It is a constant uphill climb for Siorah Katha, a young Jedi, intent on making it to the top. She just wants to find her place. To belong. The only thing standing in her way? Anakin Skywalker. A hotheaded, stubborn, frustratingly arrogant partner th...
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In the weeks after, Anakin is buried and I am still trying to pick the pieces of my heart back up off the floor. The entire Temple feels his absence, the quiet of loss, the cold after the sun has set, and I am plagued by this silence, this emptiness. I cannot cry anymore. I have drained myself of tears, and sobs, and screams. I am hollow now.
Anakin is buried in baby's breath. Little white blossoms that remind me of the drops of water on his face from the last time I held him.
Just one tear slips down my cheek during the ceremony. I do not cry when I see him in his bed of flowers, or when I place his lightsaber on his chest, but as I place his hand over his weapon, I crack. One final, aching kiss against the back of his hand breaks me. Obi-Wan holds me, let's me cry into his chest, and falls victim to tears of his own.
It only takes a bit of persuasion for the Council to let me clear his chambers. I quietly dismiss the cleaning droids and when they close the door behind them, I stand in the middle of his room, left exactly how it was the night before he left to break Koehkana out of prison.
It smells like him. Spice, and leather, and the cologne that Obi-Wan gave him for his eighteenth birthday. I fold the various clothes he's thrown around the room, stack the books he has on his desk and bed, and begin to clear out his closet.
On the bottom of the wardrobe, a faded, beat up cardboard box sits right under his robes. I pull it out gently, settling down on the floor before carefully lifting the lid off. Inside, papers and pictures cover the bottom, letters from friends, and notes on droids he was building. I grab one of the older letters and unfold it, sitting back against his bed to read.
Anakin,
I'm so glad to be hearing from you. It's been hard since I left the Order but I am making my way in the galaxy as a pilot. I've even got a crew now.
As for your concerns on this girl: I'm afraid, my friend, that it's not the missions or the pressure from the Order that is keeping her from you, it's the fact that you are acting like a total asshole. Honestly, you've never been the brightest with these things but did you truly think that teasing her would make her, what, fall into your arms?
Is this not the same girl you sent an explosive droid to? If there's anything I know about her it's that she has no time for immature idiots like you. Have you seen her work in class? It's time to go back to the drawing board, my friend, and come up with a different strategy. But I wish you all the luck, and I hope that she can bring you some peace and happiness. I look forward to hearing back from you.
I send my regards from up here, in the stars.
x
The date marked is almost three years ago. I wonder who this friend is. If they know what's happened. If they'll ever get to know.
"Siorah, Adi and I will be out in the gardens in twenty minutes. Please meet us there." My comm sounds off with Obi-Wan's voice.
"I will," I answer, running my thumb over the faded paper. I place it back in the box and put the box back in the closet. I'll come back for it later.
