Chapter 10: Moving Forward
Authors note:
Wow, sorry it took so long to update. I'm getting ready for finals right now and life is just a little hectic and busy. But I also really wanted to post this next chapter. :) Please let me know what you think.
A light dusting of snow covered the untouched hillside, the sunlight barely peeking over the country landscape from its bed in the mountains beyond.
"It's beautiful," I smile hugging my blue winter jacket closer to me.
"It is" Baxter smiled. "Though it would have been just as beautiful back at the house." my brother stated irritably. "Couldn't we have watched the sunset from the back-porch or something? It's freezing out here!"
I couldn't help but concur with that sentiment, it was cold. I had never been fond of the cold but for me at least, this beautiful nature sense was worth the discomfort of the cold and the hassle of the trek.
"Seriously, you woke me up before sunrise to walk up a mountain!"
"Hillside Bax"
"To see the sunrise"
"Look" I point "you can see the whole town from up here"
"Of course you can, it's the mountain that overlooks the freaking town!"
I let out a light chuckle, my cheeks heating up in embarrassment. Maybe I was a little over excited. But I don't know; something about the sunrise always seemed special for me, a symbolism of new beginnings. So far it had been Bax who'd wholeheartedly embraced the changes in our life, making an effort to embrace change and sculpt a new life. It was my older brother who made the decision to move here. The one who went out and sought out his dreams. He'd been in his teaching profession for a month now and although it was difficult was meeting the challenge head on with enthusiasm and dedication. Taking a page from his book I was making my first real effort to move in the same direction. Today I was starting training at the police academy in a nearby suburb.
I had felt so lost since waking up. Baxter was painting over his past life, changing details in the picture to create something he can be proud of. But with me it was more like starting with a completely blank canvas that was devoid of all color. Detail. Memory. I hadn't known where to begin. I thank God, that I have Baxter. My patient older brother, who never pushes me to remember my past. Bax never acts hurt or sad when I can't remember him or our family, our past or anything! There were days where I felt so lost and overwhelmed that I wanted to scream! But then I had a memory, a muscle memory. Finding the dojo was a God send. Falling into the familiar dance helped me reconnect with who I was before. Like meditating it made me feel in control and at peace. Though the hidden skill terrified me beyond belief. Bax's reassurance that I did not work for Shredder partially put my fears at rest, though I still had doubts and nagging questions. I now knew I had these abilities. I just wanted to know in what way they'd been used in the past. These worries and thoughts kept me up at night.
..I could not change what I had done in the past, but I could control what I did in the present and future. Connecting with that side of myself had given me direction. It had awoken inside me ingrained instincts and desires. Of justice, protection and peace.
I wanted to help people.
I wanted to protect and provide.
I wanted to make a difference.
Joining the police force seemed like the logical choice to do so.
The click of a camera pulls me out of my thoughts.
"Oh this one's for the books!" Baster's enthusiastic voice calls "Peter get a picture of me standing on the ledge here, be sure to get the town in the background. Oh man this looks so cool with the sunrise behind me!" I chuckle fondly as I focus the picture.
"Oh so now, you're glad we came up here" I respond with a smirk.
"Well of course! We are forming memories here. Family bonding! "
I smile, and take two extra pictures in case the first doesn't turn out.
"Though, I did not appreciate waking in the early hours of morning to walk in the freezing cold up a mountain!" After the emotional climax Baxters voice softens as he stares out toward the waking town "I must admit though the view is nice."
"It really is"
My brotherly lets out a sigh "now that we don't live in the city you're going to force me into all sorts of outdoor activities in the summer aren't' you." Bax's voice was less accusatory and more like resigned acceptance.
"Well of course" I shrug " what kind of younger brother would I be if I didn't, plus" I punch him lightly in the shoulder. "I'm going to be on the force by then, I'll have to keep in shape"
"Ah" Bax shakes his head with a chuckle. "I have exciting adventures of tent camping, creek fishing and mountain hiking in my future don't I?"
"Yep" I answer cheerfully, taking a seat on a nearby rock for my own chance to capture the fading scene. I pull out my pencil and notebook.
Since waking up, I've realized just how treasured and irreplaceable memories are and have made an effort to cherish each new moment.
That's why I started carrying around my notebook. Bax calls it my security blanket. But it's more like my way of taking a snapshot of moments in time. A way to keep a running time frame in my head. The deep brown leather bound book has a cobalt trim around its edges, a shade that almost matched my eyes, and a shade I feel admittedly attached to. It serves as my diary, photo album and sketch book all wrapped up in one. As I flip through the book I see a clipping of the want ad from the Pizza place, the admission add for the police academy, a picture from Baxter's first day as a professor when he was called in to finish out the rest of the fall semester first as an assistant to Mr. Reid. Slowly taking on more and more responsibilities gaining comfortability with the syllabus, class and workloud to prepare him from running the class solo next semester. Several other pictures are scattered throughout the book as secured with paper clips or tape. Humorous pictures of failed cooking excursions, or snapshots capturing grins and hugs from adventurous trips into the nearby woods, movie nights and the epic battles of Space Heroes vs. Space Wars, pics of playing Mazes and Mutants with Bax and Marcus. My personal favorite picture is from the day we discovered the arcade and the day I discovered how truly competitive my older brother really is. Though admittedly I also discovered that I have a competitive side not to be reckoned with as well. In the picture the two of us are standing side by side, my brother's arm draped lightly over my shoulder. We're both laughing, barely standing upright as we are fighting to control our laughter.
I smile at the picture as I continue to flip through the book. I look up to see if Bax is looking as the book falls open to a page filled with flame. Seeing as my brother is distracted checking his phone and taking more pictures I allow myself to linger on the picture I've drawn.
The sketch is no masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, I am far from an artist but I'd thrown my heart into the sketch and worked to make it as detailed as possible. Of all my pages of memories, this one is one of my more treasured. I don't know why exactly I hide it from Baxter. Maybe it's because it's of the fire. Maybe because I have yet to tell him about my recurring dreams. Maybe it's because he's so secretive about our past and the people in it and although I don't know who Donatello is I don't want to lose any connection to him, no matter how small!
So I keep the dreams a secret, the details hidden away in my notebook. I don't know how to describe the dream in words so I just drew it. It started with the hand, I drew the mutant green three fingered hand, then I added the phone. I put down every small detail that appeared on the screen. The space hero character as the ID picture, the name, the shell shape design, any and every detail I could remember. Then I drew the fog. The numb that always stole me away from the dream and made the details fuzzy and vague, though admittedly it ended up looking more like smoke than fog especially after I added in the flames that eat hungrily away at the walls of the paper just as they did with the walls of the warehouse.
I kept a running tally of the dreams on the backside of the paper.
Each dream has a tally, with the date it occurred and a star next to it, if the dream had any new details. I let my eyes drift over the sketch one more time, writing down today's date to note the dream that once again haunted my sleep, before flipping to a blank page to stretch the fading sunrise.
Hello again my lovely readers, I hope you are enjoying this story. Please continue to read and please respond with feedback, questions and comments.:) I'm trying to keep these chapters short and sweet to give you a taste into Peter and Baxter's lives while still building momentum.
For those wondering about the timeline. The fire occurred in late summer when the fall weather was just beginning to set in. A few weeks later they were moving away from the city and about a month after the accident Baxter was offered a position at the university as a Professor there. This chapter is taking place about two months after the accident, Baxter is getting settled into his job at the University, the two of them are bonding and forming memories as brothers. Peter is applying for a job on the police force.
Peter may seem a little OC but that is intentional, I am trying to keep snippets of Leo alive in him so hopefully our favorite blue banded turtle will make a reappearance in Peter every once in a while as they are one and the same.
Please Review.
