back what he’d been so stupid as to drop.
Luckily, Leo seemed to have forgotten or stopped caring about his strange behaviour when he’d returned from the junkyard last time, so that was a relief. He didn’t need Leo or anyone else following him.
This was his place.
When Donnie arrived in the junkyard for the second time, the warmth in his chest didn’t dissapitate. It was still there.
That’s a relief. Imagine if it’d been closed down.
However, there was one difference. At the entrance gate, Donnie saw that everything he’d dropped on his last visit had been arranged into a neat pile. On top of the pile there was a note.
To the turtle I saw (my apologies if you’re not a turtle, I assumed so because of the giant shell),
Here are all the things that you left here last time. I’ll come in and put this pile out here every night until you come and get it. I hope I didn’t leave anything out.
It was from her. That girl.
She’s been here every night to leave this stuff out, waiting for me?
Why?
“Hey, it is you!”
Donnie turned around and hissed again when, just like before, a flashlight was shone in his face.
The owner was, again, the girl.
“Oh, sorry,” she chuckled lightly. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I’ve just been waiting for you to come back. Did you read the note?”
Donnie nodded, his eyes narrowing. He didn’t know whether this was all just some big trick to capture him and use him as some kind of test subject.
“Why have you been waiting for me to come back?” Donnie asked sharply.
“I didn’t mean to offend you,” she replied, taken aback. “Honestly, I didn’t. I just wanted you to have your stuff back. And…”
“And what?”
“Well, this might be a little awful of me but… I was interested. In you. I’ve never seen a giant turtle like you before. And I’ve just figured out you can talk. Sorry if that’s a little… insensitive of me. I’m a curious person.”
Donnie didn’t know how to respond. He sighed, sinking his shoulders.
“Well, I’m sure other people would say and do a lot worse than just be curious.”
The girl sat down cross-legged on the ground. Donnie copied her, intrigued by her human mannerisms.
Secretly, as much as humans terrified him, they also sort of fascinated him.
Kind of like how she feels about me, huh?
“Well,” Donnie stammered, “if it makes you feel any better, I’m kind of interested in you, too.”
“What?”
“Not you specifically. Just humans in general. You’re the first one I’ve met.”
Oh no. I shouldn’t have said that.
Donnie didn’t mean to say that - because it could make him vulnerable, and she could use that information to her advantage - but it just rolled out of his mouth.
She almost gasped when she heard it.
“Really? Well, in a way, I’m sort of honoured.”
She held out her hand, and Donnie flinched.
Physical touch. Togetherness. My biggest foe.
When she realised that he wouldn’t shake her hand, she lowered it without saying anything.
“I’m not really… good with physical touch.” He explained.
She smiled. “That’s okay. I’m April, by the way. April O’Neil.”
“April? Like the fourth month of the Gregorian calendar?” Donnie’s eyes widened with fascination.
“Um… yeah?” She replied, slightly confused by his reaction. “Do you have a name?”
“Donatello. Donnie.”
“Donatello? The Renaissance artist?”
He nodded. “Yeah, yeah. Wow, I didn’t know he was popular up here.”
She cringed slightly. “He’s not, really. Sorry to disappoint you. I only know because we’ve just done a project on the Renaissance period in school.”
“School?! School?! School?!” Donnie gasped, shuffling closer towards her. “You go to school?!”
April looked completely baffled by his reaction. She’d never seen anyone be so enthusiastic about school.
“Um… yeah?”
“Okay.” Donnie said firmly. “You need to tell me everything.”
And April did. And Donnie was transported into another world, this one filled with books, and learning, and knowledge, and studying. It sounded like the most amazing place ever.
The two of them talked about everything: their favourite things, hobbies, dislikes, tv shows, movies, books, and Donnie didn’t even look at the time until he’d collected all of the things she left and they’d both said goodbye and promised to meet up the next night.
It was half past six. In the morning. The sun hadn’t risen yet due to it being autumn, but it was still morning.
My brothers will probably be awake. They’ll know I’ve snuck out.
Oh, what if they’ve told Dad?
Donnie rushed back to the lair again, not even stopping. He was almost even more frantic than he had been last time and he returned home absolutely exhausted.
He didn’t know if it was from the lack of sleep or because he’d ran all the way home.
“There he is!” Raph called from the couch, pointing at Donnie. “Where have you been this early in the morning? Dad isn’t even awake yet!”
“Oh um, y’know… out for a… stroll.” Donnie lied again. He put on his best smile for his big brother but it just looked even more unconvincing.
“Anything to do with the junkyard, perhaps?” Leo asked from his place on the couch. He didn’t look up from the TV, but Donnie could tell he was onto him.
He didn’t forget about it.
“No, Leo, it was not.” Donnie lied again. Leo didn’t seem persuaded at all, because he turned around to face him, frowning.
Mikey, who was sitting down next to him, turned around with him.
“You know, D, if there’s something you want to tell us, just say! We won’t judge.”
“Nope!” Donnie lied, speaking quickly and walking towards his bedroom door. “And if you guys excuse me I’ll be retreating to my bedroom to sleep. Goodbye!”
Donnie slammed the door shut, collapsing on his bed. As he felt himself drift off, he couldn’t help thinking about his new best friend.
Well, only best friend.
But still.
A best friend was a best friend.
Donnie and April talked for what seemed like hours when they met up again the following night. She told him all about what happened in her life, and he told her about his life down in the sewers. He told her how he had been mutated when he was very small, and that when he was born he did look like a regular turtle.
“Are you glad to have been mutated?” she asked him.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, are you happy to be a mutant? Are you happy being different?”
Donnie thought long and hard about his answer before he spoke again.
“Well, on the one hand, yes, I am happy to be a mutant. I’m happy to do stuff and talk and live my life in ways that I never would be able to if I was still a regular boring turtle. But…”
April sighed. “It’s not nice being an outsider, is it?”
“Yeah, it’s not. I wouldn’t change myself, just the way others perceive me.”
She nodded. “I know what you mean. I don’t really fit in at school. They all think I’m a bit weird. No one’s really bothered with me until you came along.”
“Really?” Donnie gasped. He couldn’t believe that someone as awesome and cool as April seemed to have no friends other than him, a giant mutated turtle.
“Yeah. But, we’ve got each other, right? We’re friends.”
Donnie’s mouth twitched into a smile. “We are.”
April held up her hand in mid-air, and Donnie held up his, and the two of them high-fived the air without touching hands. Just the way Donnie liked it.
“No physical touch.” April said.
“No physical touch.” Donnie repeated. “April-”
“Donnie?! Is that you?”
Oh no. Please, no.
Donnie flinched at the sound of his big brother’s voice and prayed that he had been mistaken, but when he turned around, Raph, Leo and Mikey were standing behind him.
“Donnie, do you know these guys?” April asked him.
“What does she mean, ‘do you know these guys’?” Leo shouted. “Who is she, Donnie?”
Donnie ignored his twin’s question and turned back to April.
“April, these are my brothers. Raphael, Leonardo and Michelangelo. Guys, this is April. I met her when I came here for the first time two weeks ago.” Donnie explained.
April scoffed. “Well, I’d say we actually met each other properly last night. The first time I saw you, you just ran away.”
“Sounds like our Donnie.” Leo replied. Donnie groaned.
Mikey walked up to April. “Well, any friend of Donnie’s is a friend of mine. Nice to meet you, April! I’m Mikey.”
April shook Mikey’s hand, then Raph’s, then Leo’s, and the five of them sat down and talked. Donnie’s brothers instantly connected with April just like he had and they laughed, shared stories and secrets, and all five of them had the time of their lives, and as they left promised to meet up again.
She’s our sister. She’s family. She’s one of us.
Donnie frowned. Weighing it all out, the fact that they had instantly connected with April and the fact that both of them had been at the junkyard at the exact same time, he couldn’t help but wonder if it was meant to happen all along.
No. I’ve got to stop with all of this fate and destiny stuff. Next I’ll start to believe in star signs.
Donnie sighed and stood up from his desk, hoping that his brothers would be up to something that would distract him from all of the philosophical stuff. They always did.
But, as Donnie left his bedroom, one last thought entered his head.
But, maybe I don’t have to know. Maybe I can just be grateful that it happened, rather than pondering whether or not it was meant to or not.
Donnie smiled to himself, closing his bedroom door.
Yes. That sounds good.