I used to think that stars were diamonds.
I thought that I could stretch my arms to the sky and scoop out a handful of the sparkling jewels to keep, I imagined how it would look to wear the stars as a necklace or ring. I remember my mum's amused smile when I told her quite seriously one day "I'm gonna own tons of stars one day!" She didn't try to correct me, I think she just wanted me to be able to hold on to being a little kid for as long as possible.
The idea faded away even before I learned what stars really were: flaming balls of gas thousands of miles away. I realized quickly enough that stars aren't diamonds, that was just a thought I latched on to when I was too young to know any better. It was a cute idea, but it was impossible.
He took me to a new planet today, it was breathtaking.
It was a tropical paradise of sparkling gemstones; there were emerald trees and sapphire rivers, the ground underneath our feet glimmered like topaz and the flowers were gorgeous chunks of ruby and amethyst, even the air seemed to shimmer like a crystal. I looked around the strange world in awe and he grabbed my hand, his grin stretching from one big ear to the other . I looked at him and he pointed at the sky,
"Look, Rose." My eyes followed his pointing finger and landed on the alien planet's sun, gleaming bright and beautifully in the blue topaz sky, "That's the diamond star Bolormaa, the only diamond star known to exist in this universe. No other environment could provide the right conditions for another like it."
He explained the science behind the star to me, I didn't understand a word he said, but my mind latched onto his words; diamond star.
My heart jumped to my throat and I felt tears in my eyes, a stupid little girl's dream, diamond stars. It impossible, it could not exist, a sun couldn't be a gemstone. But the Doctor showed me ten impossible things every day, and there it was, straight from the dreams of my childhood.
Tears streamed down my face, I still don't know why. Maybe I was overwhelmed, maybe I was surprised, maybe I just felt too far from home. Warm arms wrapped around me and concerned blue eyes met mine, I started giggling joyfully.
I realized why. I cried because I was so unbelievably happy. I cried because this life was the best thing that ever happened to me. I cried because the impossible was possible. I cried because the Doctor had unknowingly taken the imaginative idea of a foolish little girl and had made them into a reality. I wiped the tears from my eyes quickly before I leaned up to place a soft kiss on his cheek. My eyes met his, I grinned and whispered,
"The star's a diamond."