2.4k words; edit by sondercoyfish

a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

The rolling hills of sand were all that you could see if you looked out the window of your tiny hall of a bedroom. In the early hours of the morning you could leave your home and take a thirty minute walk through the rising heat. The universe felt alive as the suns would rise above you. There was nothing but peace and silence. You could feel the energy of every living thing surrounding you.

It was beautiful. As hot as your home planet was, as uncomfortably bright as it was, it was beautiful. You felt whole here. Of course, it was the only place you had ever known, but you were drawn to your home on Tatooine. You belonged here, feeling the suns on your skin, hearing the distant sounds of moisture farmers working for the day, watching the Jawas pass by on the horizon.

You wished you could venture out for the day. But you could only go so far before you would hear him calling for you just outside of your shared home, urging you to come back before someone spotted you in the daylight and became suspicious. People were still after him, he had warned you again and again. They were after people of your kind.They would be after you, too.

It seemed like a lot of extra worrying, keeping you out of the bright light of day. Making sure you were sealed away from the galaxy. You'd never journeyed out of Tatooine because he told you that it wasn't safe for someone like you to leave just yet. Of course you believed him, the only man you knew as a father, the man who had found you, raised you, and kept you. So you remained concealed and tried not to complain about how long and boring the days got. After twenty-two years of life here, it was as comfortable as it was boring.

He called out your name from the open window of the kitchen. You turned, your heels digging into the grittiness of the sand. "I'm coming!" you shouted back, breaking out into a slow jog back up the path to your tiny little home.

You stepped inside, the smell of grain and sugar meeting your nose. You could see him in the tiny kitchen off the side of the living room, grabbing bowls from a cupboard. His brown hair was nearly completely grey; the weight of the galaxy had aged him so quickly. You paused for a moment until he glanced at you, pulling you out of your thoughts.

"I almost got to see the suns all the way up this time," you said, breathless as you pulled the hood down from your head.

"Are you asking for congratulations?" he asked, amused.

"No," you replied, rolling your eyes. "I'm saying that you called me in too soon."

"Well, I am glad you're not waiting for me to congratulate you. I'm not going to praise you for running outside against my better judgement again." He poured blue milk into two tall glasses. "Breakfast is almost done."

"I thought it was my turn to make breakfast," you argued, shrugging out of your poncho and hanging it up on the hook by the door. "Did you forget that you made breakfast yesterday, old man?"

"Old man?" His eyebrows raised. "You're getting quite brave there, young one."

You grinned.

"And it was your turn to make breakfast, but you were busy playing outside like a child, so I decided that I was too hungry to wait." Although he was scolding you, he was smiling. He chuckled as you stuck your tongue out at him and sat down at the table. "Any plans for today?"

"I didn't have any in particular," you said, frowning slightly. "Maybe I'll reorganize my room. Study some more."

"You've studied non-stop this week," he said. "Why don't you take the day off?"

"Because I don't want to stop studying. There's far too much to learn about the Jedi. About the Rebellion." He didn't respond as he mixed the pot on the stovetop. You sighed and leaned your cheek against the top of your fist, your elbows on the table. "There's so much I have yet to learn."

"All in good time, my dear," he said. "All in good time."

"Yeah." You shrugged and drummed your fingers against your cheek as you thought about how you'd like the rest of your day to go. "I think I know what I want to do today."

"And what's that?"

"Can we practice more today?" you asked. "It's been a while since you've let me pick up the lightsaber."

"I'll consider it," he said. "I have to go out later."

"Oh. Where are you going?" you asked. You took a long drink of milk.

"Nowhere fun, I can assure you of that," he said, smiling. It was a mere distraction to keep you from asking questions about what he was always up to. But the look in your eyes told him that he wasn't doing himself any good by ignoring your curiosity. "We are nearly out of supplies. We need food and other necessities for the next several weeks."

"I wish you wouldn't go without me," you sighed.

His smile only grew as he reached across the table to cup your chin in his hand. "I know, my dear. I wish I could take you to see every bit the galaxy has to offer. But this place is different than it once was. Dangers lurk around every corner, and I cannot guarantee your protection outside of this place."

"What makes this place so safe?" you asked.

"Nothing," he said, "but here I can keep an eye on you... and keep a promise of mine."

You sighed. "Ben..."

"You are growing strong in the Force," he continued. "Stronger than I ever thought you could be. I have seen the gleam in your eyes. The gleam of knowledge, of understanding. You see things most Force-users do not. And that makes the galaxy dangerous to you. The Sith will take you from me. Corrupt you. You've seen the attempts on your life and mine."

You remembered being hidden away not too long ago, as a young teenager. You couldn't understand who was after you, but you could hear the fight outside. You were so terrified, wondering what would happen if Ben didn't return to you. But he did.

"When I found you as a young baby, laying on the sands of Tatooine, dying of thirst and alone without anyone near, I took you and vowed to protect you. You called to me through the Force. I had only been on this planet a mere handful of days, and I heard you. Since then, it has been my duty to protect you. And protect you I will. Until this galaxy is safe enough for you to venture out into."

"Do you think it will be soon?" you asked.

He pulled away from you and turned. You could see a wrinkle of thought form between his brows. "I am not sure. But I do know that one day you will be ready, even if you don't feel like you are. Even if I don't feel like you are."

When he said things like that, it made you believe that maybe you were made for so much more than this life on Tatooine. Maybe he knew a future for you that you could not even imagine. These are dark times for Jedi Knights, he told you, but one day a new hope will arise. Maybe he thought it was you.

"The Rebellion is failing," you said, frowning. "We've all heard the whispers. Soon they'll be killed off and ... and then what? The Empire will have won already."

"Don't give up on the Rebellion so easy," he said with a chuckle. "Rebellions are built on hope."

You paused mid-bite, pondering his words. Hope. He always said that word.

"Eat," he said, passing you a bowl of milk and mush. "And then we will practice before I leave."

His heart swelled as the smile grew across your face. You started to eat right away, childishly excited for the chance to practice.

Right after breakfast, you took your place in the center of the living room. All of the furniture had been pushed away. Your father stood in front of you with a row of stones varying in size lined up in front of his feet. Using the Force, he raised one of the stones. You ignited the lightsaber. The blue hue flickered across the white walls. You nodded, signaling that you were ready.

His wrist bent forward slightly and the rock moved with it. You swung the weapon, slicing it in half. As it fell to the ground, the other stones began to move in circles around you. You spun around, your blade moving swiftly through the air, cutting the stones into tiny fragments. The goal of this was to avoid any of them hitting you. You had to move quickly, making sure your feet landed in the right places and you ducked at the right time.

"Good," he praised. "Excellent work. Remember to keep your calm in your focus."

One of the stones slipped across your arm. The cut of it didn't break the skin, but you groaned in frustration as you hit the rock. It fell to the ground in pebbles. You stomped on them as you lashed your lightsaber forward, breaking your graceful stride.

"Your anger," he said. "You must learn to control it."

"Right," you said. You nodded. "I'm sorry, Master."

"Let's try again."

The last of the rocks fell away from you in sharp pieces. You let yourself catch your breath as you glanced over the pebbles. Your father nodded, a smile on his face, and took a seat.

"Excellent, my child," he said, patting the spot next to him. You took it, retracting the weapon and sitting back. "Just as I taught you. You're doing well."

You wiped the sweat off of your forehead. "I wish I could have a lightsaber of my own. Choose my own crystal. Have my own design."

"I know," he said, "but the Jedi have fallen. Weapons like these... these are for a more civilized time. When the time comes, when my time here is over, my lightsaber will go to you, my child. And you will carry on my legacy."

"Don't speak like that," you said, eyebrows pulling together. "I don't know what I would do if I lost you."

"You will be all right," he said, smiling. "You have grown up before me and become stronger than I ever would have imagined."

"You're speaking like you're dying tomorrow!" you said. "Is something wrong, Ben?"

"No, nothing is wrong," he said, shaking his head. "But I feel like this period of darkness is coming to an end. You have grown up. The children around here have grown up..." He glanced out the window and stared thoughtfully. "It was only a matter of time, but I feel like it has crept up on me quicker than I would have liked."

"What has?"

"You growing up," he specified.

"Just because I am growing up doesn't mean that you're going anywhere," you said nervously. While it was true that his red hair had gone grey within the last five years, and the traces of red in his beard had nearly gone nonexistent, and the wrinkles in the corners of his eyes had spread, he didn't look old to you. The galaxy had aged him, sure, but he was able to do everything on his own. He still took care of you. "Right?"

His arm went around your shoulders and he pulled you against him. You leaned your head against his chest and shut your eyes. His body shook as he laughed softly. "It would take far more than old age to tear me from you."

You sighed and smiled, feeling yourself relax.

"I must leave now, before it gets dark," he said. You lifted your head and he stood up. "Is there anything you need?" You thought for a second but shook your head. He turned and cupped your chin in his hand, smiling at you so that the crinkles in the corners of his eyes appeared deeper. "All right, my dear. Then I will be back before the middle of the night."

"And you'll be safe," you said, raising your eyebrows.

"You know that I will be," he replied. He leaned down and kissed the center of your forehead.

He left a few moments later and you had the house to yourself. You cleaned and then you read, and then you stood by the window and waited some more for your father to return, even though you knew it wouldn't be until you were asleep. Life was so lonely without him. The room was eerily silent.

You supposed you had been spoiled with this life with him. Your days were full of story-telling and practicing, of dreaming of Jedi Knights and learning about the Force. You knew that you weren't Ben Kenobi's blood-related child, but he was still your father. He taught you everything that you needed to know to one day carry his legacy. Whatever that would entail.

Across the horizon, beneath the setting binary suns outside of your window, you saw the distant figure of a boy. You knew that it was Luke Skywalker, the eighteen year old nephew of Owen and Beru. There weren't too many of the children left in this old town. Well, none of them were children anymore. They were all moving on, going to the academy, getting married, starting new lives off of Tatooine. Although you were older than all of them, you remained home with no plans to move on.

But there had to be more than this. More than what you were currently.

What was your part in this story?

You made dinner with enough for your father to eat when he returned, and then you laid on the sofa with a book in your hands. You managed to get through a good chunk of the book before your lids became heavy and you dozed off, the book pressed against your chest, your legs tangled up in the furry blanket draped over the side of the sofa.

Your last conscious thought was that of wonder. Were you the last hope?