It was a lovely autumn afternoon, not one of these rainy days the calendar in England was full of. John Smith sat in a passenger seat of a twenty year old Porsche and admired the world around him with a smile of his face. His sister who was behind the wheel didn't seem to share his enthusiasm but he didn't mind it at all.

Not so long ago, he likely wouldn't differ much from her, finding a pile of reddish leaves lying on the road only a potential cause of accident. Recent events however changed his perception of life entirely. Everyone visited this strange world only once and he decided to take out of it as much as possible, even if it meant smiling like a loon on things as irrelevant as falling leaves.

A month ago he was still in the hospital, fighting to bring some normality into his life after an almost fatal incident. He was one hell of a lucky man, it had turned out that day when his car had dived into a river in the far away Republic of Congo taking him with it. The Doctors in the army hospital hadn't given him much chance, blaming for it both time till help arrived and poor equipment the clinic owned. He had pulled it through that time. The only problem was he couldn't recall one thing that happened in the last thirty years.

His body might had returned, but his mind not. For over three month now, he was back a student of Microbiology in his early twenties, madly in love with his girlfriend and dreaming about travels to distant places. He succeeded in both these points as he found out from his sister and friends' stories. They dressed him in a red robe and allowed him to call himself a doctor one summer afternoon when he was twenty seven. Only a week later he made his promise of eternal love to River and before first winter colds visited England, they had gone on their first adventure abroad.

Ever since, he had been in over sixty countries, sharing his knowledge and kindness with those who needed it most. He also identified three new subspecies of Plasmodium, but he didn't find it particularly important. Donna, his sister had often brought to the hospital a thick photo album with photos of him and grateful locals. If it wasn't enough to convince him, there were always paintings, handmade cards wishing him health and other little gifts people were leaving for him before the clinic.

The life which as they implied belonged to him appeared to be perfect, yet it also felt like a biography you find at the back of a book - cold and odd.

'You sure you wanna do it, pal?' Donna asked him once the car halted on a parking lot in front of a huge sandstone building. 'We can try another therapist and see what they say.'

'It's fine,' John said bluntly, closing a car door behind himself. He leant back on dark blue car body and took a good glance at the monument. There was something about this place that made his entire body ache for a little sightseeing. 'I actually think it's a very good idea. I have read some papers the other day. The author was suggesting the very same thing,' he added after a moment.

Sighing heavily, Donna approached him and joined him in his gawking. She didn't seem to be as fond of this place as he was. But how could she when she knew she couldn't look after him here? 'Then I would put them both in prison. One crisis ended and they drag you into another straight away,' she continued her lament.

'And who acts like older sibling now?' He smiled. She was ten years younger than he, but yet for most occasions it was him who could learn responsibility from her. She had always been like this. It had evolved in her gradually ever since their mother died and sentenced them to stay with a father who seemed to forget that kids and army cadets were made from different clay. 'I'll be fine. My stomach may not survive all that junk food and beer, but I''ll be fine,' he chuckled.

'Don't even joke like that. They serve similar rubbish in Seth's school. We have to prepare lunch for him every morning. And no, this is not spoiling since he's allergic to almost everything.'

'I wasn't judging your parental skills-' he said lightly and moved to the car trunk to retrieve from it two large suitcases- everything he owned now.

'Good. Since the divorce I don't feel like I'm good at anything.'

'You're an amazing mum for Lilah and Seth. Mum would be proud if she could see how good care you take of them,' John whispered in spirit cursing the man who made her need his reassurance. He hated seeing her like this. It wasn't she but her husband who should feel bad, yet he didn't seem to be affected at all. One day he had simply packed his things and left. Left as if eleven years of marriage and two kids didn't mean a thing. He wondered over it quite often in the last few days. He looked in the eyes of his niece and nephew and simply couldn't understand how anyone, even slightly sensitive could act that way.

'You want me to keep you company?' She asked him brushing tears off her cheek he hadn't realized were floating until now.

'Nah. Go to your little rascals and say Uncle Johnny invites them to a party,' he blurted gesturing at the car behind her.

Without hesitation, she rose her hands and hooks them around his neck pulling him closer for a hug. 'Ashamed of your sis, then?' she breathed out into the fabric of his hoodie with a note of laughter in her voice which gave him hope she was slowly approving his idea. 'You know we're here for you?'

'I know. I'll call you later tonight,' he answered once her grip around his shoulders loosened. He started to move in direction of the building but stopped just before a sandstone arch to look at her again.

She was still in the same place she was moments earlier only this time her hands were crossed– a sign of disbelief of uncertainty that hadn't changed since they were children.

With a strange feeling of coldness growing inside him, he waved a few times, turned around and took another step in direction of his new home.