"OK. We've met before, Clara", the man began, as Clara listened intently, knowing she was about to get some answers.
"I'm from your future. I'm a time traveller. Something terrible happened in my own future and I was forced to come back here to save you. You entered a dangerous world through a dreamstate. The difference is, this dream was very, very real. Anything could have happened".
Clara went cold just thinking about it all again. She continue to listen intently. She was intrigued, confused and slightly scared, like a small child hearing their first ghost story.
"I needed to remove you from the dreamstate without making it known to those creatures, which is why I couldn't warn you of my actions. When a person dies in a dream, the human survival instinct kicks in to action and the body is forced to wake. I also needed to gain your complete trust since it was your dream, otherwise the dreamstate would never have been broken".
The man paused for a moment, his eyes looking slightly downwards in sadness.
"Those creatures are my problem. Very old, and very dangerous enemies of mine. They came for you at a point in your own timeline to try and get to me".
He began stroking Clara's hair from her eyes.
"I'm sorry for putting you in danger, Clara. You'll know more when we meet properly, I promise".
The man got to his feet and stepped towards the bedroom door.
"I know it's a lot for you to take in, Clara. Real dreams with monsters, time travel, and a mysterious man in your house. It all sounds very fairy tale. Or maybe even horror story, come to think of it".
He stared out of the bedroom's window at the clear day's sky. Clara's eyes were still fixed on this strange man.
"I'm assuming I can't know any more since it's all from my future then?", Clara asked.
The man slowly nodded.
"Fore-knowledge is dangerous", he muttered.
Clara's eyes widened as she recalled a burning question she had for him.
"Wait a minute! You still haven't told me who you are!", she exclaimed as she threw back the covers and hopped out of bed.
The man didn't answer.
Clara stood next to him, staring up at him expecting an answer. The man slowly looked at her again, their eyes meeting. His eyes were warm and young, yet looked so cold and so old. He looked happy and full of a burning sorrow, all at once.
Clara felt it, and gave him a small smile. He smiled back.
She could not help but wonder who this amazing, yet, strange man was. She felt as though she had known him forever, as if he was an enormous part of her that was missing somehow.
The man suddenly clapped his hands together and perked up again, breaking Clara's trail of thought.
"OK!", he cheerfully exclaimed," I need to get going".
He briskly walked towards the door. He turned to look back at Clara, who was still fixated on him in complete disbelief at all she had been told. Even so, she felt very content as she smiled at the mysteriously cheerful stranger, whom she had noticed had a rather handsome look about him. His floppy, brown hair and odd dress sense was bizarre, but nice, in its own strange way.
"Stay safe, get to work on time, and for God's sake, turn on the heating in here, it's freezing!", he chuckled, as he let out a wink.
"Until next time then?", Clara asked.
"Until next time", the man confirmed with a smile.
Clara showed a large, excited smile.
"Wait!", she demanded, "Just one more thing. You told me that what you did in that dream wouldn't have worked if I did not completely trust you, right? Meaning I'd be dead, for real?"
"Yes. That's right", he smiled, knowing which question was to follow.
"How did you know I trusted you? I could have been lying?", she questioned.
The man slowly moved closer to Clara and put his hand on her head, slowly ruffling her long, brown hair.
"Oh, Clara", he said softly, "I always know".
Clara looked up at him with a smile, feeling impressed by his confidence.
The man headed for the door again before quickly spinning around, pointing behind Clara.
"Ah! Don't forget your tea. It'll be cold soon", he chuckled.
"What tea?", Clara giggled, as she peered around to find it.
Suddenly, she heard the front door slam. She whipped her head back around towards the bedroom door to see the doorway was now empty. She ran to the window, only to see the man slowly walking away towards a strange blue box.
She watched as the man entered the blue box. He peered back at here through her bedroom windows, before shutting the door. The box slowly started disappearing, followed by an ominous, groaning sound.
In complete awe and with wide eyes, she slowly stepped back to her bed and sat on the edge, smiling to herself. Looking to her right, she saw two mugs, one of which was her favourite dark blue and light blue spotted mug, filled with tea. It was her favourite mug.
Still smiling, she lifted the mug, noticing a small piece of paper placed underneath. She picked up the paper as she sipped what was possibly the best mug of tea she had ever tasted, reading-
"Blue is my favourite colour too".
It was signed- "The Doctor".