The cool breeze caressed Donatello's skin like icy fingers. Autumn was approaching New York City and the snow would be falling soon. He didn't know how he and his brothers would manage patrol with the winter approaching, but they could figure it out. They always did.
The mutant took a step, and for the first time in a long while was able to appreciate the silence while he was on patrol by himself. With the bustling city in the background, he had him and his thoughts to keep him company.
Naturally, his mind shifted over to a certain red head in his life. April O'Neil seemed to always be on Donnie's mind. Somehow he could be thinking one thing and it'd end up with her in the back of his subconscious. He could be inventing something or drawing out blue prints and suddenly her face is all he could see. It was frustrating, but deep down the mutant wouldn't trade his thoughts for the world.
Donatello stopped where he was on the roof of a skyscraper, suddenly feeling as though his heart were sinking. April was all he could think about. Dream about. Talk about. And even though he knew he could maybe have a chance with her, sometimes he wondered if maybe he was getting his hopes to high.
The mutant took a step and gazed down at something he didn't expect to still be around: a dandelion. The weed was growing in the crack of a building, its white puff ball proudly swaying to and fro with the cold breeze. An impossible discovery with its location and time of the year.
Donatello remembered reading something where humans believed that, if they made a wish and blew all the seeds off of the dandelion, their wish would come true. An odd and irrational superstition, yes, but Donnie couldn't help but stare at the plant.
The mutant bent down and picked the flower. He stood up, keeping it close to his body as to not have any of the seeds accidentally blow away. Donnie knew he was crazy. That love had finally poisoned his mind for allowing him to honestly believe that, by blowing on a delicate flower, his heart's wish could come true.
Donatello thought about the red head. How blue her eyes were in the right light, how sweet and caring she could be to others, how compassionate she is about her fighting and finding her father and how she seemed to have a strong ambition unlike anyone he had ever met.
He imaged what she'd look like in his arms. What she'd feel like if she kissed him. What she'd look like 10 years from now if they were happily married and had the best life that the world could offer. Donatello felt his heart ache, knowing he might not ever find out. Glancing down at the white orb of a plant, he brought it up to his face. If he didn't have a chance, he might as well wish for one. With that, the mutant closed his eyes and blew.
