Book 2: HomeFront

First Impressions

As promised, the village was not so far. Quickly, the path of the bamboo forest led them to another clearing. The rest of the environment transformed from bamboo to lush trees. From such an abrupt transition, Venus lit up to see her beautifully modest village. Their homes were large or small scaled made with dark brown to dark red wood. A select few buildings were made of non-wood product and were abundant in bright colors such as red, gold, and green. Cutting its way around the rural area was a calm stream festering with colorful fish coming out for air or little turtles basking in the sun. The stream looked shallow enough to cross, but there was a thin bridge just in case you did not want to get wet.

The female turtle lifted her straw hat off of her eyebrows to really take in the familiar sights it's brim was blocking. Leonardo saw it breathtaking, but didn't feel obligated enough to possibly reveal his face to meandering eyes. It felt weird being out in broad daylight where people could see him. How did Raphael do it?

"I'm home." She spoke dreamily. The sight of her village swelled her stomach with joy. Nothing new had developed. The homes did not change, down to the smallest detail. They were exactly how they were when she had left. A drop in mood hit her. "It never changed, but I did."

"Not really." Leonardo commented. Venus looked back at him, showing only the corner of her eye and faced back forward. That made him rethink whether or not that came off as rude.

"I left a traditional chinese girl." She looked over to her upper arm. The WNBA Liberty sweatband was obviously underneath her silky robe. "I don't know if they will understand me like they used to."

"That girl is still in there. So what you've been speaking English for a couple months. I've seen you and Mona slip into Chinese every now and then." He tried to encourage her. Venus only shook her head. Then, she quietly put her hat back on. She did not feel as ready to announce her arrival as she was earlier.

"But we'd do it in English dialect." Done with hearing her speak so down, Leonardo hooked an arm around her shoulders. In doing this, they both squished one another. Venus looked down at her turtley toes, unable to look up to him.

"This isn't about understanding each other. You're scared they won't approve of your new lifestyle." Venus continued to look down with her straw hat hiding her eyes, but he knew she was listening. "These people are your family, by blood or not. You grew up with them. If for some reason they don't like you, there's a whole other family waiting for you in New York." The brim of the female's hat barely scratched his face. She did not known it had, but Leonardo wasn't going to inform her. When those grateful eyes smiled back at him, he didn't have to say anything. Then, Venus squeezed him back with a rouge arm behind his shell.

"And I got family right here too. Come on." Her hand slipped from behind his shell and fell to her side. Taking a deep breath, she raised her hat up on top of her brow and strolled into her community with confidence.

No one was on the street from where they walked. Usually, the families may be tending to their gardens as the children were off to school with their peers. The houses looked so tiny compared to Leonardo after living a life of skyscrapers and apartments. The two large beings strolled, looking for something that the male turtle did not know of. Each house was either empty-looking or shut down with closed blinds. The only moving thing in this village was the stream, and even that wasn't full of excitement. Finally, someone had appeared. An older woman sat in a chair on a small wooden porch. In her lap was red and gold yarn meant for a craft in which she had not yet prepared. Venus stopped dead in her tracks when she saw her. Leonardo's steps fumbled as he tried to stop with her. He did not know what could have been going on. The woman, too, stopped and leaned forward to see better. Shyly, the female turtle reached for her hat and removed it from her head. The late sun shone on the fabric.