DONNA NOBLE, YOU ARE BRILLIANT.
I think that after Donna gets back from her honeymoon she cashes that cheque to find out she’s fabulously wealthy. Thinking she’s got everything she ever wanted, she buys a house, car, clothes, sets up her Mum and Wilf so they’re taken care of, lives the glamourous lifestyle she envied in the trashy magazines she used to read on her breaks when she was a Temp.
But, Donna is unhappy. Something is missing. She travels with Shaun, sees the world. She gets tired of the guide assisted travels and convinces Shaun to travel the rarely beaten path. She sees the grungier side of all these fabulous cities, sees people living in squalor, despair and poverty. She meets all sorts of people and she slowly allows herself to be pulled into their lives, lets her perfect manicure chip away as she helps them build homes, escape abuse, volunteers to administer medical care, helps people bury their dead in war torn countries, gives everything and asks for nothing and all of this helps ease the ache in her heart she can’t understand.
Donna realises she could do so much more. She returns home to Chiswick and enrolls herself in school. She gets a business degree and sets up charities like Habitat. The more she throws herself into bettering these peoples lives, the more she realises that they need help emotionally too. She gets a counseling degree and sets up various drop in centres aimed to assist people with no income, to help them pick up their lives and find their way in the world.
Shaun follows gamely, content follow the lead of this incredible woman who seems to shine the harder she works. Amidst all the planning and construction and charity fundraisers she might lose track of her quest for a while, and Shaun convinces her to leave her company in the hands of a stand-in and to go personally work with the people she’s come to love.
They set up shop in the middle of an urban location and Donna works as director and head counselor. After a few months a young man shows up, odd and rude and wearing a bowtie he insists is cool. Donna barely blinks at his ridiculousness, having met all sorts, and she begins seeing him every once in a while.
She sees in his eyes and demeanour that he’s got a lot on his shoulders. Despite his happy-go-lucky appearance she can tell he’s really not alright. They talk and talk and he slowly begins to tell her stories. They span such an immense amount of time she hardly believes it all to be true, but whether he’s making metaphors or using a third party to express himself, she knows he’s hurting and she buoys him with her tough love.
He talks of lost love, lost homes, lost friends, and Donna feels like she understands. Something crucial was missing in her life, like something she didn’t know was there was suddenly gone, and all she can feel is the hole that’s left and all the pain that fills it. She doesn’t quite understand it, but somehow, slowly, she feels like that pain is lessening.
He comes erratically, sometimes once a week, sometimes she doesn’t see him for months. He always wears the same suit, and when she mentions it a wistful smile passes across his face. They drink tea and she always keeps banana custard pastries in the cupboard in case he shows up. They talk about everything, the universe, physics (she doesn’t understand but doesn’t have the heart to stop his lectures), life, traveling, companionship, the stars, life, loss and doing everything you can to make the universe a better place.
On one occasion, he shows up with scrapes all over his face, clothes tattered, bowtie wilting. The universe seems to weigh on him a little heavier this time and he asks her about herself. Just this once, she tells him. Tells him of her journey and how she came to be where she is. Tells him of her travels, the sunsets, the abused women she's secreted out of their homes, the dirty children playing in garbage dumps, the despair, pain and suffering. Tells him about being frustrated with herself and feeling guilt for reasons she doesn't understand. Doesn’t tell him about the times she second-guessed herself or the times her confidence almost broke her. He reads between the lines then and when shes done he smiles. His whole face lights up and he tells her she’s brilliant.
For the second first time in Donna’s life, she’s almost starting to believe it.
But, Donna is unhappy. Something is missing. She travels with Shaun, sees the world. She gets tired of the guide assisted travels and convinces Shaun to travel the rarely beaten path. She sees the grungier side of all these fabulous cities, sees people living in squalor, despair and poverty. She meets all sorts of people and she slowly allows herself to be pulled into their lives, lets her perfect manicure chip away as she helps them build homes, escape abuse, volunteers to administer medical care, helps people bury their dead in war torn countries, gives everything and asks for nothing and all of this helps ease the ache in her heart she can’t understand.
Donna realises she could do so much more. She returns home to Chiswick and enrolls herself in school. She gets a business degree and sets up charities like Habitat. The more she throws herself into bettering these peoples lives, the more she realises that they need help emotionally too. She gets a counseling degree and sets up various drop in centres aimed to assist people with no income, to help them pick up their lives and find their way in the world.
Shaun follows gamely, content follow the lead of this incredible woman who seems to shine the harder she works. Amidst all the planning and construction and charity fundraisers she might lose track of her quest for a while, and Shaun convinces her to leave her company in the hands of a stand-in and to go personally work with the people she’s come to love.
They set up shop in the middle of an urban location and Donna works as director and head counselor. After a few months a young man shows up, odd and rude and wearing a bowtie he insists is cool. Donna barely blinks at his ridiculousness, having met all sorts, and she begins seeing him every once in a while.
She sees in his eyes and demeanour that he’s got a lot on his shoulders. Despite his happy-go-lucky appearance she can tell he’s really not alright. They talk and talk and he slowly begins to tell her stories. They span such an immense amount of time she hardly believes it all to be true, but whether he’s making metaphors or using a third party to express himself, she knows he’s hurting and she buoys him with her tough love.
He talks of lost love, lost homes, lost friends, and Donna feels like she understands. Something crucial was missing in her life, like something she didn’t know was there was suddenly gone, and all she can feel is the hole that’s left and all the pain that fills it. She doesn’t quite understand it, but somehow, slowly, she feels like that pain is lessening.
He comes erratically, sometimes once a week, sometimes she doesn’t see him for months. He always wears the same suit, and when she mentions it a wistful smile passes across his face. They drink tea and she always keeps banana custard pastries in the cupboard in case he shows up. They talk about everything, the universe, physics (she doesn’t understand but doesn’t have the heart to stop his lectures), life, traveling, companionship, the stars, life, loss and doing everything you can to make the universe a better place.
On one occasion, he shows up with scrapes all over his face, clothes tattered, bowtie wilting. The universe seems to weigh on him a little heavier this time and he asks her about herself. Just this once, she tells him. Tells him of her journey and how she came to be where she is. Tells him of her travels, the sunsets, the abused women she's secreted out of their homes, the dirty children playing in garbage dumps, the despair, pain and suffering. Tells him about being frustrated with herself and feeling guilt for reasons she doesn't understand. Doesn’t tell him about the times she second-guessed herself or the times her confidence almost broke her. He reads between the lines then and when shes done he smiles. His whole face lights up and he tells her she’s brilliant.
For the second first time in Donna’s life, she’s almost starting to believe it.