Author's note: The majority of this story is based on the 1978 anime Chirin no Suzu, known as The Ringing Bell of Chirin, and not upon the original children's book of the same title by Takashi Yanase or any other adaptation.
Over the flat lands and far away on the desert planet of Tatooine was a small hovel, a homestead to a large family of farmers who lived in peace despite the heat waves that came down upon them. If you were to ask them if there was a bright center to the universe, you're on the planet that it's farthest from. The residents in question who owned the farm were Cliegg and Edern Lars, two brothers whose family along with their parents had owned the land for many generations on the Great Chott salt flat. Cliegg was married to a young woman named Shmi whom he bought out of slavery and gave birth to two boys, Owen and Anakin whom they adored. The only other people who lived at the household were Beru Whitesun, Owen's playmate and friend and a protocol droid named C-3PO, built by Anakin.
Anakin was born in the spring. At nine years old with sandy blond hair and blue eyes, he was cute, small, scruffy and had more energy than all the other children on the planet put together. When he was born, his first gift was a golden bell necklace given to him by his mother in case he got lost, and it rung for miles around, able to let other people know where he was. The string used to hold the bell was made of elastic material, which would grow with him until he fully reached adulthood. Anakin loved the sound of his bell and figured that his mother could find him even in a deep gorge. Even though he liked to fix things and knew most of the cities and surrounding areas around the planet, Anakin didn't know a lot about life itself or what it had to offer. He would often see things he knew nothing about, things that would surprise and sadden him, but as he got older, the time would come when he would learn about the wonders and dangers of life.
On the very day that spring had turned into summer, Anakin was ready to enjoy playing or scavenging for junk, but his brother and soon-to-be-sister-in-law were too busy helping the adults to gather water from moisture vapors for the summer that was quickly setting in. He jumped around, played hide and seek behind one of the GX-8 moisture vaporators and even tried to climb one of them before realizing it would never suit his parents. He saw Owen gathering water and asked him.
"Want to look for some new parts with me?"
"I would, but I have to get the water before we all die from this heat."
Disheartened, Anakin could not bother asking Beru or any other children from the moisture farms, he took fifteen steps, then twenty, until he was about a hundred feet away from the homestead, chasing a sketto that seemed harmless before he fell face first and saw a shadow much bigger than him. The shadow belonged to his mother and she was more calm than upset, smiling at him as her son went into his arms and after some happy chuckling, Shmi scooped her son into her arms and tapped his nose with her right index finger before she said.
"Anakin, as much as I understand how energetic you are. You must promise me that you will never to go into the Jundland Wastes. For those mountains are the home of the Sand People, led by Sharad Hett and his son A'Sharad. It is a very scary place and the Hetts live on the top of the tallest mountain. They do not take too kindly to humans and legend has it that the Tusken Raiders are cannibals. They also like to eat the tender meat of almost any animal that they seek."
"That's silly!" Anakin chuckled, thinking his mother was trying to scare him.
"Why do you ask?"
"It'll be hard for them to eat with all that fur. I think they should eat flowers and regular food like blue milk, they're much more tastier."
"But nevertheless, they're still dangerous."
Nearby, a galoomp digging for desert plums shot some small clouds of dust that drew Anakin's attention. His listening ears were fading away from the last thing his mother instructed him.
"Promise me, Anakin. Promise me that you will never go within a mile away from the salt flat."
But the time she said those words were the same time Anakin decided to go after the galoomp. Shmi chuckled to herself, it seemed to her like Anakin was like a wild animal, a cub at least, curious about other species and what lay beyond the flat horizon.
It was sunset by the time the others returned home and although Shmi had gone back to the vaporators (picking up electronic supplies from Tosche Station along the way), she didn't realize until then that Anakin had not returned. After asking the other farmers, her replies met with a vague "No, I haven't." she marched to the desert, going at least five miles inland.
"Anakin!" she called thirty minutes or so.
After her right hand wiped her brow from some leftover sweat taken by the twin suns, she slammed her fists into her hips and asked in a low voice.
"Anakin, where have you gone?"
Then she cupped both hands to her mouth and called out once more.
"ANAKIN!"
A sigh from her throat passed, her legs carried her closer and closer to the dangerous territory of the mountains. If Anakin could not use his voice, let alone clap his hands or stomp his feet, the golden bell she had given to him on the very day that was born was her only hope. She passed a few of Tatooine's fauna, most of them herbivores, silently wondering if they had seen a nine year old boy in sand colored clothes.
When she was at the foot of the mountains, she looked up, moaning at the thought of her little boy having been mauled by the Tuskens even after she had warned him about them. At the top of her lungs, she bellowed.
"WHERE ARE YOU, ANAKIN?!"
Just when she made a sigh of defeat, it had turned into a sigh of relief when she heard the familiar sound of a bell ringing just a few feet away from her behind a brown rock. Walking closer, she found Anakin, napping on his hips and resting his head in his hands. She leaned down and her own hands gently rocked his body until his eyelashes fluttered.
"Mom? How did it get dark so soon?"
"You fell asleep."
Anakin yawned and his eyes opened further to see his mother, relieved, yet unhappy.
"Where have you been? It's well past your curfew, you bad boy! You cannot imagine how worried I was, and after I just told you about the Sandpeople as well."
Like any child would be, Anakin felt guilty. He may have been nine, but he was still naive about a great certainty of things.
"I'm sorry, Mommy. I was just chasing the galoomp and he led me all the way here, I was tired and I didn't know exactly how late it would be."
Instead of a hit like he would have imagined, Shmi pulled her son into a hug as the tears soaked her face and Anakin's shoulders.
"It's okay, Anakin. I still love you."
And so they walked home into the red glow of the sunset, with Anakin reminiscing about the galoomp.
"I promise I won't do it again," he said, giving her reassurance. "From now, I won't go chasing after anymore animals."
The following day was a day like any other day, with tomorrow being no different. The breeze was gentle and soothing and the temperature was cool. It blew into the flora all the way through autumn, with no major effects on the environment that could be found on a planet that was lush and green. Anakin and Shmi were the last to witness the last sunset of spring and looked back on their perfect season of peace, where the children could play ball and watch podraces twice a day during the summer before. The slaves in the cities of scum and villainy were even given a raise even a couple of days off compared to their regular schedules. Owen and Beru went on several dates into Mos Eisley, sharing meals and not being able to take their eyes off of each other, C-3PO knew how to clean off some of the dirt and dust on his plating all by himself and Cliegg and Edern were helping pay off a few debts to their parents, who were off-world, finding charitable ways to support them. (Not that they had the time to visit them every day, of course.)
It was the night before the end of fall and all through the Lars homestead, peace was to be shattered, not even by a womp rat…but something far more vicious. A terrible raid was going to happen. Unaware of what danger could occur, Shmi and Anakin were sleeping in the same bad as they always did when came the sound of a wild animal crying. But it did not sound sad with the atmosphere of all the household objects remaining still with care, and what would come next would cause quite a start. Owen and Beru, nestled so snug in their beds, were the second to hear the cries of the wild animal that was probably looking for its mother. Little did they know that they would have nightmares of creatures who walked like men, but were mindless and vicious beasts who attacked settlements and convoys. The three moons that hung over the land cast an eerie pall, enlarging the shadows of the intruders and the wild cries of war now grew louder and louder.
Cliegg and the other farmers, who were now spending the night in the hovel after a large feast to celebrate the finest crops they had gathered for the following months, took several steps outside the house. And what did the wondering eyes of the others inside should see but nomadic warriors wearing sand colored robes, armed with gaderffii weapons….and two distinctive leaders holding green lightsabers, wearing masks that were horrid and gruesome, they knew in a moment that this was Sharad Hett and his son out for the hunt.
With a true sense of sadistic joy, Sharad aimed his green lightsaber at the heart of a farmer named Cole Fardreamer. He was assisted by a violent wind that seemed to come to his aid when he gestured his left hand into the house. It was strong enough to blow the farmers back inside and before Cole knew it, his chest had now been embedded by six inches of a glowing green sword. Blood gushed from his heart where the saber had struck and he was coughing up a storm before he went limp and was poked at by a Tusken Raider at least three times before his comrades pressed on. Shmi, C-3PO and the children came to see the hustle that took place, with the Sandpeople searching through the drawers for anything that seemed valuable in their own eyes.
The creatures that Anakin saw before him, looked as though they came straight from a crypt. A female farmer named Falynn Sandskimmer was bludgeoned by the gaderffii of a Tusken named K'Sheek, who was also a woman who knew how to fight. But she was no match for the equally female Sandperson who then broke her neck with masculine hands and she joined Cole Fardreamer to the ground.
A younger looking Tusken who had a long braided tail from the back of his hair with a silver mouthpiece for the mask and red eyes that made him appear to be possessed by a demon, turned his attention to Anakin who stepped forward, staring at him in astonishment. The Tusken, likely to be A'Sharad, seemed to hesitate before activating his own lightsaber of a green color and brought it to the ground. Shmi somehow knew that this move was intended to kill, there was a vision of fear coming into her eyes.
"NOOOOOOO!"
And she ran in front of her son, the human shield that she was, until she felt her Adam's apple being cut open by a flash of green. All Shmi could see was a creature of evil, a devil before her eyes, when she felt herself and her whole world falling down, down, down…...As Anakin felt his mother's back falling on top of him, the sound of a voice was heard.
"Take the mushrooms! We are done here."
What happened next for six minutes later was the sound of fading footsteps and complete silence.
Anakin pulled himself free from his mother's body and looked left and right. From there, he reviewed the damage and the fallen bodies that lay on the floor. He yawned, smiling to himself that the Sandpeople were gone and rested his head against his mother's abdomen.
"I'm so lucky he didn't get me, 'cause I wanna go back to sleep. Don't you, Mommy?"
There was no response and when he opened his eyes his smile faded as he asked again.
"Mommy?"
His hands helped the upper half of his body up and he surveyed her body as he moved his right leg over her. Then he shook her chest, thinking that she was still in shock from the attack.
"Mommy, what's wrong?"
He moved closer to her head, where he could see her eyes open, staring into the abyss. Cliegg got up as well and feared the worst for his wife.
"Did the Tusken hurt you?" Anakin asked again as his hands reached for his mother's throat. "I learned my lesson, I'll stay away from the mountains."
He started to shake her, almost throttling her with his hands. The others who watched were beginning to realize that something worse was amidst as the tone of Anakin's voice grew frantic.
"Mommy, what's wrong?!"
Then he noticed the blood. Pulling back his hands, he noticed that his palms had turned scarlet.
"Mommy?" he quivered. "What's this red stuff?"
Beru's lips began to shake, quietly answering for him.
"It's….blood."
Weather Anakin heard her, his mental instincts or both, he was now experiencing an overwhelming moment of confusion and grief.
"No...Don't die, Mommy, please don't die!"
Then he buried his face into her breasts and he started to cry. His sobs grew louder as he slammed his hands on her shoulders, pleading for her to wake up. Then he screamed until his voice grew sore.
"DON'T LEAVE ME, MOMMY! YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME HERE!"
Cliegg walked over to Anakin and his left hand was about nine inches away from Anakin's back before his eyes went to his oldest son and the two nodded their heads, mentally agreeing that Anakin needed some personal space, giving him some time to be alone. Beru felt the tears coming on as her hands clasped her cheeks, preventing herself from crying with Anakin. C-3PO, being a protocol droid, didn't understand this gesture. He walked over to his master, kneeled down and moved his right hand closer to the sobbing boy.
"Master Anakin, perhaps if we go back inside-"
"LEAVE ME ALONE!"
Finally, the droid understood. He stood up and bowed his head in reply.
"As you wish."
The others returned to their beds, but Anakin stayed behind, his tears soaking his mother's dress from top to bottom. His own body was slumped against hers, his sobs began to quiet down until finally he moaned in despair.
"It's not fair…"
Anakin asked himself: "Why did he kill my mother? Why must we weaklings be murdered? We never did anything wrong."
Without even noticing that the blood of his mother had now stained the front locks of his hair, Anakin discovered an emotion that was so sudden and new. He felt it the moment he raised the upper half of his body. His face was flushing, his eyes turned to the desert bathed in moonlight and before he knew it, he was walking with purpose, going outside the hovel. He didn't care about his family, or any supplies he needed to survive the harsh environment, all of his happiness had been enshrouded by darkness and he owed nothing to the family who just stood there, helpless and unable to save his mother. The new feeling he felt had a name: loathing.
Taking one last look at his home, Anakin silently vowed to ensure that Sharad Hett and his Tusken Raiders would never harm his family or anyone else's families ever again. And off he ran, never looking back with one purpose: he was going to make the man responsible with for mother's murder suffer with a dish of justice.