The Doctor and Preeti both milled about the market, looking at different oddities, as well as some familiar looking items. The universe for all it's diversity still produces things very similar to plates and pots, shoes and hats.

"Actually, this place isn't half bad." Preeti said, realising as she said it that the Doctor was just waiting to say, 'I told you so.'

"Is that your way of saying you like it here?" The Doctor replied, pleased with himself.

"Well it can all be a little overwhelming. It's not every day I'm whisked away by a stranger to strange places."

"So I'm a stranger now?"

"I meant 'whisked away by a strange man'. You aren't so much of a stranger anymore, and I am starting to become accustomed to your strangeness."

"I think that's a compliment. At least that's how I'm going to take it."

"And so you should."

"Well this place is a lot stranger than me. I took out my sonic screwdriver and …"

"That thing can never stay in your pocket for long without you playing with it."

"Well, it doesn't just open doors you know. But on this ship it doesn't do anything. I tried to use it and some warning went off telling me to put my weapon away. I'm all for pacifism when possible, but that is ridiculous."

"Not any more so than a grown man who won't leave his toys alone."

"I see there is no reasoning about serious technological things with you. Have you tried any of the edible jewelry? I heard the chocolaty lemony minty beads were the best, and I found these delightful little jelly babies."

"I'm not that hungry. I was offered this squirming worm that I was told senses your favorite flavors when you put it in your mouth, and adapts itself to be the best combination of all of them as it wriggles along your tongue. The vendor looked at me very oddly when I told him I didn't eat anything that was alive. Said it was just actually a plant. If that's the kind of vegetarianism these people practice I wouldn't be too sure we won't be on the menu."

"Humans. Squeamish about moving plants but happy to eat a hamburger that used to live in the fields down the road from them. I love the contradictions."

"A little inanimate contradiction is sometimes easier to swallow than a flower that looks like a maggot."

"Fair point. Anyway, a little fellow – who looked as old as I should for my age – told me about a special part of the market that he said wouldn't fail to impress even you. If half of what he said was true it might even impress me too."

With that plan in mind he put out his arm for her to loop hers around, and they skipped off together toward a foggy alleyway.

The place they ended up at was a markedly different scene. Gone were the bright colors, replaced by more muted greys, purples, dark blues and black. The inhabitants of this section looked more like gypsies and their tents took on more of a Bedouin character. They didn't call out what they were selling, but waited for interested visitors to pry the details out of them.

"So, what is it you are offering?" Preeti asked, intrigued by the tubes and cogs that whirred and belched behind the turbaned stall holder.

"What is it you want?"

"Nothing you're offering unless I know what it is first."

"You really aren't helping maintain the mysterious atmosphere. I had all these ambiguous riddles saved up for you to try and solve."

"Let's start again. I'll play along. Go ahead!"

"Imagine that all your exits are entrances into a place without space in the spaces in–between. That … Oh well, whats the point now, I'm not in the mood anymore."

"I didn't mean to ruin it."

"It's okay, I'm still working on the whole act. But if you are interested in gewgaws that will fold space or turn you into a shadow then you've come to the right place."

"I don't know much about folding space. It sounds about as fun as folding laundry. But that shadow part sounds more interesting."

"I can't please everyone I suppose. The Shadow Doppelgänger is a special concoction which allows you to inhabit your shadow as if it's a separate being, to go unnoticed through the streets or into places that can't be reached, even by light."

"A shadow companion? And what would happen to the rest of me while I was off gallivanting in the shade?"

"That's the less than ideal side effect. Your real body becomes completely useless, but you won't be worrying about that while you are secretly slinking along anyway."

"Any other side effects?"

"Just that it only lasts a few hours and I always have to give the disclaimer that you can't use it for murder or to rob a bank. You can't handle anything physical."

"Well I'll happily take one then. I have this little card right here that should cover it, and take some extra for yourself."

"A psychic piece of paper pretending to be a credit card? Can't say I blame your for trying. I'll tell you what you let me keep the card and you can have one little vial."

"You caught me 'guvner. A clever card for an hour as a shadow. Doesn't seem so bad."

Preeti slipped the vial into her jacket pocket and rejoined the Doctor, who was eager to tell her about some of the finds he had seen.

"And over there is a chap with a second chance machine. It supposedly grants you a few minutes to relive and change a moment in your life. Of course I'm sure it's all just mental manipulation. And over here …"

There was something about the idea of that machine that caught Preeti's interest, and after that she completely lost attention in anything else the Doctor was saying, which he eventually noticed.

"I might as well talk to a wall when you have something else on your mind."

"What? Oh. I didn't mean to get so distracted. Did you managed to find any real money yet?"

"It's your lucky day. I managed to trade some ginger beer, that unique earthly concoction for what passes for coins in these parts. I feel like a dad whose kid is asking for money to go to the fare, but here you go, this should be enough to get you on some of the rides."

"Thank you grandad. Now where was that machine you mentioned?"

"Grandad? I haven't been called that in a long time. Anyway, the waste of money you seek is just over there, in that corner."

With this she took the paper bank notes from him and walked quickly to the stall he pointed out.

"Now what do we have here? I'm a sucker for fun and funky contraptions." Preeti wasn't letting on that she knew exactly what the device claimed to be.

"This my fine lady – if I may call you that – is a second chance machine." The man had a South London accent which reminded Preeti of home. "If you sit yourself down in this plush seat right here and put on this special headset then you can spend a moment with an old flame, a few minutes with a departed loved one, or relive some past glory. Perhaps your recollections are not so clear, maybe you forgot something somewhere and you'd like to find out where it is. Parts of you life, good or bad, will be just as you remember them, that is unless you'd like to change your memory, which you can also choose to do. The one you let get away, that goal you missed, that painful regret can be gone. For a few coins you can re–experience the past or turn sad memories into happy ones."

"And this has gone through all the necessary health and safety inspections? Has been thoroughly tested for flaws, hygiene and potential side effects? Because I'm not about to be an experimental monkey."

"This device is completely safe for man, woman, or monkey, or any variety of sentient being who has a head I can put these receptors on. It has made the stoic weep and the forlorn return to joy."

"How will it know where in my life to go? Will I have any control over what happens?"

"You always have control, but you also have powerful feelings associated with certain memories, and that is where it is most likely to take you first. Sit down and we'll get you ready for your ride down memory lane by putting this on your head."

She sat down in a seat that seemed to be constructed more to hold it's machinery together than to be a comfortable place to sit, and the vendor carefully placed on her head a sort of hat with hundreds of wires coming out of it. As soon as it rested there her eyes closed.

Why here of all places? It was one of the family gatherings like so many Preeti had attended regularly, but this one was different, because it was the last time she saw her daada (grandfather). Back then she was too occupied playing with her phone, listening to music on her headphones, to join in with the younger children who were listening to him tell them a story. Preeti had barely even acknowledged him and couldn't remember having said goodbye. That's why I'm here. She'd wished she could go back and have that chance, and now it seemed she would. This time she forgot there was anything else to take her attention but him.

"Over here Preeti, maybe you too will learn something from this story." Her grandfather called her over and began his tale:

"The Chandogya Upanishad tells the story of a man who was just going about his regular daily business, which was taking all of his attention, but he was unexpectedly kidnapped and blindfolded. He had no idea of where he was taken, only that from the amount of travel it was very far away. Eventually he was left by himself, but too afraid to take off the bandages around his eyes.

"The story doesn't tell us why he doesn't take off the blindfold and when I was young I wondered if perhaps he was too scared to remove it, just in case the bandits were still nearby and testing him to see if he would. But now I have read the story as an adult I think he had just got used to it being on. Whatever the reason for him staying blind to his surroundings he did eventually realize he was completely alone, and began crying out, 'Won't someone remove my blindfold. I have been left here and cannot see with it on.'"

"Maybe they'd tied his hands behind his back." Preeti interjected.

"I don't think so. Because even if they had he could have pushed the blindfold down by placing the side of his face on the ground and draging it off that way. Anyway, I was getting to the point of the story.

"Along came a stranger who heard his shouts and removed the man's bandages. Now he could see, the stranger was able to point out the direction of the man's village in the distance, and the man was able to journey back there without any additional help."

"What happened to the bandits?" Preeti asked.

"I have no idea, the story doesn't tell us. I think the bandits were just there to create the scenario in which the man thinks he is powerless and lost. We can easily get lost in distractions and diversions from what is really important in life. The first thing he thought of was his home and family, something that might have been far from his mind when he was working and when he could take it for granted that they were nearby."

"So what you are saying is that this is why my parents drag me to so many family events?"

"Yes, of course. They want you to spend time with me and I want that too, my little potee (granddaughter). Not just that, I want you to know that it is easy to be distracted in this life, to be focused on things that don't really matter very much. It is important to value those who love and care for you, but also to see past the silly little things that can worry you in life. Sometimes we blindfold ourselves and sometimes we realize and remove the blindfold, and at other times we need someone else to do that for us."

"But isn't ignorance a blessing?"

"Sometimes. We may count ourselves lucky not to experience some of the worst of the world, but there is no bliss in being ignorant to the breadth of experiences life can bring if we live it fully and purposefully. Even the worst can be a blessing if we can learn from it and obtain greater wisdom and compassion."

"Then why then does life have to end? I have so much more to learn from you, and I fear I've already forgotten half of what you've tried to teach me."

"My dear granddaughter, even Krishna died, but his life was not without lessons that we can still learn from. I hope you can take some of what I have taught you, but if nothing else can take the love I have for you and know that you are loved and that your grandfather's life was better for having known you too."

"And I love you too, daada, and I will never forget."

"All this talk of death is depressing though, let us have some Rabri and remember life is sweet too."

"Preeti, Preeti, wake up." Was that the Doctor's voice? Why did he have to interrupt now?

Her tearful eyes opened and she found herself back in the world of the market again and the Doctor looking at her impatiently.

He continued, "I have better things to do than watch you sleep. We've barely explored a tenth of this place and only have another hour before they close for the evening."

"Doctor, I saw my grandfather. He spoke with me."

"I wouldn't be surprised if you saw all sorts of surreal things under the influence of that machine."

"I'm being serious, we were in the same room together, it was the last time I saw him. I'd been too focused on myself to make the most of that time. Of course I didn't know before that I wouldn't see him again. But I had the chance to say goodbye."

"I know what that feels like. I've had too many unexpected departures without a proper goodbye."

"I used to get so mad at that old man, because he saw the world so differently from me. Maybe that's why I get mad at you sometimes too."

"Ah. So that explains it."

"No. Not all of it. You do enough to annoy me all by yourself, but that doesn't mean I don't like being around you."

"I'm glad to hear it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I need to have a private word with the proprietor of this odd machine."