Learning To Be Human | TMNT Leo X OC Love Story

processing feelings and emotions

With anxiously joyous blue, light blue, two brown, green and purple, and green sets of eyes, I made my first unchaperoned steps into the kitchen.

The lights reminded me of rays of sun in the ocean at noon. It made the world above me look bright and luminous. My knees gave out and I sunk to the ground, wailing. It wasn't like a cry you would hear from a fully developed human. I just learned to say words. My cries were garbled and deep in my chest.

"Oh no." The blue person came to my side, looking me in my eyes, a furrowed look of concern in their eyes. "Hey. Remember me? I'm Leo. I found you back on the docks. I'm a turtle guy."

"Me. You. A." I relayed back the simple and easily pronounceable words. "Nnneo. Mmeeeooo. Eeeeo."

Frustrated, I slammed my hands to the ground and shouted.

"It's okay. It's okay." The proclaimed turtle guy patted my shoulder reaffirming my safety. "Can you tell me what's wrong? Are you remembering anything? Does it make you sad?"

"Eemember. Sad?" I tilted my head, unaware of the string of letters' meaning.

"Being sad makes you feel a pain in your heart," he pointed to his covered chest, "that's not really there. If you feel like this, you say yes, or no if you don't."

"Yyes."

"What did you think about when you were sad?"

I made a swimming motion with my arms. Not the typical human swimmer strokes, but the wriggling of sea life. I motioned rays of sunlight shining down on my charade water.

"Sad."

"Do you miss the water?"

"Miss?"

"Like you want to go back to it."

"No!" I began to shake. "No."

"Okay. Let's get up: you need to eat."

"Eat."

The eating took place in the horribly reminiscent room they called the kitchen. On the table was a thin cardboard box that held a circular pie of cheese and sauce. When the green people, a tall furry brown person, and Maya ate the pieces of pie, it changed the shape into a triangle.

"It's pizza."

"Piece a."

"Close enough."

Leo put a warm triangle in my hand. I fought the urge to scream and slam it to the ground, so I resorted to shaking. I shook my head repeatedly.

"No. Sad." I handed it back to him.

"Sad about pizza?"

"Yes. It feeees..." I made a flapping motion with my hand, signalling its quality of heat.

Leo began to consume the pizza. My mouth watered. "You don't like hot things. Got it." He guided me to the kitchen, where he poured a cup of deep yellow colored liquid.

"I don't know if you don't know how to chew yet, so drink this." He made a motion of pouring the liquid and swallowing it animatedly, then handed me the cool plastic.

I did as instructed. It was sweet and refreshing. I spilled a little from my mouth, and coughed when I was done, but I had sustenance in my body.