A Bond in the Light
Light. All was light. It was blinding him.
Was he dead? He could feel, feel the smooth, cold, hard floor beneath him. If he could feel, then how could he be dead? It made no sense, no sense at all, he remembered how it happened, how he died, his son was there, his son Luke, who had saved him. And then he realised something else: he could feel.
He could feel the floor beneath him. He could feel cold. Light blinded him. His fingers, gingerly felt the ground, so smooth, so cool, as if it were made of marble. His hands went up to his face, and he saw, what before had just been feeling. Real hands. He sat up slowly. A real body. Made of flesh and bone. No suit. No prosthetic on his right hand either.
It was him.
All of him. The real him, whom he should have been. It was a bitter sweet reality. A tear leaked out of his eye, and he relished in the feel of it as it ran down his cheek.
He looked around. Where was he? All was light, endless brightness and warmth, contrasting so with the white hard ground he now stood on. Was this the Force? That's when he felt it. Someone watching him. He turned, he gasped, and sank to his knees.
"Hello Anakin."
Before him stood the man he had considered his best friend, his brother, father figure and mentor. A man he had loved dearly, and yet betrayed.
"Obi Wan" he gasped, eyes wide. He no longer was the old man who had last stood before him on the Deathstar. Obi Wan stood now tall and proud, younger and more handsome than he could remember him being, untouched by war and grief. He seemed to be in his twenties, shortly after their bond was formed. His blue-gray eyes shone brightly, a gentle smile was on his face.
"Obi Wan I...I'm...I am so soo ssorry." He choked out, tears now streaming down his face. He looked down. The enormity of all he had done now hitting him hard as he was faced with his former master. Head bowed, he sobbed.
"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry..."
A hand went through his hair, another gently lifted his chin. Two pairs of eyes met, one unsure and shy, the other full of compassion.
"Would I be here, more importantly, would you be here, Anakin, if you weren't already forgiven? The Force is forgiveness, after all." Obi Wan said quietly. "You have redeemed yourself my friend, you have redeemed yourself. You have killed the sith, and thus saved not only your son, but hundreds of other people. You brought balance." He smiled ruefully, "I had given up hope, and couldn't quite believe what I saw at first. But I was wrong. And I am glad I was." The smile lighting up his face now was true, and Obi Wan grasped Anakin by the shoulders, squeezing gently. "You have redeemed yourself. And I forgive you."
"But, still, after everything I-"
"Yes, after everything, I forgive you." Anakin could feel the truth of it in the Force, could see it in Obi Wan' s eyes, yet it still seemed all too surreal to him. Obi Wan' s lips twitched, as if sensing his thoughts. He stood, and held out his hand.
Anakin considered him a moment, and slowly, grasped his hand with own. And as Obi Wan pulled him back on his feet, their eyes met again.
"Thank you Master."
-The End-