I leaned against the counter in my kitchen, sipping my hot chocolate, my eyes roaming around the careful place as I studied every speck of the area. It was clean, dense, and I could hear the washing machine roaring in the back of the house. The music from iPod played in the background, sending me to move my leg to the rhythm, something I found myself doing without any knowing about it, really. Everything felt at ease within me, so I was relaxed.
I was interrupted though, when the intense burst of knocking appeared on my front door. Groaning aloud, and still holding my coffee, I headed to my door, seeing the outline of a person. I hesitated momentarily, when the knocking stopped as soon as I approached, which seemed odd to me, but I opened it anyway.
There was a man standing there, tall and thin, brown hair that fell into his eyes, and sky blue eyes shone at me. I stood, trying to picture him from my past, all because I didn't recognize him, but he felt somehow familiar. He was dressed in a fashion that I haven't seen in Beverly Hills before; a tweed jacket, slacks, regular dress shirt, and here's the catcher, a bow tie. I raised an eyebrow, opening my mouth to speak, but he caught the chance before me.
"Katharine?" He asked, the accent of England catching me by surprise, and how he knew my name had the same effect. How?
I nodded my head, too confused to answer myself, and to even stun me more, he grabbed my face and kissed me, not letting me go, until finally, I had to push him away. He looked at me with some sense of worry and hurt, and to my bewilderment, I felt suddenly sad myself. Was I having sympathy for a random man that just kissed me? "I'm sorry, but I don't know who you are. And it's not a good thing to come into someone's house and randomly kiss them!"
He came closer to me, picked me straight up and sat me down nicely on the counter. His crystal blue eyes gazed at my face, twisting something in my heart that I didn't understand. All I could see was pain in his face, mouth, and eyes. I swore I could see down into his soul too, and it all hurt. "Katharine. It's me, the Doctor. You don't remember?"
The name tickled my brain, but I couldn't pinpoint it down. I shook my head in response and immediately, he turned away from me, slowly, and sunk into one of the chairs at my table. His face fell into his hands and I saw his body shake, the same way when you tried to control tears. I only stared, confused. "I thought you would remember me. Anything about me. Why this now?"
He continued to sit there, and he didn't flinch when my phone rang. I quickly answered the call before its third ring. "Hello?"
"Hi honey," it was my mother. "Will you do me a favor?"
I peeked over at the man who called himself The Doctor and found him staying exactly where he was, unmoving. "Yes, of course, mom. What is it?"
"Can you go into your attic and search that old trunk I gave you? I think one of your father's medals are in there."
"Sure." My mother agreed to come by later that evening to pick it up. So, I explained to this mysterious guy that I would be right back. He didn't move or make a sound, so I quietly went up to the attic and searched for that old trunk.
When I finally found it, I dove right into it, pulling old pieces of paper that meant nothing out of the way. Before I found my father's medal, I did find an old folder that seemed to be from the seventies. Thinking it was my father's; I opened it, in which a few newspaper clippings fell onto the floor. I retrieved them, only to gasp in surprise to see what they were. There were pictures after pictures of the man that was downstairs at my table. All the articles with these pictures were of wondering who this man was and how he helped certain people. I took note that none of the newspapers mentioned the fact that he had been in many before. I opened the folder even more, curious, and discovered a single folded small piece of paper that looked like it had survived a few hundred years. I opened it up, and found that it was a letter, all made out in wonderful writing. The beginning, "Dear Katharine" made me stop, and I instantly kept reading.
"Dear Katharine,
I wanted to tell you that I love you more than the entire universes combined
can count. From the moment I first saw you, I knew there was something
about you that became so familiar and so strong that all I wanted to do was
just drop to my knees and tell you that the world, the planets, and the stars
were yours. You filled my dreams with sweet bliss and kept my heart alive.
Every day, I wished to see your face, to hold you while you slept, and most
of all, I wanted to call you mine. I would show you many adventures that you
could never imagine, and keep you safe under my love. You do know of my
previous marriage, from another time may I add once again, and my child that
exists in other times, but it doesn't matter to me. You told me that you love me
through all my flaws, and even more all my attributes. I must inform you, that I
do, feel exactly the same. You are perfect in my eyes, including the flaws, and
I know all we can do is get better, together. I want you forever, literally, and try
to find some way to make you like me, changing forms every now and then, all
so I can see you for years and shower you with my love, whether or not you
are in a different form. Because, overall, I love your soul, and your heart.
The Doctor"
Almost like whiplash, multiple images and memories appeared in my head, flashing before my eyes. The man that was downstairs was in every single one of them, smiling or frowning in worry. I saw myself kissing him, telling him I loved him, seeing him cry when he thought I was gone, standing back to back as we were ready to fight some creatures that I had never seen before, and traveling in a police box. Lastly, I saw the memory of that same man, The Doctor, bending down on one knee, holding a diamond ring before me, and asking me to marry him. Exactly after that happened, something happened between us both, making him disappear before my eyes, fading as he tried to grab me. I was crying, trying to reach for him too, but he was gone, even when he stood right before me.
I stood at my feet, now understanding everything that happened. I spotted that same box he held in front of me those moments ago, and slipped the diamond ring onto my married finger. I raced downstairs to see that he was beginning to head out the front door, apologizing silently. I caught his attention.
"Doctor!" He spun around; the expression of confusion and a hint of hope shining toward me. I brightened into a smile as I stood in front of him, all the feelings from hundreds and hundreds of years before filling my heart. "I love you. And yes, I will marry you."
The widest smile appeared on his face and he ran to me, kissing me, and this time, I didn't push away.
