100 Themes Challenge - 005 -Heaven

Heaven

A/N: From watching the show I am sure that Splinter is Buddhist, but since Buddhists believe in reincarnation rather than an afterlife (and since it also just so happens to be Easter today) I've decided to make him Christian for this. This is just to clear it up that yes, I do understand that Splinter would not likely be a Christian man if he were real.

Splinter sat Indian-style in his dojo, his four sons in a circle around him, calmly waiting for the day's lesson to begin. He looked around to each of them; they all sat wide-eyed, watching him expectantly

Donatello, unable to contain his excitement for new knowledge any longer, finally spoke up. “So, what are we going to learn today, Sensei?”

Splinter smiled at him. “Today we are going to learn about families and relationships,” he said. “We will be learning about mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and such.”

Mikey raised his hand.

“Yes, Michelangelo?”

“What's a 'such'? Do we have one?”

Splinter shook his head. “No, my son, a 'such' is not a family member. It is not even a person. It is just a way of saying that there are more family members I did not mention.”

Mikey blushed and the other three chuckled at him. “Hai, Sensei,” he said.

“Aw, it is quite alright, Michelangelo,” Splinter encouraged. “You are learning. Now, you all know what a male sibling is, correct?”

Leo raised a hand.

“Leonardo?”

“What's a sibling?”

“A sibling is someone that you share a parent, a mother or father, with,” Splinter explained. “You all share me, a father, so you are all siblings to one another.”

“So a sibling is a brother?” Leo clarified.

“Yes, very good, Leonardo,” he praised. “A sibling can also be a female, a girl, can any of you tell me what you would call a female sibling?”

Raph raised his hand.

“Raphael?”

“A girl brother?”

Splinter chuckled. “No,” he said. “A female sibling is called a sister. The four of you do not have a sister, only brothers.”

Mikey raised his hand.

“Yes, Michelangelo?”

“What if you have a sibling that isn't a boy or a girl?”

Splinter paused and sighed. “That does not happen often at all, my son, but if it does, I suppose it is whatever the family decides to call him or her. Now, what do we call the female partner of the father?”

No hands raised.

“I will give you a small hint: I said it earlier.”

Donnie raised his hand.

“Donatello?”

“A mother or...a mommy?”

Splinter beamed proudly. “Yes, very good. The father's partner is the mother, at least to their children. What is she to the father?”

The four looked from one to another, hoping someone might have the answer.

“I will give you another hint: what did I call the lady, Tang Shen?”

Raphael's hand shot up. “A wipe!”

Splinter couldn't fight a full belly laugh. “You are close, my son, but no, a father's partner is called his wife. Now, can anyone tell me what the father is to his wife?”

Mikey raised his hand.

“Yes, Michelangelo?”

“If Tang Shen is your wife, and you're our daddy, would that make her our mommy?”

Splinter's heart felt as if it had stopped. He breathed in deeply and looked down at his lap.

Upon seeing his father's reaction, Mikey hesitated, but continued. “And if Miwa was your kid, wouldn't that make her our...big sister?”

Splinter closed his eyes thoughtfully; he knew this question would come, but never so soon nor from his youngest son.

“And I know they went away somewhere else, but will we ever get to meet them? Are they gonna come back?”

All four boys watched their father, eagerly awaiting an answer.

Splinter stood up and turned away from his sons. He walked to the shelf that held the framed photo of his human self with his late wife and baby daughter. He held the framed photo in his hands and stared as he fought back his tears.

“Daddy...?” Leo squeaked with light concern. “I mean...Sensei?”

Splinter sighed. “Learning time is over for today, my sons. You may go off and play.”

The boys looked at each other with concern and turmoil.

“D-daddy,” Mikey spoke up, “did I say something bad?”

Splinter finally turned to his sons and looked straight at his youngest. “No, Michelangelo, you have done no wrong. Just, please, go play for a while, okay?” He managed a half smile.

“Hai, Sensei,” he said.

The four boys stood up and quietly left the dojo to carry on with their day.
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Mikey laid on the couch with his face buried in his arms.

Donnie knelt down beside him with a deck of cards in his hand. “Mikey, you wanna play Go Fish with us?”

Mikey looked up slowly and frowned. “No thank you, Donnie. I don't really feel like it.”

“What's wrong?”

Mikey sighed. “I made daddy sad with my question. I did a bad thing...”

“Yeah, I think you did,” Donnie admitted, “but it's okay. You didn't mean it.”

“No, but I'm still a bad boy.” Mikey hid his face in his arms again. “I don't really want to play right now. Sorry, Donnie.”

Donnie sighed. “Okay, Mikey. But you can join when you want, okay?”

Mikey nodded and Donnie let him be.
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Splinter stood still staring at his former family's portrait. He sat down on the floor and set it in front of him and then bowed his head in prayer.

“Lord, help me find the strength to tell my sons the truth. At least a truth that will not harm their innocent hearts...” he prayed.

He opened his eyes and a tear escaped.
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“Leo,” Raph started, staring at a bunch of cards only he could see, “do you have any...queens?”

“Go fish, Raphie,” Leo beamed.

Raph sighed and drew a new card from the stack.

“My turn!” Leo cheered. “Donnie, do you have any aces?”

Donnie sighed and handed him an ace.

“Yes!” Leo cheered. “Raph, got any sixes?”

“Go fish,” he said.

“Darn.”

They turned at the sound of their father exiting the dojo. They watched him saunter to the couch and scoop up Mikey into his arms.

“Come, my sons,” he said, “I wish to speak with you.”

Without a word of protest, the three oldest boys laid their playing cards down and followed their father into the dojo.

Splinter took a seat on the floor and set Michelangelo on his lap. He hugged him to his chest as his oldest three sat around him in a circle, watching him curiously.

He sighed and pulled Mikey back to look him sincerely in the eyes. “First, Michelangelo, I want you to know that you have done nothing wrong.”

“But I made you sad...” Mikey choked.

“No, you did not,” Splinter corrected. “It is normal for you to wonder about that. You are growing and learning and I knew it was only a matter of time before one of you would ask about them. It is alright.” He gingerly stroked the little one's head. “Now I wish to speak to all of you about my wife and daughter the right way.”

The four looked at him, looking as if they did not know what to expect.

He sighed. “I have told you before that my wife, Tang Shen, and my daughter, Miwa, went far away before the four of you came into my life,” he began. “What I really meant by that, my sons, is that they passed on...they died.”

Donnie hesitated. “What does that mean?”

Splinter paused. “It means...it means that they have stopped living. Their bodies have shut down, as if they have gone to sleep forever, but their spirit has gone somewhere else.”
“Why did they do that?” Leo asked.

“They did not choose to die, my son,” he explained. “They...” he stopped himself. “They died because they became too sick to go on. Their bodies shut down forever and their spirit, their soul, went to a place called Heaven.”

“Where's Heaven?” Mikey asked.

Splinter sighed. “Somewhere that no one living can get to. A person must die to get to Heaven.”

“Am I gonna die someday too?” Raph asked.

Splinter hesitated. “Yes, everyone dies someday, but do not be afraid. When we die, we will all go to Heaven and be with the rest of our family. We will have nothing to fear.”

“We will get to meet our mommy and our big sister?” Mikey asked.

“Yes, my son, one day we will all be united.”