A Bond Of Friendship.
Disclaimer: I deny any ownership of any adult or adolescent transformed shadow warrior chelonians.
Chapter Nine: Meeting Rama.
Melody:
After hearing so much about Rama, on a continual basis, and seeing how Jessie had become more involved with his imaginary friend with each passing day, I knew I had to do something about it. I could not continue to allow my son to live in his fantasy world, he might forget to deal with what was real, or decide that his imagination was the ultimate escape and lose himself in that, never quite returning to deal with life on its terms.
So with my concerns for Jessie being the factor, I talked him into the idea that I wanted to meet Rama, if he could not produce her then perhaps we could sit down and discuss who, or what, Rama represented to Jessie and while it was a nice thought that he had to accept certain facts of life, deal with his problems and so on.
Jessie came in from playing slamming the door behind him "M...mom?" He called out.
"I'm in the living room Jessie" I replied. "You know better than to slam the door like that." I chided gently."Did you talk to Rama about me meeting her?"
Jessie came into the living room "Sorrr...Sorry" He apologized, as he flopped down in a chair, "Rrrr Rama ssss,says if y..yo..you kkkk...come tttt to the alllll..alley to..tomm...tomorrow, she'll sssss...see you then." He finished with a heavy sigh of relief at getting that all out.
Tomorrow was Saturday and Jessie and I had some grocery shopping to do in the morning, I was sure that Jessie knew that and had arranged to meet with Rama later. " She's not coming here Jess?" I asked.
Jessie rolled his eyes "Sh...Sh...she can't mom" he huffed a bit, "She's aff...aff..afraid of be...being seen." He declared, " It's nnn not ssss...safe ffff..for her."
"All right then, I guess I can meet her halfway" I relented.
I was pretty sure though that Rama herself would be a no show, she'd recall an urgent appointment elsewhere or be late, or find some excuse to just not show up.
XXX
Jessie waited impatiently, for me to get ready the next afternoon. He hurried me out the door and down to the street, moving through the crowd with ease, until he reached an alley about three blocks from home. The alley itself was small there was maybe just enough room for a truck or car to park in the alley, and due to the closeness of buildings on either side it was dark, even though it was close to lunch, the shadows lingered within.
Jessie headed into it and I felt a moment of claustrophobia, shuddering a bit I moved into the confines and darkness, we neared a manhole cover that was propped up on a small angle, instead of lying flat covering the hole. Jessie nodded his head as he glanced down then he went toward a fire escape "Ra...Rammmmm...Rama m...m...might ah...ahaha...all ready be up on the rrrr..ro..roof." Jessie informed me.
"I ain't Jessie I'm right here." Came a quiet voice from somewhere under the fire escape. The voice startled me, because I couldn't see anyone in the alley, and with little to no light it was next to impossible to see anything where the shadows gathered. I hadn't seen anyone at all, now to hear a voice so low made me wonder if there were others hiding near by.
Jessie laughed "Y...yo yo...your ggggg...good at h...h...h..hide 'n' seek Rama."
"Course I'm Kunoichi" the speaker boasted as she stepped out from under the fire escape.
I gulped Rama was real? I shook my head in disbelief, She was here!
All I saw was an over large grey hooded sweatshirt, the hood pulled up over the person's head, and concealing a better part of the speaker's face. The sweatshirt was so large the girl seemed to be swimming in it, not to mention the fact it was full of holes, stained, and had an unpleasant odour that clung to it invading my nostrils causing me to wrinkle my nose with disgust. My eyes traveled down to see legs...green legs?...no it couldn't be. It had to be more a trick of the light and shadows in this alley.
The child was barefoot, imagine that! Barefoot in this city! With all the needles, broken glass, and lord knows what else one could find simply walking a few blocks in any direction, I could not see how any parent would allow their child to go with out some kind of foot protection.
"Hi my name is Ramiela but I tole Jessie he could call me Rama coz it's easier for him to say. Rama is what my dad and cousins call me." she informed me in a perky cheerful way, and she outstretched a hand toward me.
She had pronounced her name as Ramie-la, it sounded strange and exotic or so I thought as I numbly grasped her hand in mine. It was then I felt that her skin was scaly and slightly cooler then my own.
"Sorry I didn't comes to your place. Jessie says your often busy and don't have much time so, it might have been easier if I coulda gone. But I gots to stay away from people. It's just not safe." She explained.
I could see what looked like strands of hair hanging across her face, at least my eyes seemed to be adjusting a little. I stood in slack jawed disbelief, totally in shock and stunned. I hadn't been expecting to see anyone, so sure, was I, that Jessie's friend Rama was only imaginary that it had never crossed my mind that she actually could exist. Or at the very least to be confronted by a child wearing a sweatshirt and nothing else.
Suddenly that got me thinking about the poor girl and how she kept insisting that she had to hide, she could not let herself be seen. Perhaps her parents were keeping her hidden for whatever reason, you know like stories you hear in the news on occasion of children locked away in a basement or something, and their parents neglected their upbringing. Maybe Rama's parents ought to be brought up on such charges, especially considering her mode of dress, or lack there of.
"Ramiela is it?" I finally managed to say. But the words sounded shaky even in my own ears, "Where do you live?"
"Hasn't Jessie tole ya? I live in the sewers wit my family" She announced cheerfully, "my daddy says it's awful hard gettin a home topside when you look like a bunch of turtles, and he says most places wouldn't want a rat moving in either. Sides we don't got lots of money we gotta make do with what we have." She reached up pushing the hood on her top back, and all the way off. Then she brushed her dark hair from her eyes.
I inhaled sharply as I saw the face, that the child had kept hidden. She wasn't human! Not even close to being human, she had no nose, or ears to speak of and her mouth was larger.
Oh my god! What the devil was this thing? What had spawned this monstrosity? Jessie went to step towards her and I instinctively grabbed my son and pushed him behind me wanting to protect him, from this...the unknown, this creature, demon child whatever it was.
"What the hell are you?" I demanded to know glancing for a weapon, anything I could use to keep it away from me and my child.
"I...I...It's Raaa...Rama mom" Jessie answered as if that much were obvious.
"I'm a ninja turtle" Rama spoke up simultaneously, "I'm learnin' to be a kunoichi." She took a step forward, smiling warmly.
I backed up pushing Jessie with me, making sure he stayed behind though he was squirming to get around and go to his friend. "I don't care what you are just go back to whatever hell you are from you filthy beast" I snapped at her.
"Mmm...Mom" Jessie pleaded quickly.
"Jessie no! This beast could have diseases or something" I cut in stopping his protest.
The beast child gave me an odd, curious look. "Jessie I think your mom is a little surprised I real not maginary."
Imaginary? Oh gods I wish it were. I wished I had believed my son from the first and put a stop to it before hand. But how, could something that looked like this even exist? My chest heaved with fear, as I moved Jessie back towards the street and kept a close eye on this thing.
She shrugged and gave me a perplexed look.
"I don't care who you are or where you came from" I declared firmly, longing to reach the light on the street, somehow knowing we'd be safe once we left the dark alley, "I don't want you near my son any more" I ordered as sharply as I dared.
Jessie started to protest that he wanted to stay and play with his friend. I had asked him to meet with Rama and now that I had I was being unfair to him. He didn't understand that he had made friends with something that shouldn't exist, in this world. I continued to push my son toward the street, keeping Rama from reaching him.
She watched and sighed "I guess I'll see you later Jessie. I think your mom needs more time to get used to me bein' real."
"You are not to see my son again!" I snapped at her, not knowing if she'd get riled up at my sudden yell, but trying to get through to her that she was not going be near my son again, not if I could help it that was.
Rama shook her head "Give her time Jessie" I heard her call after us, just as we reached the safety of the streets.
I kept a tight hold on my son as I headed him towards home glancing nervously over my shoulder, my legs shaking under me, my breath coming in short pants and I longed for a cigarette so badly.
"S...Sh...she's m...mmmmm...my ffff,friend mom yo...yo...you ssss...said you www..wwa..wa..wanted to meet her" Jessie reminded me in a sulky tone.
"I know I said that Jessie" I admitted, wondering why I had ever doubted him in the first place.
If Rama was real- and she sure as hell looked real to me-what about the other stuff Jessie had talked about concerning this child.
If she was real, then her family must be real, unless of course Rama herself had lied about that, but if it was true did that mean that there was more of those things running around the city. Things that had been trained as ninja. Ninja who carried weapons and were trained to kill, that thought sprang up quickly taunting me.
My son was mixed up with murdering, filthy beasts, who hid underground and came out to do who knows what!
I didn't let go of Jessie until we were back in our apartment, Jessie in a sour mood from being dragged home was going sulk it off in his bedroom but I told him we needed to talk first and he could go sit in the living room. In a huff he turned and headed in the direction of the living room, flopping down on the couch,arms crossed his chest and a pout on his face.
I lit a cigarette taking a long pull of it "Jessie I don't want you playing with Rama any more."
"B...B...But wwww..whw..why mmmm...mom?" He demanded.
"She might be dangerous Jessie."
He snorted.
"She could make you sick as well, she does live down in the sewer and it isn't the cleanest habitat" I alibied quickly, a lie that was very true, "You can't play in certain areas because you know it isn't safe and the sewer were all the waste and, who knows what ends up there, isn't a good spot for you, and who knows what she could be bringing up with her."
"Sh...sh...she's my friend!" Jessie yelled clenching his fists at his side, fighting to hold back tears, "Sh...Sh...she ha...ha...hasn't made mmmm...me sss...si..sick."
"Jessie don't you dare fight me on this!" I flared at him, "You stay away from Rama or you'll be grounded."
He nodded a silent acceptance of the order before slinking off to his room to sulk in silence. I watched him go, feeling terrible because I knew he felt Rama had been the perfect friend, but I just didn't feel safe letting him play with her...it any longer.
I went into the kitchen and made some tea debating about calling the police or some other authority to round up these animals who were quite possibly a menace to our city.
Yeah right! Melody, you phone the cops and they will lock you up for being insane. After all who is going believe you? She mused to herself, Come on, you didn't even believe Jessie at first.
I shuddered, calling the police might cause more trouble for her and Jessie then it would for those things. I realized bitterly, that my son's loneliness had lead him to befriend a horrible abomination, a creature that shouldn't exist and I was at a sudden loss over what to do to protect him from his own naiveté.
RAMIELA:
Jessie's mom sure was upset when she saw me fully. But I knew from what Jessie had tole me that his mom couldn't be all that bad. In fact his mom seemed quite nice till she saw me. I don't think she really meant all those things she said either, she were just surprised to see I was real.
After all maginary creatures aren't sposta be real, that's why they are maginary in the first place.
I sighed it were Sateday and I weren't epected at home jus yet so I gotta thinkin I may as well explore the sewer and my new boundaries some. As I walked I thought about Jessie's mom saying I carried diseases. I had to wonder what a disease was. Late that night when daddy was tucking me into my bed I asked him.
"What's a disease daddy?"
Dad made a face, then smiled "A disease Rama is an illness, something that makes you really sick." He replied, "Some diseases can travel from person, to person and some diseases can go from animals to people."
I scowled, "Are turtles diseased daddy?"
"Some turtles, the non-mutant type can carry a disease called salmonella, which people can catch" Dad nodded, "it doesn't seem to bother turtles too much but in people it can make them sick enough they can die from it."
I gulped maybe Jessie's mom were right. "Do we gots sam- and - ella daddy?"
"No Rama" dad chuckled, "Don checked us out. None of us have it, we're a pretty healthy bunch, in fact due to our mutation Don says we throw off stuff a lot faster, our immune system seems a bit stronger then humans that way." Dad soothed.
"But Aunt Karena got sick when she were pregnant daddy?" I reminded him. She did too, she got awful sick then, and I kept hearin how she couldn't play with me cause she was so sick.
"That was different Rama. Woman often get sick when they are having a baby, because their bodies have to change so much due to the new life growing inside of them." Daddy said kindly, he smiled and said "Your mom was very sick when she was pregnant with you. Karena wasn't all that bad, all things considered. Now get some sleep Rama" Dad said as he pulled the blankets tighter around me, "good night."
"Otosan oyasumi nasai" I whispered a reply before yawning. ( Good night father.)
I huddled under the blankets hopin Jessie's mom would still let him come play with me. I figured she would, after all she only needed time to believe I was real then she'd be okay. Sides Jessie and I were friends we weren't hurtin' one another and I weren't diseased either so what could it hurt if we stayed friends?
TBC
