even of your best roses please.’
He had arrived at the entrance to the structure. The old flower seller looked hard into his eyes and said, ‘It's been a long time hasn't it?’
‘Has it?’, the Doctor stared back at her, memories flooding back into his mind, ‘Yes, I suppose it has. I do have such a problem with time you know, always letting it slip past me when I'm not looking."‘
The Doctor handed the flower seller a crisp £20 pound note and before she had the chance to give him his change he had gone through the entrance of the graveyard, the bunch of flowers resting gently in his arms. After several minutes however, he stopped walking. He had strayed so far in without checking his bearings that for a moment he thought he was lost. However, looking carefully around him he noticed a large stone sculpture of a ship commemorating the life of its long dead captain buried below. He now knew exactly where he was and continued on.
Finally reaching his destination, the doctor solemnly took his hat off and stood perfectly still, silent as a ghost.
Facing him were six small graves in a neat row with room for at least another six on the right hand side. Each tombstone was blank except for a fist-sized Roman numeral carved delicately into the centre from I to VI.
If anyone had been asked whom they thought the plots were for they would probably have replied that, judging by their size they could only be for children who had lived past their first gasp of air.
The Doctor would have had a different answer but it would have been unlikely he would tell anyone, something's were just too private.
Gently crouching down, he placed a red rose on each grave and straightened up again. Standing back to get a clearer view he clasped his hands, eyes closed in some form of silent prayer of remembrance.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
ime in a graveyard passes as quickly or as slowly as a person there wishes, and especially slow for a Time Lord with a great deal on his mind for past, present and future matters. When the Doctor had finally finished with his thoughts he replaced his hat neatly on his head, opened his eyes and spoke.
'Alright, Ace. You can come out now.'
Sure enough a slightly embarrassed figure appeared from behind a nearby statue and began walking over to him. ‘Well?’ the Doctor said with his back to her. ‘What have you to say for yourself?’
six ways backwards page 2
