Splinter sat on his knees in the dark and peaceful quiet of his room, his eyes closed, his hands on his lap. His breathing was steady, relaxed. He was in a deep meditative trance, and it felt so good just to sit and relax.
"Daddy?" a little voice snapped Splinter out of his meditation.
He heard four pairs of little feet shuffling around outside his room, and he guessed all four of his sons were there.
"Come in, my sons," Splinter said.
Quietly, the four little turtles walked inside, closing the curtains to his room behind them. They all had solemn expressions on their faces, like they were worried or sad about something. And his sons were rarely sad or worried.
Which meant something was wrong.
"Is something the matter, my sons?" Splinter asked, unable to hide the concern in his voice.
"Nothing, Daddy," Leonardo said. "We...we just have a question."
"Oh?" said Splinter. "Please, ask me."
"Okay," Leonardo said. "Well..."
"Do we have a mommy?" Michelangelo blurted.
Splinter's eyes widened in surprise. So that was their question. They were curious to know if they had a mother or not. He had to answer this carefully, Splinter realized. One wrong move and their childhoods could be ruined.
"Why do you ask this question?" Splinter asked his sons.
"Because all the people on TV have mommies," Mikey wailed. "And we wanna know! We wanna know if we have a mommy, too!"
"Please answer," Raphael said. "He's been whining about having a mom since yesterday. It's the only way to shut him up."
Leonardo gave him a warning look. Raphael looked back at him indignantly.
Splinter pondered for a moment. What should he tell them? That they had an adopted mother, but she'd been killed by an evil, hate-filled man hungry for revenge? That they had a mother, some unknown regular turtle who just happened to have given birth to them?
He looked at his sons. They all looked up at him expectantly, waiting for an answer. Michelangelo's blue eyes were brimming with hope.
"Yes," Splinter answered. "You do have a mother."
"We do?!" a smile erupted onto Michelangelo's face. "What's her name?! What's she like?! Where is she?! Why-"
Raphael jabbed him in the stomach with his elbow.
"Maybe if you shut up, he'll tell us," he hissed.
Mikey shot his older brother an indignant look, but nonetheless he stopped talking. All four little turtles looked hopefully at Splinter, waiting to hear the answers to Mikey's questions.
"Her name was Tang Shen," Splinter began.
His sons hurried forward and sat down on the floor around him, looking up at him eagerly. Splinter chuckled. It was like he was telling them a story. Which he sort of was, now that he thought about it.
"She was an amazing woman," he continued. "Strong, beautiful, and bold. Back when I was a man in Japan, we fell in love, her and I. You would have loved her, and I'm sure she would have loved you."
"Why can't she love us now?" Donnie asked. "Where is she?"
"Yeah, where is she?" Raph demanded. "I wanna meet her."
Splinter sighed. He knew he would have to tell them eventually, but he never thought it would be so soon. Not when they were this young. He sighed.
"She has gone to live up in the stars," he said quietly.
"The stars?" Michelangelo squeaked. "How did she get there? Can we visit her?"
"Not yet, my son," Splinter answered gently. "But one day, you will be able to see her."
"Really?"
"Yes, Michelangelo."
"But how could she go live in the stars?" asked Donatello. "That's impossible."
Splinter placed a hand on his second-youngest son's shoulder.
"Nothing is impossible, Donatello," Splinter told him. "Never forget that."
Donatello was still for a moment, his gap-toothed mouth hanging open a little. Then he closed his mouth and nodded.
"Why did Mommy go up to live in the stars?" Leo asked. "She didn't like it where she lived?"
"No, Leonardo," Splinter answered. "She loved where she lived. It was just her time. And one day, it will be your time, too."
"When will it be our time?" asked Raphael. "'Cause I wanna know."
"Your time could come at any time," Splinter told him. "That is why you must live your lives to the fullest. That is what Tang Shen did. And her life was wonderful."
His sons nodded, their expressions solemn.
"Thank you, Daddy," said Leo.
"You are welcome, Leonardo," Splinter replied.
"Our Mom sounds pretty awesome," Raphael remarked.
Splinter was surprised at the small grin on his second-oldest son's face. Raphael almost never smiled, unless he was laughing at the misfortune of his brothers.
"Yeah," Donatello agreed. "I can't wait to visit her up in the stars."
"She is still here with you, Donatello," Splinter told his purple-clad son.
The little gap-toothed turtle looked around, a puzzled expression on his face.
"Where?" he asked, confused. "I don't see her."
Splinter walked forward and placed a hand on a part of his plastron.
The part where his heart was.
"In here," he said.
Donatello looked down at where his father had his hand, and his puzzled expression faded into understanding. He looked up at Splinter and nodded solemnly.
"Daddy?" Mikey squeaked.
"Yes, Michelangelo?"
"Do you think Mommy likes it in the stars? Do you think she's happy up there?"
Splinter sighed sadly. But then he looked at his youngest son, and the look in his blue eyes, a mixture of hope and curiosity, made it irresistible for him to smile.
"Yes, Michelangelo," he replied. "I do."