When Shadows Rise | I

Ch. 40 | School Spirit

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Before Talia knew it— and really before anyone knew it— time had flown by and left everyone stranded in the middle of October. Talia loved how beautiful Manhattan— especially Central Park— looked during the autumn season; the fallen leaves and the roughly eighteen-thousand trees made Central Park look like an enchanted forest of gold, orange, yellow, maroon, and other shades of red that could only be found in the hands of Mother Nature. Pumpkin-themed activities were ablaze in the streets, and the promise of rain and crisp weather were imminent.

In Israel, the seasons Talia ever knew were hot summers without much rain and rainy cool weather; autumn and even spring were not distinct in her home country. When she moved to New York City and got to experience her first autumn— the feel of cool air, the transition to cozy sweaters and wool skirts, the sight of the leaves falling down, and the taste of warm drinks and nourishing foods as the daylight grows shorter— she was proud to say that she had a new favorite season.

However, those weren't the only reasons why she preferred autumn over the other seasons. Every season had a special spark, but Talia believed autumn was the season of change— a chance to turn over a new leaf (no pun intended) and mark a new beginning as the bright bustle of summer emotionally shifted into a distinct wind-down period of mellow evenings. For example: the new school year.

Talia never could've foretold that over a month ago, during the said time, she really did go through the most drastic change that could ever happen to someone. On October 3rd, exactly a month after her mother was murdered, Talia finally mustered up the courage to visit her grave. Since the funeral, Talia never dared to go to the cemetery. It just wouldn't feel right. But the days leading up to the date, Talia felt so lonely and plagued by sorrow that she felt like all she needed was someone to talk to. She felt like she needed to talk to her mother.

And so she made up her mind.

Heading to the cemetery was hard enough, but seeing her mother's tombstone with her name and date of death? Talia felt like someone tied an anchor around her heart and dropped it into the ocean.

It shouldn't have ended like this. No, it didn't have to end this way.

"We've made progress," Talia had said. "And by 'we' I mean me and April and the Sa—I mean, the Hamato Family. We're getting somewhere, Imma. I can feel it. I won't stop until I find 'him.'"

Of course, it was a lie. Talia was so far from locating The Shredder, but she tried to convince herself that she was, indeed, close to finding him with the leads she and her friends had discovered. Leads were leads; something was better than nothing. Talia wanted to do right by her mother.

The time between the aftermath of the drug lab break-in and now to her felt like the period during 'The Phony War', where there was little fighting during the early days of WWII. Shredder and his ninjas had gone dark; there was no reported activity of any kind, nor had Talia and her father and April suffered any attack. Only silence. Only peace.

For a short time when Talia momentarily possessed those luxuries— things she never would've considered as 'luxuries'— at some point she did wonder: Had Shredder left her and her loved ones alone? Did he simply have no care for her and her friends potentially jeopardizing his deal with The Count? Did he. . . move on?

Now, if there was one person who Talia thought that didn't seem like the 'moving on' type, it would be Shredder. Otherwise he wouldn't have murdered her mother over something as silly as a 'theft.' Based on this, it made no sense for Shredder to just sit around and not do anything while being aware that not only were his target(s) alive and skipping merrily, but that his supposed super-secret drug deal had become known to his enemies' eyes. What was he up to? Who could he be sending to do his dirty work? Monsters like him were always occupied. It didn't matter what it was.