Comfort
Luke's legs were hurting, but he kept walking forward. His body was sweating and the suns felt hot on his back. He could almost feel their rays burning into his skin. He bit his dry lips and paused. He was in trouble now. He couldn't believe he lost his uncle's jumba in the desert. Uncle Owen was looking forward to making leather out of the jumba once its skin hardened enough. It had cost him a lot to get that animal and Luke let it run from him. He had hoped to get the jumba and take it home before his uncle knew it ever went missing, but that was hours ago. He surely knew by now and, to make matters worse, Luke was now lost. He only knew he was somewhere in the Jundland Wastes, which would only infuriate his uncle even more. Luke was forbidden to ever go there and, yet, here he was. Tusken Raiders and Womp Rats were common here. Both were very dangerous to meet.
Just as the thought of them occurred, Luke heard the sound of falling rocks from the cliff beside him. He jumped and glanced up nervously, but he couldn't see anything. He hugged himself and began walking a tad bit faster.
The wind ruffled his blond hair and sand particles flew up into his eye. "Ah!" he called out as he began rubbing his eyes. The wind increase and more sand flew into the air. Realizing what was about to happen, Luke found his way to the cliff wall and coiled up into a ball. He bent his head to hide his face in his arms and knees. He started crying, knowing he might not make it through the sand storm. His body was shaking from his sobs as the sky began to darken from the cloud of sand heading his way. He tightened his arms around his legs fearfully.
Something suddenly touched his shoulders, a hand. He jumped and glanced up, only to cry out when sand hit his face. He looked back down and closed his eyes. He could sense a figure kneeling down next to him. The stranger's hand brushed across his back as the other hand came across his front. "…come, Luke!" he barely heard someone call out over the sound of the wind howling through the canon.
He was lifted off his feet and pulled to a chest. He immediately latched onto the stranger and buried his face to the man's neck, blocking the harsh lashes of sand from getting to his face. The man stood up and started walking quickly. His hand was rubbing Luke's back in a soothing manner. "It's alright, Luke. I got you…" the man shouted into his ear over the harsh sound of the Tatooine storm.
Luke tightened his grip around the man and whimpered a cry into the side of the stranger's throat as he felt the sand whip the back of his neck.
Huddled against the stranger, Luke lost all track of time and didn't know how long the man was speed walking until he stopped. There was a slight swooshing sound in front of them and the man took a step forward. The swoosh sound came again, this time it came from behind. The sand was no longer hitting Luke and he couldn't feel the wind either, but he could still hear it howling. "You're safe now, Luke," the man said softly as he brushed some sand out of Luke's hair.
Curiously, Luke lifted up his head as the man stepped farther into the room. He glanced around the hut the man had taken him. It was a modest hut with little personal effects around and very small. They looked to be in the living area. Beside them on the right were the humidifier unit and a small storage chest. On the left, in the corner, was a display table with lots of interesting objects he had never seen before. In front of them, Luke could see a small round table and against the wall was a sleeping couch. Further ahead, up three steps, was a kitchen. He couldn't see much more than that.
Luke finally turned to look at his rescuer. The man had been standing there, waiting for Luke finish looking around. He turned to him when Luke glanced his way. The man's eyes were a blue-ish gray color. He looked older than his uncle with the beginning of winkles on his face and his brown-ish red hair was in the process of turning gray. "Who are you? How'd you know my name?" Luke asked him.
The man lips twitched into a smile. "I am Ben Kenobi. Your aunt contacted me when you went missing. They found your footsteps heading into the Jundland Wastes. She is very worried about you."
Luke's eyes widened with recognition. "You're the hermit!" he exclaimed, excited he was able to make the connection. "You're old."
The man, Ben, chuckled and nodded. "Yes, I'm the hermit and I am getting quite old." He glanced up and down Luke's sand caked body. "Come, Luke. Let's get you washed up."
Ben carried Luke up to the kitchen area and passed the space heater and stove, to a little area in the back before setting him down. He opened the door on their right. "Here's the washroom. You can handle getting washed by yourself?" he asked.
Luke glanced up at him and nodded. "I'm six! I can wash myself now!" he informed him.
The man chuckled and nodded. "You are big. Why don't you wash yourself while I cook something for you to eat?"
Pleased the man saw him as a big kid, Luke rushed through cleaning himself with a smile. When he stepped out of the washroom, he could hear something sizzling. Ben was standing by the stove with a stirring spoon in hand. He glanced up when Luke re-entered the kitchen. He smiled at him. "Why don't you have a look around Luke, while I finish up?"
Luke nodded excitedly and set off on the grand adventure. He quickly grew bored of the kitchen and stepped down to the living area. With a gleeful smile, Luke jumped on the sleeping couch. The sleeper was bumpy, but soft and had dozens of pillows! He giggled as he jumped on top of the pillows and snuggled into their warmth. A few pillows fell to the ground as he rolled off the sleeper. Like any child would do, he left them there as he explored more of the area.
He came upon the display table and paused with wide eyes as he stared at the strange gadgets. He didn't know what most of them were, a piece of uncompleted machinery, a round disk thing. They seemed uninteresting to his young mind, but there was a ball. It looked fun. A ball was one of the only toys he had at home. He grinned and took the white ball from the table, but, as he lifted the ball, something else caught his eye. He paused, holding the ball to his chest. Behind the ball was a dark stone. It seemed to have a slight vibration to it. Curious, he dropped the ball and reached for the stone.
The stone was smoothed, round, and shiny. It was black, but, as Luke turned it this way and that way, light reflected off some red lines. The stone was warm to the touch, as if it was sitting by the furnace. He grinned, and then giggled as the vibrating feeling tickled his insides. The stone calmed him in ways his aunt never could, not that he would admit that out loud.
"Food is ready, young Luke." The sound of Ben's voice momentarily pulled Luke's attention away from the stone.
Luke glanced up as Ben walked down from the kitchen, holding a pan of something hot. He went to a little room that was directly across from where the sleeper was. He glanced back down at the rock, wondering if he should put it back on the display table. He decided against it. It was such a pretty rock. He liked it a lot. He didn't want to put it down now.
"Luke," Ben called from the other room.
Luke held onto the rock as he rushed into the small room. Inside was just a rectangle table with four chairs. There was a single small window. Luke was able to hear the wind and sand crash into the shutters, but he was use to hearing such sounds. It didn't alarm him one bit.
He sat at the table and pouted when he realize he was still much too small to sit on his butt. He quickly got to his knees and glanced up at Ben. The older man was watching him with a soft smile. Luke gave him a toothy smile before glancing down at the pot. It sure did smell tasty. He wanted patiently as Ben placed some stew on his plate.
Luke set the stone down on the table right next to his plate and reached for his spoon.
"Luke," Ben said softly.
Luke pulled the spoon out of his mouth and glanced up as he swallowed. Ben was staring down at the stone. His expression did not hold that same softness as before. He seemed more serious.
Luke frowned as he glanced down shamefully. "M'sorry," he muttered. He took the stone and reached across the table to return it to him.
Ben didn't take it from him. He, however, continued to stare at it. "Where did you get that?" His voice was low, but not mean.
Luke tilted his head to the side in confusion and flickered his eyes upwards to look at the man in the face. "On the table," he murmured, bashfully.
"Table? Which table?"
Luke looked back down and shrugged. He held the stone to his chest, realizing Ben wasn't taking it from him. "The table by the door," he answered. "It was behind the ball. M'sorry," he repeated.
"It's alright, Luke." Ben sounded normal and it gave Luke bravery to glance back at him. His face was back to the soft look from before. "I just didn't expect you to have it. I didn't realize it was left on the display table. I thought I left it in a box under my sleeper." He smiled kindly at him.
Luke returned the smile, feeling better. He didn't like the feeling he had when he thought he was in trouble. He never wanted to feel that again.
"Do you know what it is?" Ben asked, as he returned to his eating.
Luke nodded, enthusiastically, glad that he did know. "It's a rock!"
Ben chuckled and nodded. "Yes, indeed it is, but it's more than that, young one."
Luke eyes went wide. "More?"
Ben nodded again. "Yes, more. It's the riverstone my father gave me when we…" he paused in thought. "…when we started living together. The day he accepted me into his home, he gave me this stone. I was only thirteen. It's a riverstone from the place of his birth. A special stone to remind me of him."
Luke glanced down at the stone. "Your papa gave you this?"
"Yes," the older man answered.
Luke frowned as he stared at the stone. He tired to picture a father giving this to his son, but found it hard. He didn't know much about fathers. He only knew uncles and aunts, not fathers or even mothers. "Can you tell me about him?" he asked, hoping to learn what it means to have a father.
Ben blinked. "Tell you about my father?" Luke nodded. The older man nodded. "I suppose I could. My father, Qui-Gon, was unlike any I ever met. He was compassionate and brave. He was a wise man, full of knowledge. I would be surprise at the random trivial information he knew about anything and everything. He was like an endless datapad of knowledge. He was a man who believed passionately of life." He grinned at the reminder. "He was extremely protective of me, but he knew I needed to learn some things on my own. He was always ready to listen to me when I needed someone to talk to. He was always there for me."
"Did he tell you stories?" Luke asked before he took a bite of his food.
Ben chuckled and leaned back in his chair. "Not as often as one would think. My father didn't believe in worrying about the past. He liked to only think of the moment, unlike me who always fretted about past mistakes or the unknown future. The stories he did tell always had a purpose, a hidden lesson behind it."
Luke glanced down at the riverstone and frowned. "I never knew my papa. Do you think he would have been like yours?" he asked, his eyes glittering hopefully at the old man.
Ben stared at him a moment, a frown crossing his face. He shook his head. His eyes were no longer sparkling and Luke wondered what made him so sad. "Not exactly like mine, young one. He would have been special in his own right. I'm sure your father would be just as protective though. He would have loved you and I'm sure he would have taught you how to fly or build a droid." His lips twitched into an amused smile.
Luke beamed at him. "I like building things and I like flying! Do you think he liked them too?" he asked.
Ben nodded with a smile. "I'm sure he did, young one, and I'm sure he would have loved spending time building a droid with you."
Luke couldn't stop smiling at the thought, but then a frowned formed. "I would like that, I think. Uncle Owen never lets me around the ma-chin-er-y," he said the last word slowly, trying to pronounce it syllable after syllable. "I wish I had a papa."
Ben leaned forward and nodded. "You do have one, Luke."
"I do?"
He nodded again. "Yes. You may not be able to see him right now but he will always be right there," he said, reaching over to touch Luke's chest, right where his heart was.
Luke looked down where Ben had pointed and frowned. "I don't see him." He touched the place over his heart. "Or feel him."
"Place your hand over your chest, right there."
Luke placed his hand over his heart. His eyes lit up. "I feel something!" he shouted in excitement.
"That is your parents sending their love."
Luke eyes widened and he pressed his hand harder against his chest to feel the thump, thump of his parents love. He gave a huge smile at Ben. "I feel them, Ben! I feel my mommy and daddy! They love me!"
Ben smiled back, somewhat sadly and Luke remembered that he had lost his daddy and mommy as well. "Ben, put your hand on your chest, like this!" he said, demonstrating. He was glad to see that Ben listened to him. "Do you feel it too?" Luke asked him. "That's your mommy and daddy saying they love you, too! They are with you. They love you," he said, sounding wise.
Ben smiled. "I do feel it, Luke, and you are right. You always remember that and they will always be with you. Same as my parents. Now, finish eating, Luke. It's passed your bedtime."
"Can I sleep with the rock?" Luke asked.
With an amused smile, Ben nodded. "You may." He was rewarded by a huge smile.
Later that night, Ben tucked the boy into his sleeping couch, the stone clutched in the little fist. Afterwards, he went to sleep on his make-shift sleeper of blankets and pillows on the floor.
Happy New Year!
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