The Girl Who Stayed

“Daddy!” I yelled as I spotted a small white rabbit hopping across the yard of our small two bedroom house. “Can I please go outside and play with the bunny?” I begged, intertwining my hands in front of my chest. “I'll be careful I promise!”

My father chuckled and nodded. “As long as you promise not to fall down any rabbit holes. I'm to big to go to Wonderland, you know.”

“That's just a cartoon, dad.” I laughed and ran outside to follow the rabbit, though the thought of it leading me to an adventure as incredible as Alice's only strengthen my desire to follow him. I snuck up behind him and tried to grab him as quickly as I could. “No fair!” I pouted as the bunny rabbit hopped away the moment he saw me.

I followed him everywhere he went, hoping to find an adventure where he stopped. Unfortunately for me, that was just across the rusty old railroad tracks just a mile off from my home. I spotted him and carefully tried to climb over the tracks, knowing how easy it was to get hurt.

As soon as I knew I was in the clear, I jumped for him, just barely missing him when my shoe got stuck on a broken track. I tried to pry my shoe off, but it didn't work.

There was a blow of a whistle that came from my left and I immediately panicked. “Help!” I cried out, hoping anyone would hear me. I could hear the train coming faster and faster as the tracks shook beneath me. “Help!” I cried out again. I saw the train in the distance and I closed my eyes, waiting for the worst when a pair of strong arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me free moments before the train and I collided.

I wrapped my arms around the man's neck, thanking him nearly a hundred times. “Hey!” I looked up and saw the conductor had finally gotten the train to a stop. “Tell your daughter to watch where she's going!”

“Yeah, sorry about that! She'll get a good... scolding when we get home!” The conductor waves the man off and began to chug his way back down the tracks. “That's what parents do, right? Scold. Anyway, what's your name?”

“Mia Scott...” I said, wiping my tear-streaked face.

“Well, Mia Scott, I'm the Doctor.” He set me down and smiled at me. “And you're going to be absolutely brilliant Mia. Just you wait. Now, let's get you back home to dad.

“Miss Scott? Miss Scott!” I immediately snapped out of my dream like state as professor Hanners called my name.

“Yes?” I sat up in my desk and rubbed my eyes.

“Will you please pay some attention? I know this is college and you can sleep all you want, but some of us are here to learn.” I nodded and grabbed my glasses off my desk.

“Sorry Doctor Hanners.” I apologized and hid my red face behind my hair.

“Okay, who in class knows how Francis II, the dauphin of France, died?”

“An ear infection.” I answered immediately. Doctor Hanners smiled at me and nodded.

“Glad to see you did the reading, miss Scott.

“Not quite.” A male voice came from the back of the room and all heads turned in his direction. “You see, Mary, Queen of Scots, was actually an alien, one of the last of her kind actually, and when she became angry with her husband, Francis, she spit in his ear, poisoning his brain, so the assumption was made that it was an infection of the ear—why are you staring at me like that?” The man clicked his tongue as I stared at him in awe.

He couldn't be...

“I'm sorry, just who do you think you are?” The professor crossed his arms over his chest angrily as he waited for an answer.

“Oh, I'm the Doctor.” My heart was racing. He didn't look a day older! How... “Well, I've got lots to do, just thought I'd pop in for a quick history lesson. Farewell!” He casually strolled out of the room as I shoved all my belongings into my bag.

“Miss Scott, just where do you think you're going?”

“Uh... lady's room. Yeah, I've got to, uhm... pee.” I ran out of the room and followed the man down the halls of the History building. “Doctor!” I stopped him. “Doctor, wait!” I finally caught up to him and grabbed onto his coat. “Doctor?”

“Yes?” He looked at me curiously as I stared at him with astonishment.

“You're... you're really here. I thought... I'd never see you again and here you are! Not a day older. Incredible.”

“How do you know me?”

“Well--”

“Nobody knows me. Well, I say nobody. Some people know me. But you? How do you know me?” I waited to make sure he had finished talking before I answered.

“You saved me once. I was supposed to die when I was six... and you saved me. You told me I was going to be brilliant.” I blushed as I admitted it out loud. He stared at me as if something clicked in his head. “Anyway, I should get back to class before Doctor Hanners fails me. Sorry for bothering you--”

“Do you want to see something?” He asked me with a wide smile. I nodded eagerly, turning back towards him and adjusting the bag on my shoulder. He grabbed my hand and led me outside to a Police Public Call Box. I raised an eyebrow at him as he grabbed the door handle. “Trust me.” He pushed the door open and my jaw dropped to the floor.

“It's so much... bigger on the inside.”

“I know. Go on, have a look.” I stepped inside and looked all around me. “What do you think?”

“This is incredible! How does all of this fit in here? How do you stay sane? Do all your friends react this way or am I just being completely annoying right now?” I laughed and looked at the Doctor who wore a sad expression on his face. “I'm... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you.”

“Honestly it's...” His voice trailed off as he seemed to think on something. “Fine. I'm fine. We're all... fine. Anyway! Where do you want to go?”

“Uh, there's a nice little cafe around the corner. We can go for lunch. I'll pay, I guess.”

“No I mean... where... when do you want to go?” I raised an eyebrow at him.

“What are you talking about? When?”

“Right! This is my space ship, a T.A.R.D.I.S. To be exact.”

“T.A.R.D.I.S.?”

“Time And Relative Dimension In Space.”

“Time machine?” He smiled a big, goofy smile as he nodded. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. He was offering to take me anywhere in time... and space. How could I pass this opportunity up? I could see a Shakespeare play on opening night, Charles Dickens do a reading of a Christmas Carol, the beginning of time! “Let's do it, then. Show me something amazing, Doctor.”