Through the gathering dusk a hunched, black coated figure shuffled its way along the clifftop path, steel-tipped cane clicking monotonously against the stony earth. What little was visible beneath the brim of his hat was almost impossibly ancient, the skin shrivelled and hanging loosely from the bone, with pale blue eyes so filmed and milky that they looked half blind. Yet as his breath laboured in and out and his face grew more drawn and exhausted at each step and his thin lips compressed with the effort, his gaze was fixed unwaveringly on the rambling mansion house at the top of the next rise.
"Doctor!"
The old man missed a step, fumbled and dropped his cane clattering to the ground as a white blur sprang out at him from behind a dry stone wall. A girl, all dark curls, wide eyes and dazzling smile, wrapped her arms like a vice about his waist.
"Doctor Smith, it's so good to see you. We'll have such fun!"
She released him only to take his hands and dance excitedly in a circle around him, moving adroitly despite the heavy, formal white dress which wrapped her in a cocoon of lace and ribbon. His face registered alarm as he barely avoided tripping over his own feet in keeping up with her, but a little of the weariness seemed to drain away and he managed a tired smile, his eyes softening with affection.
"Jasmine, one of these days you really are going to finish me off."
He retrieved his hands and managed to keep his balance while Jasmine, overflowing with surplus energy as usual, squatted to pick up his cane and jumped up to press it into his hand and take his elbow, supporting the slight weight of his frail body.
"Oh, it's been a terrible day," she chattered as they resumed the journey. "Mr Heffer got back from London this morning and he says they all laughed at his new invention. He's been in a foul mood ever since."
"Ah. I'll look forward to that, then."
"Oh, it'll be all right now you're here. Just tell him you like the ridiculous thing and he'll be happy as a King."
The Doctor drew breath to reply, but his attention was distracted by a stone bench beside the path.
"Jasmine, perhaps I might rest here for a moment before I make my final assault on the peak."
She glanced at the gentle slope which led up to the house but said nothing, and assisted him over to the bench, pulling his arm about her shoulders so that he might lower himself into a sitting position without placing too much pressure on his creaking, aching joints. He let out a long exhalation of relief and slumped forward, pulling his hat away to reveal a mottled scalp protected by just a few strands of flat and lifeless grey hair.
"Don't look at me like that, Jasmine," he said quietly, though from his hunched position he could not have seen her bite her lip worriedly at his weakness. "I plan on staying around for a while yet."
"You'd better," she returned immediately, making her voice bright and teasing. "Who would I have to talk to if you weren't around?"
She fidgeted, up on her toes, and moved sideways with a succession of neat little dance steps before, with a visible effort, stilling herself and dropping to the bench beside him. He turned his head far enough to look at her thoughtfully from the corner of one eye.
"Are you unhappy? Your guardian does his very best for you."
"Oh," she rolled her head back and kicked her feet against each other. "I know he does. Everybody tells me so. But he was a friend of my parents and he just did the decent thing. He'd much rather I wasn't around."
Her profile, as she gazed out at the darkening waters of the Atlantic, was momentarily not that of an excitable young girl but of a grown woman. Her half-formed young features were developing a real beauty. The Doctor sighed.
"I'm so sorry they aren't here to see you now."
"Yes." Jasmine spoke with little feeling. "Well, I suppose they're up in Heaven looking down at me."
"Heaven. Yes." The old man glanced up to look at the stars, but it was a cloudy night. "That would be nice. To be done with life, and start fresh on something quite different. Now that would be something to look forward to."
This engaged Jasmine's interest.
"You sound as if you don't think that's what's going to happen."
"Well, what if when one life comes to an end you simply start all over again with a new one. A different face, a different personality, but still you."
"Oh, I've heard of this. Reincarnation. But my tutor says only eastern barbarians believe in it."
A faint smile.
"That's a Latin word, you know. Barbarus. When they met foreigners who spoke a different language it sounded to the Romans as if they were talking nonsense. Barbarbarbarbar. And that's what they called them. So you see, a barbarian is actually just someone you don't understand."
"Oh." Jasmine hesitated, knowing a conversation would come to an end if he felt she was being dense. "Well, it's only what my tutor called them..."
"What have I told you about your tutor?"
She straightened like a child in a schoolroom.
"Don't believe anything he says until I've checked it with you first."
"Exactly. Now tell me, if you had your choice, Heaven or reincarnation, which would it be?"
"Um..."
"Relax. It's only hypothetical. You're not really selecting a destiny for your immortal soul."
"Well... The reincarnation sounds more interesting. It would be like living forever, only you'd keep on getting the chance to start again and do everything better than last time."
"Hm." The Doctor paused, the creases about his eyes deepening in thought. "You don't think it would get monotonous after a while? You don't feel that after a while you'd be ready to move on to whatever comes next? Find out what's over the rainbow, as it were."
Jasmine shrugged.
"Depends what comes next, I suppose."
"Quite. But there's something else. If in this new life I have not only a different body but a different mind and different thoughts, then how can we say it's still me? Or is it someone else, who has stolen my place in the universe? And in that case, am I myself not truly dead?"
There was a silence, and the Doctor looked round to find Jasmine staring at him, wary and concerned. His crumpled old face moved in a reassuring smile.
"It'll be dark soon, and your guardian will worry."
She sprang up, and grasped his hands to pull him to his feet. With his arm resting on her shoulder, they resumed their journey towards the house silhouetted on the clifftop ahead.
"Doctor!"
The old man missed a step, fumbled and dropped his cane clattering to the ground as a white blur sprang out at him from behind a dry stone wall. A girl, all dark curls, wide eyes and dazzling smile, wrapped her arms like a vice about his waist.
"Doctor Smith, it's so good to see you. We'll have such fun!"
She released him only to take his hands and dance excitedly in a circle around him, moving adroitly despite the heavy, formal white dress which wrapped her in a cocoon of lace and ribbon. His face registered alarm as he barely avoided tripping over his own feet in keeping up with her, but a little of the weariness seemed to drain away and he managed a tired smile, his eyes softening with affection.
"Jasmine, one of these days you really are going to finish me off."
He retrieved his hands and managed to keep his balance while Jasmine, overflowing with surplus energy as usual, squatted to pick up his cane and jumped up to press it into his hand and take his elbow, supporting the slight weight of his frail body.
"Oh, it's been a terrible day," she chattered as they resumed the journey. "Mr Heffer got back from London this morning and he says they all laughed at his new invention. He's been in a foul mood ever since."
"Ah. I'll look forward to that, then."
"Oh, it'll be all right now you're here. Just tell him you like the ridiculous thing and he'll be happy as a King."
The Doctor drew breath to reply, but his attention was distracted by a stone bench beside the path.
"Jasmine, perhaps I might rest here for a moment before I make my final assault on the peak."
She glanced at the gentle slope which led up to the house but said nothing, and assisted him over to the bench, pulling his arm about her shoulders so that he might lower himself into a sitting position without placing too much pressure on his creaking, aching joints. He let out a long exhalation of relief and slumped forward, pulling his hat away to reveal a mottled scalp protected by just a few strands of flat and lifeless grey hair.
"Don't look at me like that, Jasmine," he said quietly, though from his hunched position he could not have seen her bite her lip worriedly at his weakness. "I plan on staying around for a while yet."
"You'd better," she returned immediately, making her voice bright and teasing. "Who would I have to talk to if you weren't around?"
She fidgeted, up on her toes, and moved sideways with a succession of neat little dance steps before, with a visible effort, stilling herself and dropping to the bench beside him. He turned his head far enough to look at her thoughtfully from the corner of one eye.
"Are you unhappy? Your guardian does his very best for you."
"Oh," she rolled her head back and kicked her feet against each other. "I know he does. Everybody tells me so. But he was a friend of my parents and he just did the decent thing. He'd much rather I wasn't around."
Her profile, as she gazed out at the darkening waters of the Atlantic, was momentarily not that of an excitable young girl but of a grown woman. Her half-formed young features were developing a real beauty. The Doctor sighed.
"I'm so sorry they aren't here to see you now."
"Yes." Jasmine spoke with little feeling. "Well, I suppose they're up in Heaven looking down at me."
"Heaven. Yes." The old man glanced up to look at the stars, but it was a cloudy night. "That would be nice. To be done with life, and start fresh on something quite different. Now that would be something to look forward to."
This engaged Jasmine's interest.
"You sound as if you don't think that's what's going to happen."
"Well, what if when one life comes to an end you simply start all over again with a new one. A different face, a different personality, but still you."
"Oh, I've heard of this. Reincarnation. But my tutor says only eastern barbarians believe in it."
A faint smile.
"That's a Latin word, you know. Barbarus. When they met foreigners who spoke a different language it sounded to the Romans as if they were talking nonsense. Barbarbarbarbar. And that's what they called them. So you see, a barbarian is actually just someone you don't understand."
"Oh." Jasmine hesitated, knowing a conversation would come to an end if he felt she was being dense. "Well, it's only what my tutor called them..."
"What have I told you about your tutor?"
She straightened like a child in a schoolroom.
"Don't believe anything he says until I've checked it with you first."
"Exactly. Now tell me, if you had your choice, Heaven or reincarnation, which would it be?"
"Um..."
"Relax. It's only hypothetical. You're not really selecting a destiny for your immortal soul."
"Well... The reincarnation sounds more interesting. It would be like living forever, only you'd keep on getting the chance to start again and do everything better than last time."
"Hm." The Doctor paused, the creases about his eyes deepening in thought. "You don't think it would get monotonous after a while? You don't feel that after a while you'd be ready to move on to whatever comes next? Find out what's over the rainbow, as it were."
Jasmine shrugged.
"Depends what comes next, I suppose."
"Quite. But there's something else. If in this new life I have not only a different body but a different mind and different thoughts, then how can we say it's still me? Or is it someone else, who has stolen my place in the universe? And in that case, am I myself not truly dead?"
There was a silence, and the Doctor looked round to find Jasmine staring at him, wary and concerned. His crumpled old face moved in a reassuring smile.
"It'll be dark soon, and your guardian will worry."
She sprang up, and grasped his hands to pull him to his feet. With his arm resting on her shoulder, they resumed their journey towards the house silhouetted on the clifftop ahead.