Little Annalise was tossing and turning in bed, mumbling as she fought off her nightmares. She awoke, springing up in her oversized bed, and shivered. She was covered in sweat and freezing. She looked around her dark bedroom, eyes falling on the giant crack in the wall that loomed above her head as she slept. She shook, though more out of fear than the cold at that point. The crack had always scared her; it seemed to whisper and send horrible things to her head. Her aunt Sharon had decorated Annalise's headboard with an array of dreamcatchers in an attempt to help the five-year-old stop her nightmares, but nothing helped. The crack sent the nightmares through the gaps in the dreamcatchers and straight into Annalise's head.
Annalise chewed on her lip. She'd never be able to fall back asleep now! And, if the clock on her nightstand was any indication, it was three o'clock in the morning. Still way too early for a kid to be awake, even if she had been planning to watch some Saturday morning cartoons. Annalise wiggled out from under her covers, careful to step far away from the gap between her bed and the floor- who knew what kind of monsters were under there!- and tip toed across the wooden floor. She crept up to her older sister's sleeping face, and poked Amelia right on the nose.
Amelia's eyes opened instantly, startling Annalise so much that she jumped back. For half a second, Amelia looked just as scared as Annalise, but the fear seemed to melt from her face when she saw that it was just her sister.
"What are you doing up, Anna?" Amelia grumbled, sitting up. She looked at the clock and glared at Annalise. "It's three in the morning!" Annalise squirmed under her sister's intimidating stare. Amelia had never been the nicest person when it came to Annalise.
"Ihadanightmare," Annalise mumbled quickly, looking down at her feet, which were cover by the feet of her footie pajamas. Amelia groaned loudly, throwing herself back onto her bed.
"So did I!" Amelia whispered, but it was loud enough to be a shout. "But you don't see me being a baby and waking you up, now do I?" Tears pooled up into Annalise's eyes and she ran to the door of their bedroom, yanking it open. She was halfway down the hall- she was going to turn on all the lights in the living room and try to sleep like that- when Amelia caught her and dragged her back into the room. She shut the door and turned on the light.
"Come on," Amelia ordered, getting down on her knees in front of her bed, waving her arm to get Annalise to do the same. Annalise knelt down, copying her sister as she held her hands together in a prayer-like position. "We're going to ask Santa for help with the crack."
So, Annalise wasn't the only one who thought the crack was to blame.
"Dear Santa, thank you for the dolls and pencils and the fish," Amelia started, squeezing her eyes shut as she spoke. Annalise was quick to follow.
"Thank you lots for Wilbur, he's my favorite toy ever!" Annalise added, talking about her stuffed pig she had gotten. Amelia nudged her in the ribs to stop talking, and Annalise tried to listen.
"It's Easter now, so I hope we didn't wake you," she continued.
"But honest, it's an emergency!" Annalise jumped in urgently. Amelia was quiet, probably trying to not yell, and Annalise poked her in the arm. "Tell him about the crack."
"There's a crack in our wall. Aunt Sharon says it's just an ordinary crack, but we both know it's not. Because, at night there's voices." Amelia paused, and Annalise glanced over at the crack, which seemed to look even more menacing than usual wight the lamplight. "So please, please could you send someone to fix it?"
"Like a policeman!" Annalise offered, tearing her gaze from the crack. "Or, or-"
There was a loud CRASH in their backyard. Annalise darted over to the window and pulled the curtains back. Amelia came up behind her and they both saw the giant blue box that had demolished their shed. A grin grew across Annalise's face.
"Thank you, Santa." Annalise ran and grabbed her pink boots from the foot of her bed and slipped them on as Amelia tugged on her red ones. Annalise went running down the hall, barely hearing Amelia as she shouted that she needed her coat. Annalise ran straight past the front closet, where all the coats were housed, and went up on her tiptoes to unlock the back door. Unfortunately, she was too short and couldn't reach.
Huffing a little, Amelia came up behind her and unlocked the door. She only opened it, though, after Annalise had put her coat on. She also shoved Annalise behind her so she could see whatever it was first.
There was a soft, yellow light emitting from the top of the box, and a lot of noise was coming from it. Amelia openly gawking while Annalise tilted her head, trying to read the writing on the far left. It was sideways, and she wasn't the best reader, so she was having some issues.
"Po- poll- poll-ice-?"
Amelia rolled her eyes. "It says 'police box', dummy." Annalise scrunched her face up and glowered at her sister. She hated to be called dumb.
She would have retorted, but someone had just poked his head out of the top of the box.
"Could I have an apple?" He asked, looking between the two girls. "It's all I can think about, apples. Dunno why."
"Maybe you have a craving?" Annalise said after a moment, eyes wide as she stared at the strange man. He beamed.
"That's strange; I've never had a craving before."
"Are you okay?" Amelia asked as the man looked inside his box, apparently amazed by whatever he was seeing. That was when Annalise fully noted that he was soaking wet. He sat on the edge of the police box and shook his wet hair.
"Just had a fall. All the way down there, right to the library." He raised his eyebrows. "Hell of a climb back up."
"You're sopping," Annalise pointed out. Amelia nudged her in the ribs.
"He know's he's wet!" She snapped. Annalise looked down at her boots. Again, her sister was making her feel stupid.
"It's okay," the man said, hopping down from his box. He wobbled a little as he walked over to her and knelt down. "I was actually in the swimming pool. That's why I'm wet!" Annalise looked up at him like he was crazy.
"You just said you were in the library," she reminded me. His smile turned a little manic.
"So was the swimming pool."
"Are you a policeman?" Amelia asked, pulling the attention back to her. She tugged on her hat, pulling it over her ears, The spring air was still very cold at three in the morning, and Annalise was wishing that she had a hat, as well. She pulled her coat tighter on her arms.
"Why?" The man asked, looking over at Amelia. He turned back to Annalise. "Did you call a policeman?"
Annalise looked up at him, her eyes big and wide. "You came about the crack in our wall, right? Santa sent you?"
"What crack?" He asked. Then he jerked back with a yelp, landing flat on his back. Annalise and Amelia ran over to him. He writhed a little on the grass, worrying the two girls. Annalise bent down to feel his forehead, like Aunt Sharon did when she was sick. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Annalise thought she could remember her mum doing it, but she was sure it was just her imagination. She didn't remember anything about her mum.
"He's warm," Annalise reported, pulling her hand back.
"Are you okay, mister?" Amelia asked. The man stood up shakily, using his box for support.
"No, I'm fine," he insisted. "It's okay. This is all perfectly norm-" He was cut off, and opened his mouth wide as a burst of something golden floated out of his mouth.
"Who are you?" Annalise asked in amazement. The man shrugged while grinning at her.
"I don't know yet, I'm still cooking." He looked between the two girls. "Does it scare you?" Annalise shrugged and shook her head. It didn't scare her- she thought it was pretty cool! She wondered if he could teach her how to do that.
"No, it just looks a bit weird," Amelia answered for the both of them. The man looked at her for a moment then shook his head, hands waving about.
"No, no, no. The crack in your wall. Does it scare you?" Annalise's stomach dropped at the mention of the crack. It must have shown on her face, since the man seemed to react before Amelia had spoken.
"Yes."
The man clapped his hands together, spinning around. "Well then, no time to lose!" He declared. "I'm the Doctor. Do everything I tell you, don't ask stupid questions, and don't wander off." He then promptly ran into a tree. He popped back up quickly, turning to face them and the house.
"Are you alright?" Annalise asked, running up to him. He patted her head, messing up her red curls.
"Early days," he said by ways of explanation, though Annalise had no clue what that was supposed to mean. "Steerings just a bit off."
"Or a lot," Annalise murmured. The Doctor just grinned at her and held his hand out for her to take. She took it, and Amelia took his other one. The three of them walked quickly back into the house. Amelia scurried off into the kitchen and Annalise turned to face the Doctor as they walked in.
"If you're a doctor, why does your box say 'police'?" She asked. "Amelia said it was called a 'police box' but you're a doctor." Amelia returned and handed the Doctor a shiny red apple before he could respond. He took a large bite and spit it out onto the floor half a second later.
"That's disgusting. What is that?" The sisters shared a look.
"An apple," they replied in unison. Annalise dropped to her knees and began picking up the bits of apple the Doctor had spit out. She ran over to the garbage can and threw them out while Amelia went to the refrigerator for yogurt.
It turned into a while big thing, as the Doctor hated every food they fed him. He even threw a plate with bread and butter out into the yard! Annalise secretly relished it every time he reacted badly, since she had the strangest feeling he'd leave after he was fed. Who knew if he'd even actually help with the crack. No, Annalise chided herself as she dug into the carton of ice cream on the table. Santa sent him. He'll help us.
The next thing Annalise knew, the Doctor was dipping some fish fingers into a giant bowl of custard. It was kind of gross, actually.
"Funny," Amelia commented through a mouthful of ice cream when the Doctor slurped up some custard and ended up with an impressive custard-mustache.
"Am I? Good. Funny's good." He paused. "What're your names?" He asked, as if the thought of them having names had just occurred to him.
"Amelia Pond."
"Annalise Pond."
The sisters had spoken at the same time, but the Doctor seemed to have had no trouble understanding what they had said. His grin grew larger.
"What brilliant names. Amelia and Annalise Pond. Like names from a fairytale." He took a large bite from a custard-covered fish finger. "Are we in Scotland, Amelia?" Amelia slouched, disappointed to have to say 'no'.
"No. We had to move to England," she said. "It's rubbish." Annalise didn't say anything. The two of them often fought because Annalise kind of liked living in England.
"So, Annalise, what about your parents?" The Doctor asked. "Are they upstairs?" He looked around as though they would come bursting through the door at any moment. "I'd have though we'd have woken them by now."
Annalise was quiet a moment.
"We don't have a mum or dad," Amelia said quickly, before Annalise could. "Just an aunt." The Doctor kept his gaze on Annalise.
"Where's your aunt, then, Annalise?" Annalise shrugged, stabbing the melting ice cream with her spoon.
"Out."
"And she left you two all alone?" The Doctor asked disbelievingly. Amelia huffed at that.
"I'm not scared!" She cried. Annalise looked up.
"Me neither!"
"'Course, you're not. You're not scared of anything." The Doctor stated. He finished off his custard. "Box falls out of the sky, man falls out of a box, man eats fish custard, and look at you both, just sitting there. So you know what I think?" He waited until Annalise had met his gaze. "Must be a hell of a scary crack in your wall."
Annalise had taken longer than Amelia to pack her things. Amelia had just thrown random clothes into her suitcase, zipped it up, and run back out to the backyard. Annalise took more time, packing her clothes nicely so she could fit more inside. She left just enough room to fit Wilbur inside, then closed it securely. she hurried out the door and into the backyard, certain that five minutes had already packed. She found Amelia perched on top of her suitcase, right in front of where the Doctor's time machine had been.
Annalise set her suitcase down and copied her sister. They waited for at least fifteen minutes in silence before either of them spoke.
"Maybe he's just a little late?" Annalise suggested. Amelia frowned, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Just- be quiet, okay?" Annalise nodded. She was growing tired, as it was almost four in the morning by that point. She felt herself drifting off, and couldn't stop it. Normally, Amelia would have yelled at her for leaning on her shoulder as she fell asleep, but it seemed as though Amelia was falling asleep as well. Her chin rested on Amelia's head, and the two of them fell asleep, waiting for their Raggedy Doctor to show up.
Annalise woke up the next morning in bed. It took her a second to realize why that was weird. She only figured it out when she saw Amelia sitting on the edge of her bed, crying. Tears immediately pooled in her eyes and she began to cry, too. It was the first time that she could remember crying and not having Amelia tell her to toughen up. The two of them sat together and cried for a while.
Their aunt couldn't understand why they were both so sad. And, of course, she didn't believe it when they told her about the magic doctor who had come in the night and had said he would take them away.
It wasn't long until Annalise found herself going to see a psychiatrist once a week.
One day, Annalise came home from her weekly appointment in tears because she had brought her Raggedy Doctor doll and her police box to show him, and he had taken them from her while scolding about how it was unhealthy to cling to imaginary friends so tightly. Needless to say, Annalise didn't go back to see that psychiatrist again. Amelia had actually helped her recreate the toys she had lost, too. She made the police box while Annalise painted a Ken doll's hair black and ripped his blue shirt and black slacks.
School was horrible for Annalise. She had started it for the first time that fall, and no one wanted to be friends with Odd Annalise, as they all called her. Annalise learned very quickly how cruel children can be, kids would sit half off their chairs in order to stay away from her at lunch, or how Becky would always talk the teacher into letting her, Sarah, and Lindsey be a group during partner-projects, leaving Annalise to work all by herself. Amelia was lucky, she had already been friends with Rory and Mels, and those two were not going anywhere. One time, Annalise had actually caught Rory dressed up as the Doctor!
The years were hard for both of the Pond sisters, but for Annalise especially. She was constantly switching psychiatrists, she had no friends whatsoever, and by the time she was seventeen she was failing out of school.
It was the day she had found out she wouldn't be graduating in the spring that Amelia had found her, sitting in the middle of the hallway, sobbing so much she had made herself sick. She kept pulling at her curls and was rolled into a ball as she cried. Amelia had come home from Mels, where she had spent the night previously, and found her in the front hallway. She carefully stepped around the mess and pulled the crying Annalise up, catching bits and pieces of what was wrong through her sobs.
Amelia half-carried her sister up the stairs and into the bathroom.
"I hate everything," Annalise sobbed as Amelia carefully placed her in the bathtub. "It- it's just- it's so hard and- and-" Amelia shushed her softly, showing her sister more compassion than she had seen from anyone in a very long time. Just shy of twelve years, to be exact. She turned the shower head on and brought it down so she could clean Annalise off.
"It's going to be okay, Annalise," Amelia assured her, gagging slightly as she pulled a chunk of something out of a curl. Annalise's eyes were squeezed shut as she breathed hard.
"How?" She asked finally. "How do you know that?"
"It just will," Amelia answered, unable to find a good reason. Annalise shook her head.
"I don't want to be Odd Annalise anymore," she whispered. Amelia pushed her wet hair back and pulled her chin up so they were looking into each other's eyes.
"Then you won't be," she said simply. "And I won't be 'Strange Amelia' anymore, either. From now on, I'll be... Amy. Amy Pond. And you'll be... Anna?" Annalise shook her head, not liking the name. It was too close to her real name. "Then, what about Lissa? Lissa Pond, that sounds nice."
Annalise nodded. "Okay," she croaked. "Lissa Pond."
Amelia helped her out of the tub and was leading her out of the bathroom when she caught sight of her reflection in the mirror. The first time she had seen herself as Lissa Pond. She had the same wild red curls and the same blue eyes, but she felt different, and she felt like it showed.
No more Annalise Pond. No more, strange, disturbed, Odd Annalise.
Only Lissa Pond.