Falling Through Time and Space

Indian wedding songs wafted into the room, muffled by the closed door. Sounds of girls giggling and bangles clashing together as five girls ran around, each carrying material for a wedding dress. Chatting and giggling filled the room as they continued to do their work. Two make up artist and one hair stylist were getting their supplies ready, watching the one person who had all this attention turned on her. Every girl in the room was envious of the main girl: oh, how badly they wanted to get married! They eyed the main girl with an envious gleam in their eyes.

Zahra Qureshi, the main girl of the event; the bride. Me.

It took two of my sisters and one of their best friends to pin the heavy shawl on my head. The intricate, gold beaded works on the shawl had to put four pounds it; I could already feel it weighing me down, added with the weight of both the torso piece and the skirt. Both materials of clothing were made up of burgundy red velvet with gold beads work---shit, they were heavy. I could feel the strain on my shoulder already and the wedding hasn't even started.

Rukhiya and Salma, my two sisters, deciding that the shawl was folded correctly, stepped away for the makeup and hair stylist to begin their work. Couldn't I get one second to myself?

“Oh, Zahra!” cried out Salma, clasping her henna covered hand over her mouth. “You look so beautiful! Isn't she, Rukhiya?” She looked at the oldest sister in confirmation.

“Of course! I do not know if the lighting of the room or what but she is positively glowing.” Rukhiya responded back, nodding her head vigorously.

I didn't meet any of their eyes. The make up artist told me to look up so she could line my waterline. My eyes flickered up, seeing the edges of the room lined with wedding decorations. I almost sighed. I could hear the whispers from the girls behind me: she is so lucky that she is getting married to Fayaz! or I am getting the sudden urge to marry now!.

What was so great about marriage, anyways? I barely know who Fayaz Ahmed is. I only knew that he was mechanical engineer who already landed a perfect job with a high paying salary to the point that I was advices to drop my search for a career and to stay home. I felt my nails dig in the fleshy part of my palm as I clenched my fingers into a fist.

What about the degree I cried tears for? Should I simply give it up now that I seem to land a rich husband? I could feel the burning sensation behind my eyes again and I willed myself to not let even a single tear roll down my face. How could Rukhiya look at this and be happy about it? She was in the same situation I was in but when she became this...wife-like character...she said that marriage changes people. She gave up on her dreams to get married to Hamid.

And that is the worst thing a person can do: to give up on their dream.

The door opened and the sudden hush of the room brought me out of my thought process. I sat up straight, knowing exactly who entered the room. The cooing of the mother began, girls giggling in response.

“Let me see her.” Said my mom, moving past my two sisters. The makeup and hair stylist finished around the same time, stepping away from the bride. “Beautiful. Today is your big day and it’s the mother job to put the jewelry on the bride. Salma, get the set.”

It wasn't far away enough so Salma had appeared within the minute. I eyed the gigantic set of real gold and gems. Another heavy adornment just to impress the value of wealth we have. If you think this marriage is about love and companionship, kick that thought out of your head right now. This marriage is to show the whole Indian community that this joining of hands will be the most expensive one of the year; it’s a whole showcase of who got the money and all.

I’m seem to be right in the middle of it. I looked away from the jewelry set. Girls all around me oooh’d and aaah’d as my mom put the earrings on me first. I saw in my peripheral vision mom stepping back, smiling at me. I stared straight ahead, not even bothering to give her a smile in return.

She didn't liked that. She shooed the girls around away for privacy. They conceded and ran to whatever corner they came from.

“Zahra, how long are you going to act like this?” mother hissed, bringing her face towards me. Anger crashed and trashed in her eyes but remarkably, her face didn't show it. “This is such a good sign from God that Fayaz has stepped into our lives.”

I finally made eye contact with her and glared. “What about my life? The one I created by myself and worked hard to get? I should simply drop it because he got deep pockets? This isn't my marriage. It's the marriage between you and his money.” I snapped back, voice wavering with anger. Mom’s eyes widen in shock. “Why did you show all the drama about me getting a degree when at the end of the day, it will be thrown away just like my right to marry has been.”

“Zahra---”

“I will act like this until the last ritual of this marriage. I will show everyone that I am not okay with this marriage.” I seethed out, then sat back up straight. “You have ruined my life.”

“I made it better! You don't have to work 9 to 5 then come home and cook dinner for him. You have all the time in the day to do that. I am not saying you can't have a job. It’s just that you won't need a job after you marry Fayaz.” Mom said, removing the neck piece off from its velvet stand.

“And destroy who I am? Get rid of my independence and depend on him? Who do you think I am? You?” I retaliated back, and I watched how she recoil at the words from the mirror. Her hands froze in their tracks to tie the neck piece around my neck. “You may have easily dropped whatever you had for Dad but I won't. I will fight him tooth and nail to get what I worked hard for. You wouldn’t understand. Having to fight for you approval, I lost my sleep, my mind, and yet, easy as that,” I snapped my fingers, “ you want me to drop it?”

“I-I-Fayaz looks like an understanding man. He will let you go to work.” Mom tried to placate me and I scoffed in anger.

“Let me? So, I have to ask his permission to go to work?” I said, then bursted out laughing. “When hell freezes over, that’s when I will ask him for his permission.” I brought my laughter back into control. Inhaling for six seconds and letting it out in two, I finally glanced at her. “Why don’t you let either Rukhiya or Salma finish this? You have lots of guests to see over, don’t you?”

The dismissal was quite clear.

Mom pursed her lips and indicated my sisters to come back. I watched as how she put on her beaming bright smile to the other girls. I had the right to be angry. I clenched the forearm of the chair as mom barked out orders for the girls to stop mucking about and finish the bride. My two sisters came forward with a frown on their faces and accusing eyes. I glared at them so fiercely that they shifted their eyes away. The make up artists came slowly, as if approaching a crazed animal.

Once the angers ebbs into irritation, I began to feel guilty about how I treated mother. I am so close to gaining what I thrived hard for and I was dropped into this situation. For the past four months of wedding planning, I tried my best to dissuade my parents to drop the wedding. I got so desperate that I would actively put Fayaz in the hearing range and talked about my fake boyfriends that I had. Even that didn't do anything to deter him.

Fayaz Ahmed was a nice man with a slight conservative thinking. He is a staunch supporter of being the head of the house. I said, I was willing to ignore what he said and that we both can take control of house mutually.

He, obviously, was scandalized by that statement.

The burning sensation behind my eyes reared up again. I need to get out of this room for few seconds. I could feel the panic attack coming; the labored breathing, sweating and feeling of your own heart beating against your chest.

Thankfully, everything that was supposed to be on me was done being added . I stood up quickly, the three girls around me jumped in shock at that. “I have to go. I have to be outside.” I mumbled, grabbing the heavy skirt up and walking past the group of girls. My name was called from behind me but I ignored it. I sneakily descended down the stairs as quietly as my wedding dress would let me. The stairs, thankfully, led right through the kitchen so I didn't have worry about bumping into any guests.

I walked past the hired cooks, who stopped what they were doing to watch me walk past them. I didn't give them a second glance as I opened the side door back door that led to a cool evening. I stepped out, letting the door close behind me. I inhaled slowly and let it out slowly. I repeated this process several times, willing my heart to stop rising to my mouth.

“I don't want to do this.” I mumbled to myself, sniffing. Have you ever felt like there is something above you, like a dense cloud of reality? And as you get closer to accepting it, the dense cloud closes around you? When you know that you can't do anything because you don't want to disappoint---

I could run away.

I sat up straighter, my back protesting from being hunched over. When I didn't want to disappoint my parents? They disappointed me! I know this marriage was really huge in the Las Vegas Indian community---hell, all of the Indian community in Las Vegas was here! The Ahmed family and Qureshi family were well-known because from my side, my dad’s is a renowned realtor and from his side, his dad’s a renowned heart surgeon. Only difference between our families was that Fayaz’s mom also worked and she was a dentist.

So, yeah, running away right on the day of marriage will completely destroy my parents reputation and they will question my honor as a pure girl. Was there a side boy? Is something wrong with her head? I scoffed to myself. If the marriage does not go all the way through, it's always blame the girl first.

Would I really runaway and destroy my parents hard earned reputation amongst their peers? I groaned as I crouched down with my head on my hands. The guilt was insurmountable; it kept on growing and growing. You are going to be this selfish? They did so much for you and this is how you repay them? my inner voice chimed in and this groan was longer than the others.
Maybe I will just marry this guy and still go on my way? I can convince him that I can get myself an apartment and he can do whatever he wants? That sounds like a good idea. I don't know if Fayaz will think so either; he just want to be like his father: controlling and wants kids.

The image of me looking frazzled with a baby hanging on my hip and two other toddlers running around had my vision blurry. “Oh, god, I am not ready…”

A branch snapped, it sound resounded sharply through the side area of the house. Must be a cat or a raccoon or something. I didn't even bother to lift my head or anything to see if my hypothesis was right or not. I tried to go back to pitying myself for being in this situation when a weird noise caught my attention.
It sounded like braying, like from a sheep. But not exactly. It was more high pitched as if a sheep inhaled helium. It was odd, also, that we were right in middle of a city and nowhere near a farm. I also don't think that they was a farm any where near Las Vegas.

The braying sounded again and it sounded distressed. I looked up, looking around my surrounding. We lived in a huge house with even bigger greenery around us. It was well after eight at night but the area was brightly lit, giving the area a golden hue. Upon my inspection, nothing was out of the ordinary, no sheeps. There! The braying sound appeared again and it was towards the backyard.

I have seen movies and if some strange noises appeared, don't go towards it. But it was an animal, was it not? Maybe, it was lost. I got up from where I was crouching from and descended down the stairs that lead to the lifted platform I was on.

What are you doing, Zahra? It could be a killer! my logical, inner thought yelled out as I walked closer to the corner of my house that turned into the backyard.

It could also be an injured or lost animal. I argued back. I took a deep breath, really hoping that it wasn't a killer, then turned the corner. Immediately, there was no one in eye level. What if he or she was crouching?! I glanced down to the well- lit ground.

There it...was? I can say this much that it wasn't a sheep or even a crouching serial killer. It wasn't even human. It was a size of toddler and it was standing right under the lamp post. It had long ears like a rabbit and a...beak? I closed my eyes and opened them again. Yeah, that was a beak. It's upper torso was only skin and bones and the skin color was mixture of milk chocolate on the anterior of the body but dark chocolate on the posterior. If you ever watched Harry Potter, this creature had the torso of Dobby, the House Elf.

It's legs, however, were like the hind legs of a goat, it's hooves were glossy like it got a wax job. It brayed again, filled with sorrow. I guess, it heard me approaching as it turned around to face me. It's eyes were huge for its face and it looked shiny as if it was about to cry. It was crying. It's ;ips was wobbling as if a human toddler’s would before it cried. It saw me and brayed again, taking a step towards me. My heart went out to him and my hand involuntarily lifted towards the...creature.

Before I could do anything (what could I do, honestly?), the sound of bushes rustling caught my attention again. I turned to look just as tall man wearing a tweed jacket, a white shirt and red bowtie jumped out from the bushes. His brown jeans he was wearing clashed with the red suspenders. His face, however, was interesting. Cheekbones protruding, strong chin, full lips and he was too far for me to see his eye color but I am sure it was dark brown.

He turned to look at the creature and relief colored his face. I am assuming he was searching for this creature.

“I found you!” The man said, his British accent coming through. I looked back at the creature who ran towards me, it's eyes welling up.

“Stop! You are scaring it!” I admonished the man as the creature came closer to me. I looked over at the man and glared. He gave me a soft smile. The way his face was structured, he was oddly handsome.

“No matter what I'll do, she will be scared of me because I am from the male species. The toddlers will always be near anything maternal. In this case, you.” explained the man and I eyed the creature in front of me. She was standing right next to my skirt. She lifted her hands up like a toddler would. “It's okay for you to pick her up. She won't be that stressed anymore.”

I placed my hands under her arms and picked her up, expecting her to be heavy. She was quite the opposite. She was light as a feather as I settled her on my hip like I would do to a human baby. She snuggled closer to me, her body oddly cold.

“What is she? Obviously, not part of this world. Alien?” I asked the man and he nodded, a curious glint in his eyes.

“I am surprised that you are not freaking about it.” He noted, raising an eyebrow.

“I always knew there was life out there. Earth was the only planet with life? Come on! You gotta be kidding me. So many universes we have discovered and lord knows, how many uncovered! And we are the only planet capable of holding life?” I said, scoffing. “It might creep up at me after a while, knowing I am holding an alien kid on my arms.”

He smiled at, apparently liking my answer. “You still haven't told me what she is. What's her species name? What is she doing here all by herself?” I asked, shooting of question one after another.

He held up his hands up to placate me. “She is part of the species called Electrificans. As their name indicates, electricity runs through them. She is just a baby so no electricity yet. When she ages to maturity, she will gain her electricity.” The man explained, looking at the baby Electrificans with fondness. I looked at her, too, she rested her head on my shoulder.

“Interesting fact, it's only the females who have electricity running through them. The males looks just like them but bit hairier but what they lack I. Electricity, they compensate it by being really strong. In their world, the females are treated as royalty. Remarkable species.”

I gave him a puzzled look. “Are they suppose to be this cold?” The guy gave me an alarmed look.

“How cold? They are cold blooded and they need heat to be healthy. No wonder she was standing under the lamp post…she thought it was giving off heat!” The guy yelled out, concerned. I gasped and put the back of my hand on her forehead to feel that she was cold as cool water.

“Cool water, not ice cold! How did she get here? Space ship? Of course, a spaceship, Zahra! Is she here by herself?” I said, hurriedly.

“I am sure she came with her mother and got separated when they landed here. They need heat to survive and the mother will go first to locate a safe place then will go find her baby. Where could there be sunlight during night?” He said, mostly to himself, as he ran his hand through his dark brown hair.

Sunlight at nighttime…

“I know!” I yelled out as a memory appeared to me. The man twirled around to face me, expectantly. “The Las Vegas Herpetology Institute! I went there as teenager when I found my love for reptiles! They have this great arena filled with fake sunlight for the reptiles to thrive. She could be there!”

“Alright! You have to come with me. She won't come to me at all.” He said and I nodded eagerly. He looked back at the house then at me. “But what about here? You look like you are dressed for a party or something. Is it alright to leave?”

Party? What party--oh, shit! I totally forgot about my own wedding! With all this going, I blanked out. “My marriage.” I whispered, looking at the ground. After few seconds of sniffling, I glanced up at the man sadly. “Might as well do something before I am whisked away from my own person.”

He just eyed me, unknown emotions running through his eyes, then nodded. He turned around to where he came from but something stopped me from following.

“Before we go,” I started, cocking my head to the side, “who are you?”

He turned around slowly with a smile growing on his face, mischief glinting his eyes.

“I am the Doctor.”