Chapter 10

Leo

I woke up a few minutes ago, now I just lay here awake, thinking to myself. A few days passed since I've been here, on this couch, not able to move, being useless. I can't see anything, just darkness. I know that there's bandages over my eyes, wrapping around my head, blocking my vision. But this darkness is different, I just know it is. There should be just a little sunlight passing through the small cracks of the wrapping. But there's not. Nicole tells me not to worry, she says don't be scared, but no matter how hard I try I can't get rid of this fear.

Nicole...I don't even know what she looks like. I can hear here, but I can't see her. I want to visualize what she looks likes, but I can't. I have no idea. What colour is her eyes? How long is her hair? What colour is it? How tall is she? What does her smile look like? I want to see her, I want to see the expression on her face every time she looks at me. Is it a look of disgust? Or is it a look of pity?

All these questions just lead me to more. Why did she help me? Is she scared of me? Why isn't she running? Why didn't the police show up, or the zookeeper or something? Why isn't my body being dissected yet? I'm a giant mutant turtle, why isn't she shaking out of fear? Even when she talks to me, I don't hear fear in her voice. I hear concern and worry. Like she actually cares about me. Why does she though? Why aren't I just another animal that has no feelings to her?

I sigh a little out of frustration. I hear her dog whimper, Toby I think his name is. This dog has constantly been by my side ever since I got here. It's been about four days since I've woken up from the explosion and the dog has never left the spot at the foot of the couch. It heard it's footsteps shuffle across the floor and felt it's wet nose nuzzle my arm that was dangling off the couch. I smiled slightly and rubbed the dogs head. I was so focus on the soft pants coming from Toby that I didn't hear approaching footsteps coming down the hall.

"Toby really likes you, you know." I heard her voice again. Her voice, Nicole's voice. I knew I heard it somewhere before. It sounded so familiar. But no matter how hard I think or dwell upon it, I can never figure it out.

I quickly sit up at the sound of her voice and stop petting her dog. Millions of thoughts and phrases are running through my head, trying to come up with something to say. But all I can do is chuckle nervously and shy my hand away. I hear her gentle footsteps walk into the living instead of leaning against the door frame. The weight shifts on the couch slightly and I can tell that she sat herself down on the armrest of her couch.

"Y-you don't have to be scared." She reassured me though I heard her voice tremble. The way she spoke, I can tell she's nervous or scared, but not of me. She seems relaxed and not frightful around me. She isn't scared of me...at all.

"S-scared?" When I speak, my voice is horsed. I take a moment to clear it before continuing, "Who said anything about being scared?"

She laughs before speaking, "People don't need to say thing for others to know what they're feeling."

I open my mouth to reply, but no words come out. I can form them in my head and hear them, but I can't say it out loud. I know what I want to ask. I want to ask why she isn't afraid, why she never asked what I am. I mean, isn't she curious? I'm a giant talking turtle, yet no questions about my being has ever been asked.

"So Leo," She continues when I don't say anything, "can I ask you something?"

Here it comes, she's probably going to ask the very question I was just thinking about. I thought maybe for a second she'd be different, that maybe Nicole wouldn't care about my image. But I guess I was wrong.

"Sure." I reply, trying my best to hide my disappointment that pierced my voice.

"Where are you from?" Nicole asked with curiosity, as if this question was lerking in her mind for a while now.

"What do you mean?" I wonder. Her question took me by surprise. There's many things that it could mean. Does she mean my place of origin? Or what I am? Like, am I from a different planet or from a science lab?

"Umm...like, where you come from?" Nicole is confused by my question, honestly, I am too, "You must of grew up somewhere."

"Oh um..." I hesitated, wondering if I should tell her. I've been living with Nicole for about four days. Though I'd hardly call this living, being stuck on a couch all day. But none the less, Nicole has been caring for me, so she deserves some information of where I come from. There is, however, no way I'm telling her about the lair or my brothers, "I'm from New York."

"Really?" She seems a little surprise but continues, "what part?"

"Manhattan."

"Cool." She seems fascinated by that, though I have no clue why, "I have a house in New York, and a lake side cabin in Maine."

"Wow" Is all I can say. It's quite impressive really.

"Uh, well it's more my parents houses." She quickly adds. I can tell that she was worried that she sounded like she was bragging. I fight back a small smile that tugs on my lips, "I'm from Canada by the way."

"Canada?" I question to make sure I heard her right.

"Yeah, you've ever been that?"

"No." I almost laugh as I respond, "I don't know if you can tell, but I don't travel much."

She laughed at my reply. I had to admire, her little giggle was cute. It's been a little while since I've heard someone laugh so much. Three weeks on a ship, a few days passed out and four days blinded by bandages, laughing never sounded so sweet.

Nicole sighed then spoke, "I'm gonna make some breakfast, you want some?"

"S-sure." I stutter, I never feel comfortable asking for food, or accepting it. I find it rude, but I know I need to eat, plus Nicole would force me too anyway. It happened before, the second day I was here I didn't want to eat, but she forced me too. She sat by my side until I ate. I know she would do it again, so now, what ever food she gives me, I eat.

Once again the weight of the couch shifts and I know Nicole got up to make some food. Already I can smell something coming from the kitchen, though I can't make out it's scent. It smells good, but nothing I recognize. I haven't had much of a culinary experience so far, the fanciest thing I've ever eaten is pancakes.

I chuckle slightly as I think of the first time I had pancakes. Taylor had made them for us, and everyone seemed to love them. It's surely the most exciting breakfast I've ever had. I know Mikey loved them, and insisted on making them again. Pancakes became one of the family favourites. Too bad Master Splinter missed out on it though, he would have loved pancakes.

I'm unaware of how much timed have passed. I never know now. The days seem to drag on by, seconds become minutes and hours become days. Everything is different when you can't see. Time doesn't exist anymore. The sunlight vanishes from your world, leaving it cold and dark. Leaving you scared and alone. I never really realized how much I miss seeing the blue sky, or the bright glow of the sun. I miss seeing beautiful views and people's faces. I just miss seeing.

"Breakfast is served!" I hear Nicole's voice call throughout her apartment and her footsteps approaching. I sit up on the couch to make room for her. She sits down beside me and sets a plate on my knees. I feel warmth on my knees coming off of this plate, it feels good and smells even better. I want to shove it all in my mouth at once, gobble it down like I haven't even in days, but there's only one thing. I have no idea what she's feeding me.

"Um, w-what is it?" I asked turning my head in the direction where Nicole is sitting.

"Oh, it's French toast with maple syrup and a side of raspberry." She explains but I stay quiet. Titling my head slightly. Nicole senses my confusion and continues, "Haven't you ever had French Toast before?"

"No." I mumble sheepishly and shake my head. I feel hot with embarrassment. Little by little Nicole is learning more about me, yet I barely know anything about her. I want to though, I want to learn all about her. She saved my life, I want to know.

"Well it's bread dipped in eggs then fried onto a pan, I added a little cinnamon to the batter though. Give it some taste...you're not allergic to any of this...are you?" She wondered nervously after explaining my breakfast. Nicole seems to know a lot about food.

"No, I'm not allergic to anything." I answer her simple and place my hand gently on my plate, feeling my food to know where everything is.

"Well, that's good to know." Nicole says and I picture her smiling. I can't picture her fully, I don't know every aspect of her. It's hard to describe exactly what I see when I picture Nicole. I see someone, but I also don't. I know it's not her, but it represents her.

"Are you?" I blurt out, desperate to keep talking. Silence allows me to think, and if I think, I think about how much I miss home, my family...Karai.

"Hm?"

"Are you allergic to anything?" I repeat myself but more clearly. I feel stupid for asking such a weird question, but I have to keep the conversation going somehow. Every little piece of information helps me visualize better...if that makes sense.

"Me? No." Nicole laughs as she speaks, her voice soft with a hint of amusement, "It would be bad if I was allergic to food, it be hard to be a chef then."

"A chef?" I echo her words but this time in question.

"Yeah, that's what I'm training to be." Nicole told me, I could detect a hint of pride in her voice. I can already tell that she loves what she's doing.

"I-I'm not much of a chef myself...I can't really cook at all." I babbled, letting the words pour freely out of my mouth. I curse myself silently for letting my voice shake. I don't want her to know that I'm nervous. I don't even know why I am.

"I'm sure you're better then you let on." She comforted, though completely wrong.

"No, I'm pretty bad." I confess, "I once set the toaster on fire...okay well, a lot." I feel myself shrink down in my seat, shying away from embarrassment.

"Oh...well we're all good at different things right? What do you do?"

"Oh um...I'mma uh..." I stutter, stuck on what to say. Should I tell her that I'm a ninja, but that'll lead to more questions. I can't just stay silent, I need an answer, but none come to mind.

"A ninja?" Nicole finished my sentence for me and catches me by surprise. How could she have guessed that?

"A what?" I ask, making sure I heard her right.

"Are you some sort of ninja or secret agent or something? A samurai maybe?" She elaborates, guessing any possible thing that comes to mind.

"Um, yeah." I made up my mind and decided to tell her, "I'm a ninja...how'd you know?"

"Well your swords kinda gave it away." I hear a hint of amusement in the girl's voice. She gives a soft giggle before speaking again, "Hey Leo?"

"Yeah?"

"H-how old are you?" Nicole asked and I'm thankful to get off the topic of how I'm a ninja.

"Um, I'll be turning 17 in a few days." I inform as a frown spreads across my face. I just realized that I won't be home for mutation day. And that'll be the time that I've been gone for almost a month. Three weeks on a ship then almost a week here. How long will I be away?

Nicole must of noticed my frown because she falls silent. To make it seem like no big deal, I finally take a bit of my breakfast. The bread is soft and moist yet with a slight crunch. Light and fluffy, flavour danced across my tongue and the warmth from it made me smile.

"Wow, this is really good." I complimented with a big goofy grin upon my face. I felt really silly after what I pictured my face must look like. I internally faced palmed myself.

"Thanks!" I hear pride and gratitude in her tone of voice. Also a little relief. I feel a warm sensation inside as I realize that if she feels relieved...was she trying to impress me?

I gobble up the rest of my breakfast rather quickly, it was so good. Even the berries were better then what I usually have and the maple syrup is sweeter. I want to keep telling Nicole how good this is with every bite I take. I have to admit that I'm kinda sad when I finish it.

"That was amazing." I say in awe and hang my head back on the couch. I said it more to myself then to anyone. Sometimes I almost forget that someone is here with me. That I'm not alone. I spent three weeks alone, I got so use to the feeling.

"Thanks." Nicole giggles softly and take the empty plate off my lap. She walks back to her kitchen I assume and Toby follows right behind her. I hear the pitter-patter of his tiny feet going where ever Nicole goes. And when she's out, Toby stays right by my side, so as each day progresses, I get a little less lonely.

Nicole comes back and sits back down. Not a moment passes before the seemingly shy girl starts speaking.

"So Leo, what do you want to do today?"

"W-what do you mean?" I'm caught off guard with her question, the words get stuck in my throat as I stuttered them out, "Don't you have work today?"

"Not today, I don't work Sundays." I picture a girl, or at least an outline of a girl, shrugging, "So I'd figure we'd spend the day together...I-I mean if you want to. If you need rest-"

I cut her off, "Doing something would be great." I smile warmly.

"Great, what do you wanna do?"

I hesitate for a moment, I know my answer, but I'm unsure if I want to say it. I mean, it's worth a try right? So here goes nothing.

"I...um, can...can we take off my bandages?"

I hear her sigh sadly and I picture slump shoulders. When she answers, her voice is sad and apologetic.

"I would say maybe in about three days. Then your injuries would have had a week to heal."

"Yeah..." I look down though really no point. All I see is darkness anyway. It's hard to adjust all my emotions and habits to something different now. Someone can tell when another is sad by their eyes and body language. Get rid of one, it's hard to keep the other, "Can you do something for me though?" I wonder, biting my tongue out of habit. I tend to do that when scared or nervous.

"Sure, anything." Nicole replies with warmth in her voice and reassurance. I get a little boost of confidence for what I'm about to ask.

"Can you uh...describe something for me?" I requested, slowly shrinking down in my seat.

"Oh um, sure." Nicole answered happily,"What do you want me to describe?"

"The room I'm in." It's true that I didn't give the answer that dwelt in my mind. What I really wanted her to describe is herself. I want to know what Nicole looks like, but more importantly, I want to know who she is.

"Well," Nicole began, "You're in my living room, it's average size for an apartment living room. Not to big, yet not to small. The couch we are sitting on is a hazel colour and the walls of the room is a very pale, brown. Not very exciting in you ask me."

She pauses as I let out a soft chuckle, already I can start to picture what the space around me looks like. And I can no longer fight back my smile, in a way, I can see again.

"My couch isn't fully presses up against the back wall nor the full length of it." Nicole continues, now standing up, I assume it's because she wants to get very aspect, every detail of this room, "There's a built in book shelf behind my couch and a computer desk in the corner. That way it's more efficient for studying and stuff. Um...in front of the couch on my um...I guess you could say it's a brown with a very light hint of red, stained floors, is a coffee table with a glass surface. Underneath the table is a burgundy rug."

I'm closing my eyes as Nicole describes the room. I picture the girlish figure standing in the middle of the room, using her hands as she speaks. Nicole says how a few feet away from the table is her flat screen, black, TV. And on each side of the television, there's a little circular table...thingy. On top of which has a small plant with a white face. Black swirl designs decorate the vase. Above the TV on the wall is three paintings. All three of them are at a beach, but at a different time. One is in the morning, at sunrise. The middle one is during the day time, near noon. The last is at night, with stars in the sky and the water glowing beneath the dim light of the moon.

"Oh and on the right wall." Nicole speaks the finishing statement, "There's the entrance. It's wide and tall, and the trim around the whole room is almost like a cream colour. And I believe that is all."

"D-don't stop." I beg, sitting straight up, "I mean, please, keep going. What does the hallway look like?"

It was to exciting to stop, I needed move. It's almost as if I craved it. I needed to see again. It's almost sad how desperate I want it. I much I need it. It's only been four days since I've lost my sight, well temperately anyway. But it felt like forever to me. Not knowing my surroundings, I needed to convert my eyes into my finger tips, into my hears, my nose, every other sense I have. But I can't even get off the couch, I can't even move around. So how am I suppose to touch, to hear and smell everything around me when I'm stuck. But now, now I don't have to worry about that. Nicole, she will be my eyes.

We played this little game for a while now. She even helped me move around. For hours I have one arm wrapped around Nicole's shoulders as she helped me walk to each individual room. She made sure to describe every detail, of every room, of every object. She let me feel things, pick them up with my hands so I could get an idea of how big the object was, where it was placed and even what it looked like.

The amazing thing is, Nicole went along with it. With short breaks every now and then, she was able to support me through out her entire apartment, moving me around. And she never got tired of it either, she never got tired of painting pictures for me, of using words instead of picture to describe how something looked. Her words were the paint and the darkness before my eyes was the canvas. It's like she's my light in the dark tunnel or my sun in the sky.

We went from the living room to the hallway to the kitchen then back in the hall. We went to the bed room, the back room and the bathroom. We went all the way back down the hall and to the front door, even if it's only a few feet down, we still went there. If it's only a few feet away, we would walk there. We covered every foot, every inch, every centimeter of her apartment. If you asked me to, I could now tell you what her apartment looks like.

We talked along the way too. I learned more and more about the girl who saved my life. We never covered back stories yet, but I learned the basics. I learned what she enjoys doing, her likes and dislikes. I learned her hobbies and what makes her laugh. The only thing I didn't learn, but what I really wanted to, is what Nicole looks like.

I have to admit that I was pretty sore at the end of the day. My ankle was nearly killing me and my arm was pretty sore too. But everything that happened today was worth it. I would give anything to do this again. I want to do this again. But for now, I lay back down on the couch, Nicole is in her room and Toby is going back and forth. Taking turns sleeping on the rug in the living room and in Nicole's room.

I stare up at nothing, unable to fall asleep and get some rest. I'm wide awake, there's no way I could ever fall asleep, no not now. I enjoyed this day so much, I don't think I ever smiled this much in one day. For the first time in a long time I felt happy. I was able to clear my mind, without meditating. I didn't have to feel sad. I didn't have to think about anything but visualizing. For the first time in a while, I didn't think about home. About how much I miss my family. I didn't think about my brothers, my father, or my friends. And what surprised me the most is that for once, I didn't think about Karai.


Okay, so I have some explaining to do! I've been gone for a really long time, I haven't posted a chapter in months! I could write you a mile long list on excuses on losing inspiration and blah blah blah, but I won't bore you. I've written quite a few chapters over the past couple of months (Up to chapter 18) and will hopefully finish this Fanfiction soon. So updates will be more recent again. I'm sorry to everyone who's been waiting for this chapter! Hope you enjoy it, reviews are always appreciated!