A birthday greeting
Jul. 30th, 2006 12:53 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ravenHappy birthday, ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
tau_sigma! I’m so sorry it’s late!
Last night, I couldn’t sleep. This is not an unusual occurrence. So I was lying here in the dark, half-awake and listening to the night birds swooping past the window and half-asleep and uncomfortable under an old ratty picnic blanket, as I haven’t made my bed in a while. And after a bit I got to noticing that as well as the birds and the clock ticking, there was another sound in the room. It sounded like music.
So I got up, opened the door and peered out onto the landing. And imagine my surprise when I met someone standing on the other side! “Hello, my dear,” he said. “I’ve travelled a long way and I’d love a cup of tea.”
He was an interesting sort of man. He was barely taller than me – and I’m only five foot three – and he was wearing mostly black, with chequered trousers, and holding a recorder. I wasn’t surprised at that. So I went downstairs with him following, and I put the kettle on while he sat on a kitchen stool and watched me rummage in the fridge for milk. “You do look familiar,” he said after a while. “Are you me, by any chance?”
“No,” I said. “No, I’m not you, though some people have wondered about that. My name’s Raven.”
“Well, Raven, you’re rather forgetful, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” I said half-heartedly, “but I have been very busy today, I’ve had to go into work unexpectedly and stack shelves and then I had to go to the airport to pick someone up and then, after that…”
“My dear,” he interrupted, “you must stop making excuses.”
I stopped.
“You forgot, didn’t you?” he went on.
“I didn’t mean to,” I said. “I’m sorry.”
“You can still put this right,” he said, and smiled at me. He had the sort of face which rendered every expression a bit lugubrious, but there was warmth in it. “Get up tomorrow and make a post in your… oh, dear, I’ve forgotten the word.”
“Blog,” I murmured sotto voce.
“Yes, precisely.” He seemed to lose focus for a minute, twiddled a little tune on the recorder, and then went on, “Make a post, saying you’re sorry, and make sure you wish her a very, very happy birthday. Be sure to add the emphasis.”
“I will,” I said. “Are you going to visit her next?”
“Oh, well, I will try,” he said, and he looked a bit guilty. “My TARDIS is parked outside your bedroom window, so I think it might not be as accurate again for a while. You do have a lot of trees to bump into here, don’t you? Never mind, it’ll all be sea in fifty years. Now, are you sure you’ll remember?”
“Yes, Doctor.”
“Good. Now I must go and wish a happy birthday to the lady herself.” He smiled again and walked to the back door, which I unlocked for him, and then I heard his footsteps disappear in the direction of the garden and then a distinctive vworp vworp noise.
He never drank his tea, so I poured it down the sink and watched the blue lights fading across the grass. After he’d gone, I booted up Loki and proceeded to do as I was told.
Happy birthday, Tali! I do apologise for the lateness, and I hope you had a visitor. If not, well, I’m sure he’ll be along. Eventually.
tau_sigma! I’m so sorry it’s late!Last night, I couldn’t sleep. This is not an unusual occurrence. So I was lying here in the dark, half-awake and listening to the night birds swooping past the window and half-asleep and uncomfortable under an old ratty picnic blanket, as I haven’t made my bed in a while. And after a bit I got to noticing that as well as the birds and the clock ticking, there was another sound in the room. It sounded like music.
So I got up, opened the door and peered out onto the landing. And imagine my surprise when I met someone standing on the other side! “Hello, my dear,” he said. “I’ve travelled a long way and I’d love a cup of tea.”
He was an interesting sort of man. He was barely taller than me – and I’m only five foot three – and he was wearing mostly black, with chequered trousers, and holding a recorder. I wasn’t surprised at that. So I went downstairs with him following, and I put the kettle on while he sat on a kitchen stool and watched me rummage in the fridge for milk. “You do look familiar,” he said after a while. “Are you me, by any chance?”
“No,” I said. “No, I’m not you, though some people have wondered about that. My name’s Raven.”
“Well, Raven, you’re rather forgetful, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” I said half-heartedly, “but I have been very busy today, I’ve had to go into work unexpectedly and stack shelves and then I had to go to the airport to pick someone up and then, after that…”
“My dear,” he interrupted, “you must stop making excuses.”
I stopped.
“You forgot, didn’t you?” he went on.
“I didn’t mean to,” I said. “I’m sorry.”
“You can still put this right,” he said, and smiled at me. He had the sort of face which rendered every expression a bit lugubrious, but there was warmth in it. “Get up tomorrow and make a post in your… oh, dear, I’ve forgotten the word.”
“Blog,” I murmured sotto voce.
“Yes, precisely.” He seemed to lose focus for a minute, twiddled a little tune on the recorder, and then went on, “Make a post, saying you’re sorry, and make sure you wish her a very, very happy birthday. Be sure to add the emphasis.”
“I will,” I said. “Are you going to visit her next?”
“Oh, well, I will try,” he said, and he looked a bit guilty. “My TARDIS is parked outside your bedroom window, so I think it might not be as accurate again for a while. You do have a lot of trees to bump into here, don’t you? Never mind, it’ll all be sea in fifty years. Now, are you sure you’ll remember?”
“Yes, Doctor.”
“Good. Now I must go and wish a happy birthday to the lady herself.” He smiled again and walked to the back door, which I unlocked for him, and then I heard his footsteps disappear in the direction of the garden and then a distinctive vworp vworp noise.
He never drank his tea, so I poured it down the sink and watched the blue lights fading across the grass. After he’d gone, I booted up Loki and proceeded to do as I was told.
Happy birthday, Tali! I do apologise for the lateness, and I hope you had a visitor. If not, well, I’m sure he’ll be along. Eventually.
no subject
on 2006-07-30 10:04 am (UTC)You do have a lot of trees to bump into here, don’t you? Never mind, it’ll all be sea in fifty years.
and recorder playing! Gleeee. *g* *loves*
no subject
on 2006-07-30 07:57 pm (UTC)