The Words That Hurt Me

Twenty Eight Petals

'Michelangelo,'

'Argh, Come on!' Mikey grumbled, pushing himself up, 'Can't a turtle sleep!'

'You are asleep,' Splinter stated, calmly sipping his tea across from him, 'Are you trying to sleep while you sleep?'

Mikey sat up promptly and shifted his attention to the rat. He looked so peaceful, sitting among the pink flowers. They sat under a cherry blossom tree, the petals floating around them like winter snow.

As the soft pink glow enveloped the area, the turtle was left awestruck. He felt a magical energy pulsating in the air, but stopped himself from asking his father why. After all, this was just a dream.

He felt out of place here...

'You must be exhausted,' Splinter said, offering him a cup of tea, 'If you're trying to sleep while you're asleep,'

Mikey sipped the drink, feeling strange knowing that the soothing fluid flowing down his throat isn't real. Even the tea was pink, Kashmiri Chai he believes. He's made it once before, in the middle of the night when he couldn't sleep, because he thought it was neat.

'I was up earlier,'  Mikey mumbled, 'But Goo told me to go take a nap. Told me I looked exhausted,'

Splinter hummed, ears twitching as he listened to his son.

'I...' Mikey trailed off, unable to meet his father's gaze. The atmosphere began to feel stuffy, and the air around him started to buzz in his ears. It pressed down on him, weighing on him.

A clawed hand landed on his shoulder, briefly massaging the muscle there. After, it moved to the side of his head, a thumb gently running over his cheek. His head was tilted up, making him look up at his father.

Meeting Splinter's gaze, all Mikey saw was patience and love, and it tore him apart. He pulled away from his father, a flurry of blossom petals whirring around him.

'I ruined everything,' He whispered, tears welling up in his eyes. 

'What did you ruin, son?' 

'All of it!' Mikey cried, 'I was supposed to help! But all I did was start a fight,'

He wiped his face, looking up at his father.

'I hurt Goo, Sensei, I wasn't thinking! I just-I just made it worse,'

'Hmm, I see, it certainly seems that way, doesn't it?' Splinter hummed, stroking his whiskers. 

'Do you remember when you were small? There was a time you wandered into the dojo and started playing with the katanas,' Splinter chuckled fondly, 'Obviously, it did not turn out well. Luckily, it wasn't a deep cut, just a scratch across your palm,'

Splinter grabbed Mikey's left hand, tracing over a small scar. He couldn't remember where it came from and never put much thought into it.

'I had to wrap your hand,' Splinter continued, 'But when I went to clean it, you cried out and tried to move away. It hurt, I know it did, worse than when you first cut it,'

Splinter dropped his hand, reaching for his tea once again.

'You see, Michelangelo, for things to become better, it needs to get worse,' He took a sip, 'As awful as it is to fight with your brothers like this, what you are doing is causing a disruption,'

Mikey looked at him, the man sipping his tea calmly. He fiddled with his own cup of tea, a blossom petal falling into the cup.

'Change begins with disruption,' Splinter said, returning Mikey's gaze.