The cold October rain was drumming against my windows. It sounded like a song, completed by long howls of wind. I stared into the darkness and heard thunder coming closer. I squeezed my tea mug tighter and took a long sip. It was already past midnight but I couldn't sleep. The symphony outside was keeping me awake and my thoughts didn't leave me alone. I sighed and sat down placing my mug on the coffee table.

"Maybe I'll start read a book or something." I thought and glanced the bookshelf next to me. I had read those books thousand times already, but I was still fascinated by them. I picked a book of my favorite painter of all time: Vincent van Gogh. The book was mostly full of pictures and facts about the paintings but I wanted to watch them through again and again. The pictures always kept me distracted.

My thoughts were interrupted by an enormous crack of thunder. It felt like the whole ground and the building was shaking. Lights started to flicker and suddenly it became completely dark and silent. I sat in the middle of darkness and cursed in my mind:

"Great, black out is just what I needed." I stood up to find some candles but before I had time to do anything, a loud whooshing sound started to get louder and louder in the middle of the room. A small light started to appear and a shape of a… a blue box? I stood there shaking and looking at the sight completely terrified. What the hell was happening?!

The whooshing sound stopped and now there was a big blue police box standing in the middle of my living room. I stared at it my mouth full open and was pretty sure I was going crazy.

Suddenly, the door opened with a creak, letting the light inside the box escape and light up my living room. It made me to jump and back off. A head of a young man peeked outside, looking confused. I heard him mumbling to himself.

"Well this is odd. Doesn't look like year 6897."

The man took a pen like thing out of his pocket and waved it in front of him. Then he noticed me.

"Oh hello! Can you please tell me what year is it?"

I couldn't speak or understand his weird question. I was just so overwhelmed. The guy stepped forward and closed the door of the box. It was now quite dark and it was hard to see.

"Oh right. Sorry it's quite dark. Do you have any light devices?" The man asked.

"Eh… I-I have candles… The lights a-are not working." I stammered nervously and pointed at my drawer in the corner.

The guy walked past me with a confidence and I watched him to go through my drawer to find candles and matches. I couldn't do anything, it felt like my feet were paralyzed. He placed candles all around and lit them up. After that he glanced around proudly and said:

"That'll do." Then he looked at me again and with a small grin on his face he said:
"Well sit down, you look really pale. We don't want you to collapse do we?" Clumsily I reached for my sofa and sat down. Finally I managed to speak my mind.

"Who the hell are you?" The question came out more angrily than I intended and immediately regretted it.

"Sorry… I-I mean where are you coming from and… how on Earth you are in my living room?"

The man looked at me curiously and answered looking troubled:
"I'm the Doctor. If I'm being honest, I have no idea why I ended up in your living room. Tardis was meant to take me to a very different kind of a place. The thunder must've done something to her sensors.

"What? Tardis? And you are a doctor?"

"No. I'm called the Doctor. And Tardis is… well it's a sort of a vessel used to move in time and space."

"Like a time machine?" I asked and doubtingly glanced the police box standing few meters away from us.

"Yes." The doctor nodded and grinned again.

"Am I dreaming? This can't be true."

The doctor sighed and sat across me on my armchair. He explained me that he was a time lord from a planet called Gallifrey. He reminded me of alien attacks in London and said he had had something to do with them. Actually he had saved planet Earth more than once. It all sounded so absurd but somehow his appearance and calming voice was convincing. For some weird reason I actually believed him.

"So... you aren't a human? You're an alien?" I asked, looking at him curiously. He was very a cheery looking man, with his brown hair put up carelessly. He was wearing a brown suit with blue pinstripes and sneakers. Didn't look like an alien to me. Besides he was smiling friendly all the time.

"Yes, as said I'm a time lord. So I guess to you I'm an alien."

I must've looked very puzzled for the next few minutes. Everything he said was going through my mind and I tried to process it. For those couple of minutes he kept looking at me with his warm and happy brown eyes, but I didn't feel disturbed. I bet I wasn't the only one who had been asking the same questions from him.

"Okay." I said acceptingly. "So, you are an alien and you travel in a police box. Why did you come here?"

"Well, I was supposed to go far to the future, but some kind of malfunction led me here. I guess I can't go before the lights come back." He said and winked. Then he noticed my tea mug on the table, pointed at it and asked:

"Could we have something to drink?" I nodded and managed to smile a bit after the shock. He smiled at me encouragingly. I blushed a bit, took the mug and went to the kitchen.

In the kitchen I was going through the cupboards to find biscuits. I placed some of them on a plate and poured some juice into mugs. The Doctor had said I was pale, but now I felt my cheeks were red like a fire truck. Quickly I went to the bathroom to check my face. My black hair was a bit messy, the brown eyes looked tired and there was a hole on my shirt. Gee, I've got company and his first expression of me is this. I sighed and was just about to go back to the kitchen when the Doctor appeared in front of me. I jumped a little.

"Oh sorry, didn't mean to scare. I just thought where you went. I carried the biscuits and the juice to the living room." He said happily.

"It's okay, erm, thanks." I muttered and followed him back to the living room. He sat back on the armchair and took a sip of juice. Awkwardly I sat back on the couch, took a biscuit and started to eat it slowly. After a moment of silence he asked:

"Well, what's your name? I think I forgot to ask."

"Oh, sorry, I didn't tell. My name is Ingrid."
"That's a lovely name. " He said and smiled.

"Thanks. It was my grandma who came up with that name."

"Do you have a big family?" He asked and looked at me curiously.

"Not really, just me and my mom left. And I never talk with my mom." I responded and finished my biscuit.

"Why?"

"Let's just say she's not a dream mom. " I sighed and continued:

"What about you? Got any family? Do I have to expect more time lords to appear into my living room?" I asked jokingly.

Suddenly his lovely smile faded and the look in his eyes darkened. He stared at his mug and then answered:

"Nope. Just me. I travel usually alone. But let's not get into that." He said, put up a smile again and sipped his juice.

"Oh, I understand." I said and felt my mood sinking.

"I'm mostly alone too. I tend to just go to work, come from work, eat, read books and that's about it. I don't know anyone from here." The doctor listened carefully and nodded. I lifted my gaze and found him staring at me, puzzled.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bother you by my silly thoughts."

"No, no, it's alright. You can talk to me if you want, I don't mind. I'm glad to talk with someone." The next thing that happened was a surprise to me. I felt a rush of sadness and an urge to cry. I couldn't help it, the tears were just flowing on my cheeks and I buried my face into my hands.

The doctor put his tea mug on the table, stood up and came to sit next to me. Without any words he pulled me into the warmest hug I've ever had. Calmly he stroked my hair and just held me there. It was the first time for a very long time I felt safe. After a while I said with a very muffled voice:
"I-I'm s-so sorry. I d-don't know wh-why I'm like th-this." He continued stroking my hair and hugged me even tighter and then said with a very calming voice:

"I understand how you feel. You have felt lonely and people have been mistreating you. No one has listened to you. I promise to listen to you." And so I told him things I've never told to anyone. He listened and hugged, I cried and told. After I was done, he was still holding me.

"I think Tardis didn't bring me here because of a malfunction. I think she knew here was someone who needs me." He said and smiled. I lifted my head and said:
"Well then, thank you Tardis. And thank you Doctor. I was just so surprised that someone actually understood how I feel."

"I like humans but one of your biggest faults is that you rarely have time to notice each other's emotions. Many things could be avoided if you just cared more." I nodded and agreed.

Suddenly the lights came back on and I got up. The doctor gave me a tissue to blow my nose.

"Thank you for everything. I'm really glad you ended up in my living room."

"Me too." He said and sighed.

"But I think I have to go now. Some species are very, very impatient."

"Aww… I guess I need to let you go."

The doctor stood up and walked to his Tardis. Before he went inside I said:
"Wait! Um… Will I ever see you again?" The doctor turned around, smiled and said:
"I promise to come back. And next time I'll take you to a place where the cows can actually fly! Oh and well, talk. They are very sensitive, you just have to remember to be polite."

I laughed and said:

"Don't worry. I promise to behave." The doctor smiled again and came to hug me again.

"Be good Ingrid. Remember, there is always someone watching over you." I hugged him tightly and said:
"I will. And you be good too. Next time I hope it won't be so dark."

"It won't. Good night Ingrid."
"Good night Doctor." The final smiles, and he disappeared in his police box. Then it started to whoosh again and in a blink of an eye it was gone. Even though I was left alone again, I was feeling better. I still could feel his warm hug and I knew that warmth would keep me warm for a long time.