With a bowl of cream in hand, Tello entered the special made room for Ice Cream Kitty and Klunk. The Foot Clan scientists had engineered a way for Ice Cream Kitty to stay cold while keeping the room at a comfortable temperature for Klunk.
Klunk was free to come and go as she pleased though a little door that led into the apartments. Though it was intended for only for Klunk, Ice Cream Kitty has been known to squeeze through it as well. While the new room gave her more freedom than the inside of a freezer, she tended to get lonely and wandered out to find attention. Because of this, Tello made it a point to visit regularly.
Even though it was a relatively large room, because she was made of ice cream and could melt, she was trapped within its walls. To leave it for too long would mean her death.
Both cats mewed when Tello entered the room. Ice Cream Kitty was down on her cooling plate while Klunk was climbing on one of the many multi-platformed scratching posts.
Tello placed the bowl of cream down near Ice Cream Kitty as he sat on the floor. She mewed again before coming off her plate to eat.
A headbutt to the back of his arm and some heavy purring from Klunk caused him to smile. Turning slightly, he reached down to scratch the tabby cat on the head. “You two like your new home?”
Klunk mewed as if to answer and rolled on to her back for belly rubs. Tello was more than happy to indulge her and was amazed that she wasn’t sticky. She had learned early on how to play and interact with Ice Cream Kitty and not get covered in melted ice cream.
When both cats had had enough attention, Tello washed his hands and headed to his family’s shrine. Miwa had helped him move and organize everything from the lair to Foot headquarters. She had even added the few things he had given her.
It was their shrine, for their family. He had to keep reminding himself that he had not lost his whole family. He still had Miwa and she was part of Splinter. That, at least, brought him a little comfort.
After he had healed from the battle, he had tried to visit his brothers again in the spirit realm, but they were no longer there. He knew it meant that they were technically no longer dead and now possessing the growing life developing in the girls, but it still hurt. They were gone and part of him wished he was with them. It wasn’t fair that he got to live and find love while their lives were brutally cut short.
Kneeling, Tello lit some incense and silently prayed for his family.
The more he thought about them, the harder it was to breathe. He missed them and he wanted them back. Not as they will be but as they were.
He wanted to see them again, one more time. But he knew that would never be enough. He would continue to want that one last time. It was hard to let them go.
The curtain covering the entrance was pulled back and Miwa looked in. “Mind if I join you?”
Tello shook his head as he wiped away his tears. “I would actually like the company.”
“You doing okay?” Miwa asked as she knelt beside him. She had continued to let her hair grow. It was mid-way down her back now. She kept it in a tight French braid most of the time but today she left it loose. The resemblance to her mother was uncanny.
“Some days are still hard,” Tello admitted, keeping his head down. “Before, when I felt like this, I would go see them but, now I can’t. They’re gone.”
“Good,” Miwa said. “You can finally let them go.”
“I don’t want to,” Tello argued. “I want my brothers back.”
“And I would have loved know my father,” Miwa stated. “It consumed me. But, Karai set me straight. I had to accept that it wasn’t going to happen.”
“What did Karai do,” Tello asked.
Miwa sighed. “I was becoming too helpful with the baby and made the mistake of calling him, ‘My father’. We had a long talk after that. She helped me realize that we cannot allow ourselves to be trapped in our grief and our guilt. It’s okay if we move on.”
“I don’t know if I can,” Tello whimpered. “I’ve tried but this guilt keeps coming back. Why didn’t Shredder kill me too?”
“That was your torture,” Miwa suggested. “I assume he expected you to do it yourself.”
“I almost did,” Tello said. “Several times.”
“What kept you from doing it,” Miwa asked.
Tello shrugged. “Part of me was afraid that if I took my own life, that I would end up in a different place than them. That would have been worse than living without them. There were times that the pain was so bad that I didn’t care anymore. On those days, I swear I could hear Splinter begging me not to do it.”
“I’m glad you didn’t,” Miwa stated with a soft smile. “And I can name at least one other who’s also glad.”
“Leah,” Tello replied, allowing himself to smile in return.
They fell into a comfortable silence. Tello’s mind wandered as he looked up at Leo’s carapace. After a while he smiled and turned to Miwa. “Did I tell you the name Leo requested?”
Miwa shook her head. “He requested a name?”
“Ryan,” Tello said.
“Why would he want to be named Ryan,” Miwa scoffed.
“After Captain Ryan,” he told her.
Miwa snorted with laughter. “From Space Heroes?”
Tello nodded.
“He was such a dork,” she laughed. “Are you gonna do it?”
Tello shrugged. “I don’t see any reason not to honor his final request.”
“But it’s such a basic name,” Miwa pointed out. “Leo may have wanted it but, with a name like Ryan, in your family, your son is gonna grow to hate it. He’s not gonna remember the request.”
“I can’t not do it,” Tello argued.
“I suppose you’re right,” Miwa sighed. She leaned back against the wall and looked up at the carapaces. “Do you plan on taking the ice cream cat to the farm?”
“I don’t know,” Tello replied. “I suppose I could leave her here and block the door to the apartment with plenty of cream. Taking her to the farm would mean I’d have to confine her to the freezer again. That feels cruel at this point.”
“I don’t mind taking care of her,” Miwa said, shifting her gaze to look him in the eyes.
“You sure you don’t mind,” Tello asked. “You’d have to spend time with her every day. She’ll get lonely.”
“I swear to you that I will,” Miwa promised.
With a sigh, Miwa leaned against Tello. “Tell me something about our father.”
Tello shifted so that they could sit together comfortably as he thought. He had so many fond memories of their father. “He was strict,” Tello started. “But it was because he wanted to keep us safe.”
Over the next few hours, Tello told Miwa stories of his childhood. It was freeing to talk about it. With every moment he felt a little lighter and it felt good to be able to laugh through the tears.
