Young Luke Skywalker had spent his brief life with his head in the stars. He rarely, if ever, found himself in the moment. This moment, however, was one of those rare occasions.
What had started off as a routine trip to Tosche Station to pick up power converters had quickly turned into . . . something else.
Standing about ten feet away was the most beautiful young woman he had ever seen. She had short brown hair and incredible green eyes, and she appeared to be looking at power converters, the exact same thing Luke had come here to pick up. Fate must be shining her favor on him today, Luke thought.
Discreetly, Luke made his way closer to the young woman. He wanted to get a better look, to talk to her, but he didn't want it to look like he wanted to do those things. Be casual, he told himself. You're just here for the power converters.
As he got closer it was like he'd been caught by a tractor beam. Luke couldn't avert his gaze. If you were searching for meaning in life you could find it in her eyes, he thought as he stared straight into them.
"Hi, I'm Luke Skywalker," he blurted out.
The young woman didn't respond immediately. Her eyes scanned him, as if to make sure he was in fact who he said he was before she made any kind of reply.
Luke suddenly realized he was staring.
"That's . . . fantastic," said the young woman.
The way she said it made Luke question if it was in fact fantastic. It sounded like she was just saying that to make him feel better for being born such an unfortunate soul. It sounded like being Luke Skywalker might be the very opposite of fantastic. Unfortunately, this point of view wasn't far off from his own. He had often thought he'd been born at the wrong time and in the wrong place. His homeworld of Tattoine was about as far as one could get from anything eventful or meaningful in the galaxy.
Nevertheless, Luke had always assumed his luck would change one day. And today seemed as good as any for that to happen.
"And you are?" Luke asked hopefully.
"In a hurry to get somewhere else."
"Aren't we all," Luke said, kicking the dusty floor of the room.
"I suppose so."
Luke spotted a man nearby. He was tall and had dark hair and the kind of thick, bushy sideburns that seemed to be all the rage among smugglers and scoundrels in this part of the galaxy. The man's vest was quite stylish as well and caused a tinge of jealousy to rise inside Luke.
"You found the Z-17s yet, Jyn?" the man asked without coming over.
"That your boyfriend?" Luke asked. It was impossible to hide the disappointment in his voice, so he didn't even try.
Jyn smiled, and Luke thought that smile could launch a thousand starships or start an intergalactic war. "No, I wouldn't say he's my boyfriend," she said.
This news brought a smile to Luke's face. His heart felt like a band being pulled in opposite directions. One minute he was down, the next he was back up.
"His loss," said Luke.
Jyn ignored the comment and reached for one of the power converters on the shelf. She turned it around in her hands, and Luke found himself staring again.
"Do you do anything other than loiter around supply shops, Luke?"
"I'm a moisture farmer."
"That sounds . . . exciting."
Luke looked down at his feet again and kicked some more dirt. "It's not. It's not permanent either. One day soon I'm gonna get off this lifeless rock."
"Good for you."
"I'm a pretty good pilot," said Luke. "One day I'll be out there flying all over the galaxy."
"The galaxy is a dangerous place." Jyn said this with the gravitas of someone who knew from firsthand experience just how dangerous it was.
"Mos Eisley is a dangerous place, but that doesn't stop people from going there. You can't be afraid to live your life."
Jyn was impressed but wasn't about to say so. She turned her green eyes upon Luke, and he thought he would do anything for her in that moment.
"Come on, Jyn," said the stylish young man who was not her boyfriend. Luke felt jealous of him but not threatened.
"I have to go," said Jyn.
"You don't have to," said Luke.
Jyn smiled. "See you around, farm boy."
"As you wish."
Luke watched Jyn walk away and out of Tosche Station, not knowing when or if he would ever see her again. His heart told him their paths would cross again, somewhere, somehow, but, even at his young age, Luke knew his heart was often incorrect about a great many things.
For the rest of his time on Tattoine, Luke Skywalker would make any and every excuse he could to return to Tosche Station. Each of those subsequent trips ended in disappointment, however, as Luke never saw Jyn there – or anywhere else – ever again.
Even after Luke became a galactic hero of the Rebel Alliance his mind would drift in moments of quiet to that afternoon at Tosche Station, and he would wonder what had become of that beautiful and mysterious young woman and what might have been . . .