Once upon a time there lived a young girl named River Song. River lived in a small cottage on a hill surrounded by a forest with a river inside it. She lived in that cottage with her mother, Water Song, and her father, Forest Song. One day when River was twelve years old, a man crashed down into her father's forest. River didn't know how he had crashed. Seeing as the only thing near him that even resembled a vehicle at all was a big blue rectangular box. River looked at the man in confusion and alarm.
"Excuse me, Sir! Where did you come from?" River said bravely. She wasn't accustomed to seeing strange people she didn't know. Especially one so funny-looking as this man! He was out-of-breath (which was probably due to the fact that he had just crashed) and a bit dirty. He had a young face, but eyes like her grandfather. Old, knowledgeable, and sad. He wore a bow-tie and a tweed blazer. River didn't even know this man, but she felt she could trust him with her life.
The man stood up wobbly and pointed his index finger toward the sky. "Outer Space!", He looked at River with his sad, old eyes, "Oh River! You'll have so much fun up there" He paused, "With me.". He stared off into the distance for a moment, as if remembering something very happy that made him very sad.
Something clicked in River's brain. "Uh Sir…You called me River." The man looked at her blankly, "Yes. Yes I did." River looked straight at the man, "You called me River. How do you know my name?" The man looked down inconsolably. Why? She didn't know him. And he didn't know her, or did he? The man smiled all of a sudden, tapped his nose, and brazenly said, "Spoilers, River Song!"
River was confused, but she could she could see that the strange man, who was now tottering off toward her river, wouldn't tell her anything important. River ran toward the man.
"Well, if you won't tell me how you know my name. Can you at least tell me what your name is?" The man spun around to face River. "The Doctor!", he grinned as he pulled out a sonic screwdriver. River was disappointed and even more confused. Who was this man…this…this doctor? "Don't you have a real name?" River inquired. "You'll find out soon enough, River!" He chuckled to himself and stumbled over toward a thorny bush.
River stopped and thought for a moment before she followed the Doctor. Here was this man who had literally fallen out of the sky and interrupted her afternoon. She knew she shouldn't trust him. She was always hearing stories about young girls being taken away by strange men. But this man seemed different. Her brain was reminding her of reason why she should trust him, but as soon as she looked in those old eyes of his all of the reasons evaporated. River just hoped she wasn't making a bad choice.
"River!", River's mother called out from the cottage, bringing River out of her daydreams "Supper's ready!". River looked toward the doctor, she didn't want him to disappear before she could get out of the house. "Do you want to come?", she said as she outstretched her hand. "Of course!" and they walked up the hill toward the cottage.
The Song Cottage was a homely thing. A small little thing, painted white on the outside with a red door. There were lots of flowers outside which was courtesy of River's mother. She always wanted the house to look welcoming and friendly. And if you looked very closely you could see a telescope coming out of River's room on the second floor.