Someone once said "Every story has a beginning, a middle, and an end, though not necessarily in that order." I think I heard somewhere that it was Tim Burton but I can't be sure. Maybe he heard it from someone else? Who knows? But someone said it.

I wonder sometimes if the person who first said it ever met you, because in all the universe I can't think of a single person who fits it better. At least from where I was standing.

For me your story started in the middle, with the friend who grew up by my side. Who was always in trouble yet always had my back. I can't remember a time when you weren't in my life. I can't imagine my childhood without you. My advisor, my confidante, my partner in crime. You were and always will be my best friend. I never dreamed a day would come when you were no longer with me. Loosing you was one of the hardest things I've ever done, made all the worse by the fact that I couldn't properly grieve. Because you weren't gone. Not really. Just changed. Gone but not quite. You but not my you. Wherever you are. Whoever you are. I miss you Mel. So very much.

I'm so glad I knew you.

Somewhere in the middle I met a woman who was living her life in fear of the end. An end that would come at another's beginning. How hard that must have been. To live and love completely in reverse. Watching your own existence vanish in another's eyes. You were amazing. Brave and bold and wise. Able to take charge of any situation, even putting the Doctor himself in his place with nothing more than a look. I idolised you. I saw in you a woman who knew so much about so much and never let anything hold her back. I'm proud of the woman you became. You were an adventurer who couldn't be tamed. I never thought the day would come when you weren't popping up out of nowhere, with your little blue book full of a future I always expected to be a part of. I hope you had a good life, even if I suspect it wasn't the one you truly wanted. I miss you River. So very much.

I wish I could have known you better.

That brings us to the end which brought a beginning. It should have been our beginning. You me and your dad. But by then your story was already written, your life already lived. How unfair it was. Before you could even walk, your every footstep was already fading into the sands of time. What hope did you have? What hope did we have? I will always remember the brief time I had with you, holding you in my arms. I never imagined in those days that I would be losing you like I did, I was so sure that we would find a way. You were beautiful. The most precious thing in my life and it hurts every day that I never got a chance to be the mother you deserved. Even though in my mind I know I watched you grow up, I saw the incredible woman you became, in my heart it will never feel that way. In my heart our story always ended at Demons run. I miss you Melody. So very much.

I wish I could have known you.