A young woman stood in the shadow of a willow tree as the sun set over the New York City skyline behind her. Her dark crimson hair glistened in the sunlight, her red brown eyes casted down to the two slabs of stone on the ground.
The woman, Shadow, knew she didn't have to be there, but she wanted to. It had been that way since she was a child. Her mother would take her there and sit in the exact spot she stood, just staring at the slab of stone in the ground.
As a child, Shadow didn't understand why her mother loved that spot so much. Or why she could stare at the stone for so long. But now, as her gaze hovered between the original stone and the newest one, she understood.
Shadow's mother, April, had passed away months ago from an unknown cause. At only fifty six years old, the doctors had no explanation for her death. She was in great shape for a woman her age and had no sign of heart failure or high blood pressure or anything. No real reason for her to die.
But Shadow knew that, deep down, her mother had died of a broken heart. All her life, April had been a great mother to Shadow. She nurtured and cared for her in so many ways, sometimes she felt guilty for having such a great mom to rely on. But her mom had always had a certain air of sadness around her. Whether it was a far off look in her eye, the slight curve in her smile to the incoherent and unconscious sigh she gave off whenever she thought that no one was listening, Shadow's mother never seemed to be fully happy. And it both frustrated and hurt Shadow to know she couldn't bring her mother happiness.
Shadow sighed. She knew she did bring her mom happiness, but she wished it had been enough to fill whatever void had been made in her heart. Shadow could continue to pretend to not understand her mother's pain, but honestly, she did.
It wasn't too hard to figure out. When she grew old enough to know better, she had taken the time to read the stone her mother stared at:
'Here lies Donatello Yoshi
Beloved friend, brother, and fighter.'
Shadow didn't know who the man was and never really questioned her mom about it. Her father didn't seem to recognize the name when she had asked and her mother never talked about any one with the name either. She never told her father about the slab. She figured it was something he didn't know about and probably shouldn't. Whenever her mom had taken her to the place with the willow tree, she had always told the man that they were 'going to the park.'
April and Shadow's father had divorced ten years prior to April's death. Shadow would say it was a hard time for her, but it wasn't. Shadow never really felt a connection with her father. Like she could never fully see him as her dad. She knew it was harsh, but it was the truth.
Shadow didn't even look like him. She had her mother's hair and features, but everything else didn't look like her own father at all. Where his eyes were blue, like her mother's, she had brown eyes that came off as reddish in the sunlight. Her nose wasn't like his at all and her face shape didn't match her father nor her mother's.
Shadow knew her father suspected her mother of cheating on him. Whenever he looked Shadow in the eye, he had this look of disappointment. This look that accused her of not being his child. That was another reason why she couldn't really love him as much as she should. And why he couldn't be the fatherly figure she needed growing up. He couldn't be the father to a girl he didn't suspect was his own. Both silently agreed they weren't related to one another deep down, so they might as well go their own separate ways.
She knew her mother never cheated. April had no reason to. And frankly, she wouldn't anyways. She was always at home. Always taking care of Shadow. Always working on some science project. She was loyal in every sense of the way, and if her father couldn't see it then he deserved the divorce.
The young woman's eyes grazed over Donatello's name. It sounded so familiar. And not because she spent most of her life having the name in the back of her mind. Deep down, she knew who this man was. But she didn't know how, since he had died fifteen years before she was born.
Shadow leaned back on her heals, her mind spinning. She never told her mom this, but she had dreams where this strange man would come into her room. He wasn't a threatening figure nor did he scare her. He always came in with this kind smile and relaxed pose that made her feel comfortable to be around him.
The man would read her her favorite stories and sometimes tell some of his own. Of his adventures with his three brothers that they had when they were teenagers of running through the night fighting ninjas and robotic creatures. He made her laugh when she was sad, listened to her when she was frustrated with kids from her school and braided her hair with his six fingers when she had had a long and stressful day.
She dismissed them as dreams growing up, but when she woke up with her hair truly braided in the morning after talking with the man, she knew that they weren't dreams. And even knowing that, she wasn't afraid.
This man that came to her was the father she had always wanted. He took over her dad's place in her eyes and she loved him for being there for her when she needed him the most. And not just in emotional ways, either. Shadow had always suspected the man was her true father. They had the same eyes and gap in their teeth. She knew he wasn't fully human, but she didn't care. He was there for her and loved her and supported her. Even when he couldn't be there outside of her dreams, she knew she could rely on him whenever she really needed him.
Shadow never told her mother any of this. Wanted it to be her own little thing with her 'dad.' But now that her mother was six feet under the ground, she regretted her choice. Would her mother still be alive if she had told her?
The woman's eyes glanced over to the second slab. She felt her heart sink for the first time since her mother had died. She bent down and brushed her fingers over the slab, just like how she had seen her mother do all those years ago and read the words set in stone:
'Here Lies April O'Neil
Beloved friend, mother, and daughter.'
Everyone had suggested burying April in the local cemetery, but Shadow refused to bury her mom in any cemetery. She knew her mother would want to be buried there. She hadn't written it in her will, but something told Shadow that if she didn't put her mother to rest under the shade of the willow tree, she'd regret it for the rest of her life.
Shadow's mouth felt dry. It was almost dark and she knew she should be leaving soon. She placed the flowers she held in her hands onto the graves and stepped back. Her lips quivered and opened to speak the words she had been waiting to say for so long:
"Goodbye, mom. Goodbye, dad. I'll see you soon."
She turned from the graves, a sob caught in her throat and the tears came faster than she had expected. Shadow semi walked semi ran to her car parked a ways off. She turned the engine on and pulled onto the dirt road. Before taking off, the woman glanced in the rear view mirror in time to see the branches of the willow tree sway in the wind.
And in that instant, she could have sworn she saw two figures standing on the hill: one tall, bald with only three fingers on each hand and the other short with red hair like hers blowing in the wind. The two held hands and seemed to wave in her direction, smiles on their faces.
Shadow felt a smile grow on her face as she turned her attention back to the road and took off. She was glad she had taken the time to say goodbye, and knew she could live the rest of her life knowing that burying her mother under the willow tree was the best decision she had ever made. Now the grief of her family could now be laid to rest and knew that, wherever her mom and dad were, they were happy and finally back together after all those years apart.
