Broken Hearts Still Beat
I prefer to be a dreamer among the humblest, with visions to be realized, than lord among those without dreams and desires. Kahlil Gibran
Chapter 1: Sandgel
The Tardis touched down with a barely discernable bump as the Doctor sighed with relief. The ship sometimes had a will of her own, bringing him to a destination that wasn't exactly the one he had in mind. Tonight was one of those times when the controls refused to respond to his touch and the dials spun without regard to his direction.
Now that the argument was won, in the usual favor of the Tardis, his good humor returned immediately as he consulted the charts and realized that he was on the planet Sandgel, which was on his list of "one day I have got to visit" planets. Sandgel had a desert like climate, with water close enough to the surface to be mined and allow the planet to be not only habitable, but in some areas quite lush. The people of Sandgel were said to be gentle and peaceful, with almost idyllic lives that centered around the trade that they had mastered, which was creating beautiful tile that was made from the sand of the planet. The Sandgels were close knit, putting family above all else, and enjoyed the numerous celebrations that were scheduled around the seasons of the planet. Travelers and merchants from other planets visited Sandgel to trade and purchase the tile in the rich colors that were a trade secret among the people.
Opening the doors to the Tardis with a snap of his fingers, the Doctor strode out into the night air, looking about with his infamous curiosity at the scene in front of him. The Tardis, in her infinite wisdom, landed in a courtyard surrounded on three sides by brick walls with terraces and doorways overlooking the courtyard. The tiles under his feet, even in the darkness of the night, shined with colors made into a pattern of a starburst. The smoothness of the tile refracted the coolness of the night air, making the area very pleasant and inviting to the traveler.
The stillness around him told the Doctor that the planet was sleepy. There was no noise except the gentle rustling of desert breezes through the courtyard. Looking up to the sky, he saw an incredible sight. There were two moons visible, both close enough to make out the mountain ranges and geographical distinctions. The soft light coming from the closest one was tinted with a golden glow, and the far moon with a pulsing blue. The sight made him pause, just gazing as a peace came over him that had his muscles relaxing, his breathing slowed, and a sense of well being come over him that he had not felt in a very long while.
Also apparent in the sky was the bright glow on the horizon, heralding a new day that would soon arrive. Spotting a bench under one of the terraces, the Doctor sat absorbing the moment, in no hurry to end it. And the Doctor rested.
The sounds of water running brought the Doctor out of his reverie. Light had not yet reached the courtyard, but sunbeams could be seen dancing on the street in front of him. As the sun climbed and became stronger, the night breezes of the desert calmed and the air grew still. The glow of the moons gave way to the laser brightness of the sun. A new day had come to Sandgel. The running water stopped, and movement above him could be heard with the opening of a window. The Doctor stood and stretched, feeling relaxed and pleased.
As he left the courtyard and turned onto the street, he saw what appeared to be a market area in front of him. In a matter of moments, the market started coming to life with residents coming out of their doors, stretching and yawning, picking up buckets and crates and heading towards their stalls. The market reminded him of others that he had seen all over the different galaxies, serving a multitude of purposes with both commerce and social tasks being tended to. The people of Sandgel dressed simply, with tunics and trousers in layers of different colors and patterns. Most had hoods on their tunics, although in the still mildly cool morning, the hoods were worn down on the back, to be put up later as protection against the glare of the sun.
A young girl turned the corner with a stack of boxes carried in her arms. As she stepped into the street, she gave a slight stumble, and the stack started precariously tilting. The Doctor's reflexes kicked in, and he dashed forward, putting a steadying hand on her elbow and took the top couple of boxes off the pile.
"There you go!" He cheerfully said.
"Thank you, sir" she said in a high squeaky voice. "That would have caused a mess!"
"And which way are you heading? I'll carry these for you"
Her face broke into a huge grin at that. "I'm just over here, with my dad – that's him, the biggest man in the market! Dad!" She called.
The large man looked up, his face answering in an identical grin. "Sissy, what's this? Visitors come to buy, not to work!" He held his head at a slight angle, looking the Doctor up and down. "You're too scrawny to work for me, you'd best put those boxes down over here before you drop them".
The Doctor put the boxes down where Sissy's father had indicated, then turned around, sticking out his hand. "Nice to meet you, Sissy's dad. I'm the Doctor."
"Sissy calls me dad, everyone else calls me Aviaz". His hand extended, and firmly grasped the Doctor's, pausing slightly when he looked into the Doctor's eyes. "You're from very far away."
"How could you tell?"
"Your clothes, your strangeness, but mostly your eyes. You have very old eyes for such a young person." His voice dropped a bit as he continued, "On Sandgel, we have a gift for telling friends from foes at first meet. We can also see the aura, and yours is old. But no matter, you're friend, and that's what's important."
"Aviaz, when does the market open?"
"Are you looking to buy some tile?"
"No, just wanted to look around some. This is my first visit to Sandgel, and I like to see the culture first hand."
"You've visited a lot of places then?"
"Oh, you have no idea", he said with his trademark grin. "Maybe Sissy can show me around, if you can do without her for a little while?"
"Since you helped her with the boxes, I suppose I can excuse her from a couple of chores" he said, smiling down at his daughter. "Just make sure that you bring me my tea before you forget all about your poor old father!"
Giggling behind her hand, Sissy nodded. "I'll bring it in a little bit, dad!" She grabbed the Doctor's hand, and he let himself be led away by the little girl.
She took him to the other end of the market, which was showing more signs of life. She stopped in front of a pen, which had what could only be described as chicken like birds scratching about in it. "These are my favorites!" She exclaimed. "They lay eggs that are all different colors, and the shells make the colors for the tile!" She reached through the pen, trying to pet one of the birds, but it darted away before she could make contact. She sighed and looked up at the Doctor, grinning. "They're still too fast for me. But when you touch them, they're soft and warm."
Sissy stood up, brushing the dirt from her knees. "Doctor, what do you want to see? Do you want me to show you my school?"
The Doctor squatted down, bringing himself eye level to her. "What kind of school do you go to?"
She giggled again before answering "Regular school! What other kinds are there? We learn our numbers, and our symbols, and how to make stories."
"How long have you been in school?"
"I went to school last year, then this year, and I have three more years. Then I get to work with my father making the tile."
"Sissy, how old are you?"
"I'm 96 moons. I'm big, huh?"
The Doctor laughed. "You're the biggest 96 moon old girl I've ever met!" He said.
"So do you want to see my school? No one is there, but I can show it to you."
"I would love to see your school, Sissy. Lead on!"
Once again, Sissy grabbed the Doctor's hand, and this time lead him past the pen with the birds and their colorful eggs, and in between a couple of houses, chatting nonstop about her school, her teacher (The best teacher in the whole of Sandgel) and her classmates. The Doctor noted to himself that children are still children, and that there was quite a bit of universal common ground between them. He figured that her 96 moons was the equivalent of eight earth years, and enjoyed his time with the vivacious giggly child.
After viewing the school, which was of plain design but extraordinarily beautiful with murals made out of the colorful tile on the outside walls, they headed back to the market. Sissy reminded the Doctor that she had to stop at home to pick up her father's tea, and the Doctor waited patiently outside the door for her to return. They walked down the road, the market now in full swing, and the sun climbed higher in the sky, causing the temperature to rise. Although not yet hot, the day was now warm enough to forget the night breezes that had first met him when he stepped off the Tardis. The Doctor escorted Sissy back to her father, and after declining to share his long awaited tea, the Doctor headed out on his own, roaming around the market and the town, enjoying the peaceful ambience and the pleasant day.
When the heat of the day peaked, the Doctor noticed that the people in the marketplace pulled their hoods up to cover their heads. Wishing that he had brought a hat himself, he decided to stroll back to the Tardis to get out of the hot sun for a bit. As he was approaching the stall that Aviaz and Sissy ran, he saw Aviaz standing in front of the stall, his hands on his hips, looking over the display that Sissy was rearranging.
"Doctor!" Sissy squealed, dropping the tile pieces and running over to him.
Aviaz turned, smiling, and froze, the smile fading and a confused look coming over his face. The Doctor stopped, his arms automatically reaching to catch Sissy as she launched herself at him, her arms wrapping around his legs. His eyes not leaving Aviaz's face, he reached around and unwrapped her arms, and took a step forward towards Aviaz, not understanding what was wrong.
As Aviaz stood there frozen, a wall of smoke suddenly appeared out of no where, blocking the sun and making it impossible to see even a short distance away. The Doctor heard a thud, and continued his step towards where Aviaz was standing. He moved slowly, carefully placing his feet on the unseen road, moving in the direction that he hoped was the correct one to reach Aviaz. He heard Sissy behind him take a sharp intake of breath, her confusion as evident as both Aviaz's and the Doctors. After a painful moment of walking in a blind state, he felt his feet touch something and squatted down to see if he could have better vision closer to the ground. What he saw made his blood turn cold.
Aviaz was down on the ground, and what the Doctor's foot had touched was the bottom part of his leg. The smoke was not as thick down here, and as he reached out to Aviaz, the Doctor saw something else in the haze – they were not alone. All sound was gone, there was a deadening quiet as if a bubble was around them. His eyes stared through the smoke, and a form appeared. It was human shaped, but had a hood covering the head, and its back was turned towards the Doctor. The being was kneeling at Aviaz's head, bending over him as if whispering in his ear. There was a hand on his chest, appearing to be holding Aviaz down. Aviaz himself was deathly still. The being looked up and turned the head slightly, so the hood was in profile. The head slowly moved back and forth a bit, as if saying "no". Then the hand left the chest, and after lifting a single finger to where the mouth should have been, in the universal hand gesture for silence, the being disappeared through the mist, leaving Aviaz on the ground with the Doctor.
The Doctor scrambled up to Aviaz's head, his hand reaching for his jugular, looking for a pulse. There was none. Aviaz's eyes were closed; the confused look replaced with a sleeping pose. Aviaz was gone! As the realization kicked in and the Doctor sat back on his heels, the smoke lifted as suddenly as it came. With it gone, the senses returned, the gasps and voices of the people in the marketplace returned, and Sissy's scream pierced through the last of his veil of disbelief.
"Dad!" She screamed. She ran over, throwing herself on the ground next to the Doctor, desperately grabbing onto Aviaz's tunic. "Dad! Wake up! Wake up!" Her voice became desperate as her father's lack of response began to panic her. "Dad! I'll get more tea! I'll get Mom!" Her face turned to the Doctor, tears already beginning to pool in her eyes. "Doctor, help him! I don't think he's breathing!"
The Doctor gently reached over to take Sissy's hand, but she snatched it away and pushed at him. "No! You have to help him! He's my father! Make him breathe again!"
Through his peripheral vision, the Doctor saw the people gather in a circle around them, some of the women in the arms of the men, all with a shocked, saddened look on their faces.
"He's gone, Sissy. I'm sorry, I'm so very, very sorry."
A louder scream pierced the marketplace, as a woman threw herself onto the ground next to Sissy. "Aviaz! Aviaz! Dear Lord, what happened? Aviaz!"
Sissy turned her attention to her mother. "He was standing here, then there was smoke, then he was down, Mother, what's happening? Why won't he wake up?"
The Doctor felt as if everything was happening in slow motion. What happened? Aviaz was a young man, glowing with health. What was in the smoke with them? What did it do to Aviaz? He felt as useless as the chickens in the pen down the street. All that he knew, and he was powerless to help Sissy and her mother.
Sissy's mother stood up slowly, reached down and picked Sissy up, holding her close. "Please, someone – help me. Bring him home for me. Please." The last word broke as Sissy turned her head into her mother's chest and began sobbing. Her mother looked down one more time, then turned, briefly pausing as she looked at the Doctor. There was a moment of confusion in her face, but it was quickly dismissed. There were more important things for her to do this day than wonder about the stranger in the marketplace.