Chapter Text
When Donatello was five years old, three things happened in summer that changed his life greatly. He did not knew about these things until he reflected upon them years ago, after his father died.
He never thought on them, he refused to think about them until he saw the problem his brothers and him were in and they needed a miracle to escape alive. An unspeakable choice at the moment, but too necessary. The life of his brothers were at stake and he loved them very much, to break his own promise for save his brothers was a little price he was so ready to pay.
Of course, his brothers were shaken with his decision, yells and sobs made the explication hard to follow after the events but in the end they accepted the true.
The true that his youngest brother was a Tulpa.
In their fifth summer, the little turtles had the most humble lives anyone can imagine, but they knew no sorrows or despairs. Splinter, his father loved them so much that happiness was the only thing they knew, and they returned his love by the only way children knew.
Leo the eldest always behaved and obeyed, and tried to keep his younger brothers safe, sometimes he forgot about his duties when he played with his brothers. Raphael was always bothering his brothers with his games but he never take his eyes from them when they were not playing with him. Donatello when he was not reading books he was building new toys for his brothers so they can have the adventures of their lives. And Michelangelo, the youngest and the happiest of the four was always eager to play with however wanted to play with him and when not, he invented his own adventures.
That summer in particular had been ordinary like the last, except they had started to train the previous fall to become shinobi like their father. They woke up early, they ran around the lair a couple of laps, they did basic workout training and then they practised the kicks and punches their father taught them and before they were dismissed for breakfast, they meditated.
None of them understood why they had to close their eyes and listen to their breaths, they were young, they were hungry and they wanted to play. Therefore, at 5 years old, meditation was a boring task that they did anyway for the sake of their father. One morning, father talked about how some monks through meditation, they can make things happen or appear. It sounded ridiculous to Donatello, and he asked the whys and how’s until Splinter gave him a book.
This was the first thing that changed his life. This book was about discipline and meditation, it held so much contemplative text that at first, Donnie struggled to understood and in the end with the help of his eldest brother, he gained some understanding at the importance of meditating in the martial arts’ field. Leo on the other hand took to heart much of what was said in the book, thus changing their lives without noticing.
Raphael grow distant as the pair shared the book, so he turned all his energy to his youngest brother: Mikey who welcomed the attention with cheerful delight. They become inseparable and Splinter's headaches were more often than ever. Raphael and Michelangelo knew how to get in troubles and do mischief, how to disturb the pace, they truly knew how to laugh. If they were playing noisy everyone in the house knew what they were doing, Splinter got anxious when the pair was in silence, meaning they were preparing a new mischief, the endless energy of Mikey infected Raph and they both never stop.
Splinter was happy with their innocent games, playing at being astronauts with boxes as their space shuttles or cowboys with the old sticks as they horses. They even tried to play police and robbers with Donnie and Leo but ended in being all in a safari trip. After all, they didn’t got the television until they were almost eleven and Donnie perfected his way with electronics and they relayed on Splinter’s tales and some old books.
The second thing that changed Donnie's life was when Mikey got ill that very summer. Mikey declared one afternoon that he could not stop going to the bathroom, Splinter got concerned and after some questions he come with the conclusion that Mikey had diarrhoea and made him drink lots of water and special teas. What nobody expected was that Mikey at his third day of treatment he got worse, he didn't wanted to eat or drink, nor get out from his bed and Splinter was out of ideas to help his son, but he keep at his son side and Donnie helped his father by bringing food and the books his father asked.
In insight, Donnie remember that in the middle of the spring, Raphael and Michelangelo were playing quite rough, something Donatello didn't feel interested in playing, they were playing at being wrestlers and were using his new kicks and punches at each other, Leonardo was with their father, out scavenging. The game had been so far, innocent and loud until Mikey started crying. Somehow, Raph wounded Mikey in the leg, a bleeding cut no bigger than their nails but enough to pain the young turtle. Donnie as responsible in those moments took this task upon himself of taking care of his brother. Children taking care of children did what they observed and learned, and what was the most logic to them, so Donnie did what he saw his father did to himself once. He washed the wound and put a clean cloth on it until the blood stopped.
Once master Splinter come back, he saw his three children playing happy. He has been worried for nothing, they held a happy dinner and the whole incident forgotten, Mikey did forget about his own wound after Donnie said he was good to play again. In the followings days, Mikey developed a little pinkish coloration in his plastron, but nothing too big or too remarkable, the colour appeared slowly and shyly that nobody thought it had to be of importance, after all Mikey was still eating well and playing like always.
In the days Mikey refused to get out from his bed, Donnie finally noted that the pinkish coloration was much stronger than ever, he wondered if that wound in spring was the origin of his younger brother’s suffering and why nobody noted how big and deep the pink mark got. On that night, Mikey finally smiled at his father and said that he was too tired to keep his eyes open and he went to sleep. Splinter tried to woke him up then, Splinter looked at Donnie, the fear in his eyes told him everything, his little brother wasn't going to wake up again, he just read about death last week and he didn’t like it.
Donnie exited the room not believing that his brother was sleeping the dream of death, Raphael and Leonardo were in their rooms in blessing sleep, they trusted their father will heal his youngest brother. The lair hasn’t feel so oppressive before and he remembered on spot what he needed to do. He went to his room in search of his notes, he draw the sigil in the cover of another book at lack of spare paper. If I can think of my brother is just sleep and he will woke up, he will. This is why they learned meditation, why their father was so set up to learn the discipline. If he tough enough, his brother will woke up.
He carried the book and copied the sigil on Mikey's door, afterwards he went at his father's side and whispered to him with all the conviction his little mind conveyed at the circumstances. Mikey will wake up father, he will.
Splinter was heartbroken, but he smiled and accepted the words. He will woke up, Donnie keep telling until his father embraced him and cried silently. Sooner or later his children will learn the true and he needed to be gentle with them.
At morning, Raphael was the first to notice the weird drawing on his brother's door, he went inside the room to check on his father and brothers and offer his help. He was welcomed by a smiling Mikey still in bed but much better who shushed him and signalled Splinter sleeping, with his back in the wall, Donnie was nowhere to be find in the room.
At breakfast, their father was tired and disoriented, but happy. Leo asked questions at Mikey and he answered with simple yes and no, trying to chew his breakfast, Raphael kept talking about how close they were on losing him and how lucky Mikey was and how strong he wanted to be to protect him. Donatello entered the kitchen, he feigned to just woke up and hide his recent bath at the best of his abilities, he also pretended that what happened last night and what he did after never happened, Mikey smile and his brother's smile was enough for him.
After his father collapsed last night by the death of Mikey and the suddenly apparition of Mikey in the bed, Donnie put in motion one of the tales Splinters told them some time ago.
In Japan, the cherry tree bloomed in spring; their flowers are famous for the beauty and their precious pinkish colour. Many of this tree however had their flowers white like snow. When people died, in the ancient times, they used to bury their beloved ones under the white cherry trees, and the next spring their flowers blossomed pink, this was because the tree drank the blood of the dead.
Donnie was not sure if their tree will blossom pink the next spring, but as soon as he was done he cleaned the dojo, carved the sigil on its trunk and returned to his father and brothers. This was the third thing that changed his life.