Prologue
“Mummy, who's your best friend?” I climb upon my mother's lap, clenching her shirt with my hands. Outside, the air is warm and breezy as the two of us sway slightly on the porch swing. It's late, way past my bedtime, however my mother had not ordered me to ready for bed yet. Caught in thought, my mother searches the stars. When she finally meets my eyes, her lips spring into a smile.
“You are sweetie.” She says, hugging me tighter. At this I laugh, her dainty fingers inching forwards my rip cage to tickle me.
“No, no, no mummy. I mean your best friend not me!” When these words leave my lips, my mother's smile falters a little. Her eyes grow sad, and yet again, she searches the stars. I don't antagonize her, not yet at least. Even in my six year old state of mind, I knew better than to push her on this.
But then, only a moment later, a wonderful smile comes across my mother's lips. Tears well up into her eyes and she blinks them back before they fall. “His name, my dear, is the Doctor.”
I remember staring up at my mother as she spoke of a man with blonde hair and blue eyes. She stated how handsome he was and how strong. Spoke about how kind and silly he was. She spoke about the adventures they went on, speaking of space and the stars. How they traveled around in a little blue box called the Tardis. How they met aliens and life forms, so amazingly strange, not even my overactive imagination could think up. And then as her eyes grew sad, and her words were more soft spoken, she spoke about their departure from each other. How she and him both agreed it was time she returned home, found a man, and lived the rest of her life.
“But why did you leave the Doctor mummy? Didn't you love him?” I asked, wondering why she would leave such a life of enchantment.
My mother stood then, bringing me up with her. I buried my head in her hair and looked up at her, her green eyes sparkling. “Of course I loved him, sweetheart. But not the love I felt for your father. I loved him like a brother, like a best friend. And he loved me just the same. In the end, we both agreed it was time I started my family life, and for him to find a new companion.”
“But where is he now mummy?” I asked, sitting on her hip straighter, wondering what had become of this strange man.
My mother's laugh rang through my ears, the sound of it soft and light. She pointed into the sky, where the moon hung full and low, and the stars scattered across. “I'm sure he's out there somewhere sweetheart, somewhere among the stars, somewhere waiting for the next big adventure.”
