Something was wrong, I could feel it. Well, maybe not wrong exactly, but different. I stepped into my dark room, lit only by the stars shimmering outside my window. There was an eerie feel to the atmosphere.
I learnt this in training; how to notice the seemingly unnoticeable. Or at least I tried to learn it in training. I wasn't a very good solider, I tended to get distracted by the littlest things. Just this day, I missed a whole seminar on "What to do when you run into a Dalek" because I was gazing at the beautiful stars and planets out the window. Miranda will probably scold me, but I really couldn't help it. Who can focus on a boring seminar when there's a whole universe right outside the window! To be honest, I don't even want to be a solider, but Miranda says I have to. She says that I will lead her army to victory. It's an awfully nice thing to say, but I think she must have been watching someone else in training! I can barley even shoot my gun straight. It is only my second week of training, but everyone else around me is amazing and mature and professional.
I glanced around my room again. Maybe I was imagining things, making up situations so I would look like a brave solider. That must be it, but I still can't shake the feeling…
"Melody, are you in there?" Miranda called.
"I'm here!" I called to her. She marched into the room and then looked at me like I was bizarre. She does that a lot, and frankly it scares me. With that odd eye patch and a face that looks like she might murder someone, it's always a good idea to please her. Too bad I can never seem to.
"Would you like to tell me why you completely ignored today's session?" Her words were spit out like venom. "And why are you standing in your room in the dark?" She flipped on the lights so I could see the horror of her face more clearly. "Do you not understand how important all of this is? This is the fifth time that a supervisor has complained about your disregard for the rules. I'll admit that this wasn't as bad as last week when you used the laser gun to make a picture in the side of the ship, but still I cannot keep defending you. You will have to make up for your missed session by reading this booklet on Daleks and completing the questions for tomorrow."
My mouth hung open. The "booklet" was more like a dictionary and the question package was no better.
Miranda looked at me with a smug face. "You better get started then." She gave a quick devilish smile and left the room.
Needless to say, I wasn't too preoccupied with the oddness of my bedroom after that. I opened my book and prepared for a long night of learning about these stupid things that looked a lot like decorated garbage cans.
I was on the third chapter, "The weak point of a Dalek", when I heard a noise. It was like a wheezing machine that kept breathing in and out. I looked up from my books and I couldn't believe my eyes. A big blue box was materializing right in front of my eyes. It was silent for a moment and I had no clue what to do. I was frozen in place, staring at the huge box in my bedroom.
"Hello." An odd man popped out of the box with a sort of sad smile on his face.
"Who're you?" I tried to chase the fear out of my voice, but I couldn't help slowly backing away from the man in the blue box.
"I'm the doctor. And you, you're Melody Pond. Amazing, reckless, beautiful Melody."
My reason told me I should be frightened and call for help, but I wasn't scared. I didn't know why.
"How can you know me? I've never seen you before."
"Melody, have you ever thought about impossible things?" He paused, but I didn't answer. I didn't know what to say. "How old are you? 11? Of course you have. Every child has an imagination greater than they will ever realize. They all dream of things they've been told is impossible. Crazy things like moving statues, creatures that make you forget, shadows that eat you, time travel…"
I looked at him like he was crazy, but also in awe.
"You and I, Melody, we will see impossible things together. That's where I know you from. It might be hard to understand now, but I've already lived the life we will spend together. This is the last time I will see you. Well, actually", he smiled, "when you're grown up I will see you one last time for a fantastic date."
"Date?" I finally said something. "You're so old!" I sputtered out. He chuckled and looked at me.
"Time travel, it's all very confusing." I looked at him with wide eyes. I didn't really believe him when he was talking about time travel.
"So, you know me, but I don't know you?" I was still trying to work things out.
"You don't know me yet. Oh! I almost forgot, I have a present for you." He ran back into his blue box and came back with a notebook that looked just like it. "This is for you."
I grabbed it and examined it, flipping through the many blank pages. "A diary?"
"So you can remember all of our adventures." He smiled.
"Like our date?" I raised my eyebrows as a joke, making him smile more.
"Much more exciting things than that, I'm sure, but if you'd like you can write about it too."
"What kind of things are we going to do?" I was excited now. If I understood this correctly, he knew my future.
He paused for a second before saying, "Spoilers." He laughed at something that I didn't understand and then he stood up. "I should go. The block I put on the security system won't last long."
"Wait." I didn't know why I said that, but I guess it was because I didn't want him to go. He paused by the door of his blue box. "Why can't you see me again? Where are you going?"
"Like I said, I am seeing you again; in the future for our date." I could sense his hesitation.
"But that's the last time, right? You'll never see me again after that. Why?"
The doctor sighed. "Everything has to end sometime. Besides, I've been putting something off that I need to get done."
That was about as mysterious as it could get, but I decided to let it go. It seemed to make him sad. "What about me? I know you have things to do but couldn't you just take me out of here? I hate it. I don't want to be a solider."
"You've got an important role here. There are things here that I can't explain to you. Trust me, I've tried everything I could to get you out but it all ends badly. You will get out one day, but not now. I'm so sorry."
He stepped into his box and I yelled after him one last time.
"Doctor!" I said. He poked his head out. "When will I see you again?"
"If I remember correctly, the same day that you get the seminar about how dangerous I am." He gave me one last joyful smile and I wondered how a man like that, the Doctor, could ever be dangerous.
Before I had the chance to stop him again, the wind wheezed and the blue box disappeared.
Weeks would come after where I would wonder if it was all a fantastic dream or if he would ever return. But he did. He introduced me to my parents and the life that was waiting for me after my escape. He took me on amazing adventures to see places and creatures that even a little girl would think are impossible. All the bad things that happened to me and the bad things that I know are ahead, he made it worthwhile. My Doctor.