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The other turtles didn’t see much of Rapahel anymore.
And whenever he came by, he didn’t stay for long.
His new life was just so much more important.
Not long after turning eighteen, he’d left his family to join some other superhero team, without even saying goodbye. He was doing a great job, of course. They always saw him on the news. But they rarely got to see him in person anymore.
One day, Leonardo called, begging Raphael to come back quickly. His voice was urgent, saying that Splinter wanted to see him as soon as possible.
“Yeah, of course,” Raphael said. “I’ll be right there.”
He hung up, rolling his eyes.
“Sure, I will,” he muttered.
After a year passed by, Raphael finally came to visit.
He’d heard about Splinter being sick. What he didn’t know was that his sensei was dying.
Why did he want to see me so badly, anyways?
Raphael thought as he made his way through the sewers.
He’d always been Splinter’s worst student, often disobeying and mocking his sensei.
Splinter was asleep when Raphael arrived.
“Why didn’t he tell me?”
“Well, I think ol’ Splinter was kinda hoping you’d swing by to see him, and then he’d tell ya,” Michelangelo. “Kinda tough chat to have over the phone, y’now?”
“Oh,” Rapahel said. “Well, I’m here now.”
He glanced over at Splinter.
“Is he going to wake up?”
“We don’t know,” Leonardo said.
Raphael started to choke up, but took a breath and collected himself.
“Can he hear me?”
“He might be able to,” Donatello said.
Raphael tried to speak, but the words wouldn’t come. Somehow, it just felt futile.
Soon, it was night time. The turtles left Rapahel alone with Splinter.
After what felt like hours of darkness and silence, he finally spoke.
“I wish that I hadn’t treated you that way,” he said. “I’m young, and I’m stupid, and I don’t know what I’m doing. But that wasn’t an excuse.”
He sighed.
“I wish you could’ve been proud of me, but it’s too late now. And… I’m sorry.”
When Raphael fell asleep, he had a dream that Splinter was awake and talking to him. Well, at least he thought it was a dream. And yet, it felt so… real. And although he immediately forgot what Splinter had said upon waking up, he remembered how Splinter’s words had made him feel.
Warm. Loved. Forgiven.