Always

Prologue

      Her name is Sophia O'Neil.

      She was born into a world that a lot of you might find hard to understand. You see, when she was a little girl, she had the perfect family. A mother who would bake cookies with her and read stories to her when it was time for bed. She had a father who would give her piggyback rides whenever she was sad or upset just to bring a smile to her face, watch movies with her after school, and who would play outside with her in the backyard. Things slowly began to change one day, when her cousin April brought her to her father's workplace, her Uncle Kirby. It was there that she met them.

      A gorgeous gray rat and four small baby turtles, all who were named by herself later. To help remember which turtle was which, she had placed small round stickers on their shells, each a different color. Leonardo was blue, Raphael was given red. Donatello had purple, while Michelangelo was given a small orange sticker. She didn't see much of a point in choosing a sticker or color for Splinter as he was the only rat there. Everyday Sophia would head over to the lab with April after school to see all of the boys, but she would always spend most of her time there with Splinter. He was a very good companion to have and would be perched on Sophia's shoulder while she walked around the lab, occasionally stealing her cheese when she wasn't watching.

      It was a few months later that she lost her parents in a car accident. She fell into a deep depression for weeks afterwards but with the help of April, Uncle Kirby, Splinter, and the four turtles, she was able to pull through and overcome her sadness. She slowly returned to the usual happy Sophia she had been before. To help keep and cherish the memories of their time, April recommended taking a picture of Sophia and their five small friends. And then one night everything once again changed.

      There was a sudden fire at the lab, drawing both Sophia and April to run to the scene, where they found Uncle Kirby dead. Unable to lose anyone else, Sophia ran towards Splinter and the turtle desperate to save them from the flames, while April called the fire department and ran outside to wait. After she managed to get all five safely out of their tanks and cage, Sophia ran outside where she spotted a sewage drain on the other side of the street. Knowing she had to let them go for their safety, no matter how much it hurt to do so, she gave each turtle a kiss on the head before sitting them down and watching as, one by one, they dropped down into the water below. Hugging Splinter close to her, fighting to hold the tears back when she felt him nuzzling against her cheek. She pulled him away and kissed both of his cheeks gently before carefully setting him down and getting to her feet. She turned and began to run back to April but paused to glance back one time, unable to stop the tears as they finally fell, seeing Splinter watching after her.

      "I love you. Always."

      And she turned around and disappeared into the crowd that started to form, unaware of the falling tears falling down her dear furry friend's face before he disappeared into the sewer after the turtles.

      Every night since the fire Sophia would think of her friends, and pray and hope that one day she would be able to see them again.

      ...Little did she know that she would one day get her wish...