The Time Traveler and The Immortal

A Home and A Melody

The place we arrived to pick up Melody was something out of a Dickens book. It was dark and grimy and sunken. The door was made of rotting wood and even though the sign outside said it was an orphanage, I felt like the place hadn't seen any children for years. The inside was a maze, all hallways and rooms filled with furniture covered in white sheets and peeling wallpaper and mouldy walls. Navigating through the house made me feel like Theseus on his way to kill the Minotaur. The house was so closed, every room having four walls and a door.

After many dead ends and empty rooms, we finally came across Melody. She was lying on a low bed, her sheets seemed damp and scratchy and very uncomfortable for the sensitive skin of a child. It was lit from one weak light overhead that only succeeded in lengthening the shadows instead of driving out the dark.

Melody looked up from where she lay on the bed and sat up. She slipped off the bed and went over to us. Her eyes were big and wide and her pale complexion made her seem like a ghost child. The house and the shadows of the room were swallowing her up.

"Who, are you?" She asked, her voice was quiet and scared and made me want to sweep her into a hug. I wanted to keep her safe and to take her away from this gloomy life she was living into one filled with light. I was immortal and had seen so much during my time, and I knew that, even in the streets of Rome or in the safe walls of a castle; that this was no way for a child to live.

"My name is Rose and this is The Doctor," I crouched down so I was eye level with her and put my hands on her shoulders, "And we're here to take you with us." I kept my voice soft as if I was talking to a scared animal.

"Why do you want me?" She was sceptical and looked at me dead in the eyes definitely. She was sizing me up and that knowledge made me want to cry. It was a sad day that a four-year-old treated new people the same way I did, even with less finesse, caution and paranoia.

"Well The Doctor here is a time traveller and he wants to look after you so future you if happy. And because he is impeachment and almost a child himself," I continued ignoring The Doctor's shout of protest, "He wants me to look after you while he's off saving the universe."

"Really," Her eyes widened and she looked to The Doctor the same way children looked toward their heroes. She looked at him like he was the knight saving her from the dragon or Superman saving the earth. The Doctor chuckled, recognizing the way she looked at him.

"Yes Really," The Doctor finally spoke up and crouched down beside me, "Future you is important to future me, so it only makes sense that present you should be important to present me." He grinned, showing off his teeth, "And Rose here is special as well, she's a hero as well. She saves me."

"Doctor!" I looked at him, trying to convey the thanks I felt for him not telling her I was immortal through my gaze. My tone made me sound annoyed but I only really felt affection toward him, The Doctor; protecting me from a small child I could snap in half with a hug.

"If you both are heroes," Melody said, drawing my attention back to her, "Is future me a hero too," She looked sad as she said those words and went to stare at the floor, believing that she was never going to compare to the heroes in front of her.

"Melody," The Doctor said slowly, gently he put his hand under her chin, "Future you is one of the bravest heroes I will ever meet. Plus," He smiled and it must have been contagious as she was smiling as well now, "Five hundred years of time and space and I've never met someone who wasn't important. And I've been to the end of the universe and back,"

Rose straightened up and held her hand out towards the small girl. "Shall we get going then? The Doctor has a house ready for us." It was one of the first things The Doctor had taught me about, electric lighting and heating and taps and TV. I had gotten the chance to try out all of those features in the T.A.R.D.I.S and each one made the years living by candlelight and bathing in icy water all worth it.