just the way you are

was meant to be

----Notes----

As I post this, I have the best news and the worst news possible.

As I am ever the optimist, I'll start with the good news. I'm posting this from a brand new laptop, and it's awesome. I'm so chuffed. It's great. I named it the T-Laptop :D

But... this morning we had to let go of my cat, who I've known all my life. I'm really sad about it, but I don't really know how to express my feelings. All I have to do is say thank you to all my wonderful readers. You guys give me a purpose that brings me joy, and writing really gives me something nice to do to feel better about things.

So, this chapter is for him, never forgotten, always in my heart.

_________________________________________________________________________

There was a light beyond all known horizons. It seemed to beckon her, blind her. It moved fluidly beyond her vision, crackling like lightning.

Reddish-brown hues flashed before her eyes, along with a breeze of lilac wind.

I love you, Kayla.

She woke up in a cold sweat.

Sitting up slowly, she peeled herself up off the floor of her bedroom, the entire left side of her body burning. Her head was fogged, and her vision was slightly blurred. She stood up, her knees nearly buckling as she walked over to the window, pulling open the curtains. Daytime. It was daytime again. She must have fallen asleep early. Normally she blinked once at twelve and fell asleep, and lived out another twenty-four hours in the Second Dimension where she did the same. It was an endless cycle of no sleep, but not needing any.

She wondered why last night was different. Why she not only fell asleep at an odd time here, but the fact that she fell asleep in the realm. Normally she was just awake 24/7, other than power naps and rest... this shouldn't have happened.

Golden light streamed through the gaps of the buildings. It looked like it was going to be a sunny day in Manhattan. And perhaps she should try to look for parallels between her two homes today, but she couldn't bring herself to. She clutched the window sill, looking down into the street.

Opening the window, she climbed out onto the fire escape. She leant against the wrought iron bannister, she contemplated what she was going to do next.

She was thinking about how to get Donatello back to his dimension. It was going to be hard, if they didn't have the right methods or resources.

But never impossible.

The amount of sun today was nice, familiar to when she was younger. She was born in Australia, but her parents had moved with her to New York when she was only two. Her brother was born just after. Justin was a New-Yorker through and through, whereas she sometimes found herself staring southeast, wondering what life would have been like had they stayed.

It seemed she was always longing for somewhere else, whether a dimension or a country.

She sighed, climbing back in the window. The sunrise was gentle and calming, but her head was too full of noise to properly appreciate it.

"Kayla!" her brother called from downstairs. "I made pancakes this morning."

Her head flashed to four figures eating pancakes in a dark area, but one of them was not right. One of them wasn't meant to be there. She felt her neck hairs raise. "I'm coming!"

She rushed down the stairs, to the bottom level of their two-story apartment. Justin was standing behind the counter, a plate of ready made pancakes in front of him. "Here," he said, pushing them across the counter. She pulled out a seat, sitting down to eat them with a fork her younger brother had also passed across the bench.