'You did that?' I asked him softly. 'For me? But… why?'
'They really do have you brainwashed out here, haven’t they? It’s high
time this colony was disbanded. Good riddance to the lot of them.'
'So, Earth. How does the turn of the Twentieth Century sound? We can
watch Quebec cream Moncton and pick up a 1st edition of Tarzan of the
Apes. Speaking of apes, we could go to the Piltdown Gravel Pit and laugh
at Charles Darwin. Did I mention it was a Time Machine as well as a
spaceship? And you aren’t interested in any of that, are you?'
'I--I don’t know,' I told him, at once tantalized and terrified and wondering where in the midst of all these things might be the dreaded mice.
'And I’m scaring you half to death now, aren’t I? That’s new. I’ll
have to get used to that. And here I was thinking to myself that I could
do with a little polite company. I’m sorry I’m not the man you thought I
would be, Keegan. I‘m not sure I know who I am myself.'
I said nothing at first, unsure how to answer him. If he didn’t know
who he was, how could I be sure either? I needed to see his hand.
Needed to feel the cool, strong fingers that had been as much my life
line as I thought I had been his. What a fool I had been… thinking
myself as important as all of that. As if sensing my thoughts he
gathered my hands in both of his and squeezed gently. I closed my eyes
briefly and smiled. Yes. Yes it was him. It could only be him.
'Hello,' he said again, so merry and yet, now that I could see his
chiseled face and bright eyes, so sad. As if he had seen something so
terrible, so painful, that it was written on his soul. I would have done
anything to change that.
'It’s the dust,' I said at last, brushing a bit from one of his velvet
sleeves. 'It settles on everything, covering you up, making it hard to
breathe. It’ll bury you. If you let it. It’ll take away your dreams.'
He tilted his head to one side as I spoke, his gaze so intense I almost looked away. I pulled my knees up underneath me and leaned toward him. I took his hand once more.
'Don’t let it.'
He looked down at my hand, so small next to his. The unseen hand that had touched his in the rubble when I’d thought he was dying. Maybe he had been. There are more ways than one to die. And in that moment the fire that I’d seen burning in his eyes went out, and in its place I could see a thousand adventures waiting. Adventures and, just possibly, some mice.
Alarms sounded, echoing up and down the halls and through the infirmary ward. The Doctor pulled a vintage fob watch from his pocket and silently marked the time as he pushed the chair out of his way.
'They certainly waited long enough. They’ll have just enough time to evacuate the colony--if they pay attention. Now. Keegan. Forget everything else I said. You asked about blue skies--'
'--and forty flavours of Christmas marmalade?'
'And forty flavours of Christmas marmalade. Fantastic.'
I took his hand and followed, leaving only my small, bare footprints in the dust behind me.
written by
MEG MACDONALD
copyright 2012
artwork by
COLIN JOHN
copyright 2012
also from the pen of Meg MacDonald...
