Paradise

When Mizuko Shumiya was just a little girl, she often dreamed of leaving Japan and finding paradise. She often wondered what lied in the rest out of the world, outside of her home. Of course true paradise seemed impossible, as she only found them in the fairy tales her mother read to her before bed. So she picked a place closest to paradise,

Hawaii.

Financially, Mizuko couldn't go to Hawaii on her own, so her mother had her become a picture bride. At first, she was reluctant to get married at such a young age, 20, but she figured it wasn't so bad. She found a handsome man and she was going to live in Hawaii, whom she heard so many rumors about. Rushing waterfalls, looming valleys that just peaked out from behind the horizon, a variety of different flowers blooming from soft soil.

The man, Maydea Hiroshi was paying for everything, as well as providing a home as well. She couldn't have been more satisfied. All she had to give in return was work on a plantation. It didn't sound so bad, considering she was going to get paid.

Maydea, with a dazzling smile on his young features, took her hand and married her. Everything went so smoothly for her. She loved it when he brought her flowers and even cooked dinner for her sometimes. Mizuko, who had to adjust to waking up early in the morning, as well as working in the hot sun, came home exhausted but Mayeda was always there to comfort her.

Everything changed, however, the moment Maydea's fist touched her cheek.

“Ho! Sista Mary! Mizuko!”

Mizuko snapped from her daydream and looked over at one of the plantation ladies. A big, burly, tough woman name Anna, who kept the women working, so they wouldn't get in trouble from the luna.

“Ahhh! You supposed to work!” Anna planted her hands on her hips. “Bum-bye the Luna come ova here! You like one fine or what?”

“Gomen, gomen.” Mizuko bowed, mumbling sorry, over and over in Japanese.

“Ay! You not in Japan anymore! Speak English! We cannot understand you!”

Later that night, while Mizuko was doing laundry for extra money, she suddenly felt very home sick. She had lived right in the heart of Tokyo, filled with bustling crowds on the streets, complete with the view of the cherry blossoms at the park across from her. She peered into the wash tub and felt her stomach churn with discomfort. She was dreading to go back home, because Mayeda was out drinking again.

She looked up into the night sky and squinted, spotting a white flash in the starry sky. Thinking it was a shooting star, she clasped her hands together and mumbled a wish under her breath.

Crassssh!

Instantly, her eyes flew open, her head snapped in the direction of the crash. Slowly, she walked over to the sugarcane, pulling them away, then finally peaking behind rustling leaves at a blue machine crumpled to the earth. She moved the leaves aside and approached the machine cautiously. She reached over and touched what it seemed to be, blue wood. The doors suddenly flew open and she screamed, falling back. There was a noise from inside the machine and a hand rose out, gripping the side. A man then jumped out, tired and startled, dressed in a beige tweed jacket and matching pants, over a blue dress shirt, complete with a bright red bow tie. He had dark brown hair that grew to the last of his neck, with a fringe over his left eye.

“Sorry! Type 40 TARDIS!” cried the man in a rich, British accent. “She's always doing this to me!”

Mizuko stared at the man, before murmuring in confusion, “Nani?”

“Oops! TARDIS speech translator is a little jumbly at the moment.” He pulled out a device from inside his jacket pocket that resembled a probe with a green light at the end. He pointed it towards the machine and the light glowed, followed by a metallic noise. “There you go! Should work now. I can understand Japanese, but I'm sure you can't understand me. Go on, say something now.”

“What?”

“Perfect! Hello! Now where am I?” He walked over to the sugar cane and grabbed a leaf, running his hands against it, even taking a sniff. “Hmm....sugarcane....and all around me too. Oh! Now I know! I'm in the plantation days! 1800's!” Mizuko continued to stare in bemusement, as the strange man kept on babbling to himself. “An established estate where crops are grown for sale, rather than consumption, which is also the difference between regular farming. They may seem similar but they're not! I'm in Hawaii!” He paused and frowned. “Not exactly the paradise I was looking for.”

“You come in search fo' paradise too?”

“Well actually, I was aiming for a planet. Calboron 41 to be exact. It's equivalent to what you humans call, “paradise.”

“Planet? Like da one in da sky?”

“Yes my dear.” He leaned forward and Mizuko saw that he was quite young, maybe 25 or so. “I'm a time traveler.”

“What? Das crazy.”

“What's your name?”

“Mizuko Shumiya.”

“Nice to meet you Mizuko! Sorry for the sudden introduction. I'm the Doctor!”

“If you one doctor, then why you stay here fo'? The plantation no place fo' you, unless da boss sick or sometin'.”

“The boss? What happens if the workers get hurt?”

“We don' get one doctor. You get one bee sting, den you da mud and das it.”

“Well that's discrimination. You look like you need a doctor.”

“What?”

“The bruises on your face. How did you get them?”

“I fall in da field.”

“You don't get a bruise falling into dirt. The most you can get is a dirty face.”

“Fine! Fine! Me and mah husband got one little fight!”

“Little?” He ran a hand against her blue, back, purple cheek and lightly grasped it. “Mizuko! He hurt you! He beat you! If it was a little fight, a playful wrestle, then your cheek wouldn't be a different color!”

Mizuko scowled and slapped his hand away, trying to hold back tears. “My husband is one kind man! He don't beat me!” She fell to her knees and let out a sniff. “He don't...”

“Mizuko, he's home now, isn't he?” She shrugged in reply. “Come. I'm pretty sure of the bedrooms in the TARDIS is still in tact.”

“TARDIS?”

“Time and relative dimension in space! It's my....spaceship.”

“Spaceship?” Mizuko managed to crack a smile small. “I taught it was one car.”

The Doctor grinned and patted his machine. “You coming?”

“No, he's home, I tink. If I don't go come home, he will beat me. But he might be sleeping too.”

“Mizuko, if he lays a hand on you again, just yell and I'll be over.”

“I taught you were leaving.”

“The TARDIS will take a day or two, rebuilding herself. Besides even if I can have her easily fixed tonight, I'm not leaving you.”

“Tank you. You one kind man.” She smiled. “But I got one question. Why you doin dis all fo' one stranger?”

The Doctor thought for a moment, before giving her a secret smile. He then turned and jumped back into his machine, screaming, “Geronimo!”