Disclaimer: Disney owns Star Wars, not me. All the characters and places (except for my OC Analise Joy) belong to them.
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Chapter Three
"Looks like you've found an adventure to get lost in." Analise squeaked and jumped a little. As so often happened when she started to read, she forgot about everything around her. She looked up from her tablet to see a woman sitting next to her. She was dressed simply in blue dress. Her dark brown hair had been pulled back from her face in a low chignon.
She blushed and saved her place within the story before turning off her tablet and returning it to her purse. It would be rude to keep it out, let alone on if he wished to talk with her. "Sorry ma'am. I didn't know anyone was around here." The woman smiled, a bit of mischief in his eyes.
"The fault is mine dear. I did not mean to scare you. It just simply looked like you were lost in a good story. May I ask what it is?"
"Cloak of Deception ma'am. It's one of my favorite Star Wars novels." She sat up a little bit straighter. "It has two of my favorite Jedi in it. Qui-Gon Jin and Obi-Wan Kenobi." Analise tilted her head and studied the woman from beneath her lashes.
"Have I met you before? You seem kind of familiar to me." The woman chuckled.
"No dear, but I knew your father and he often talked about you."
"You knew my Da?" Analise lifted her gaze to fully look upon the woman's face.
"Yes. He was a good man and he adored you very much. Never doubt that." She smiled at the girl and changed the subject. "So you like Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan?"
"Oh yes. They are both very kind and smart and brave. I like that Qui-Gon knows just when you need to break or bend the rules so that you can get the job done right while Obi-Wan respects it deeply. Though I think Obi-Wan likes to break the rules once in a while." Analise giggled quietly. "I want to be a Jedi that is a combination of both of them. I want to be a Grey Jedi." She smiled brightly and swung her legs just a little bit.
"A Jedi? I thought all the kids these days wanted to be Sith since Jedi are suppose to have no emotions." Analise tilted her head and frowned.
"I don't think so." The woman raised an eyebrow. "I don't think Jedi aren't suppose to not have emotions. In the Star Wars stories I read the Jedi show a wide range of emotions, even attachments. They are happy and sad and joyful and playful and even angry or fearful. The key is not to allow those emotions to control them when they are fulfilling a mission or to let the darker ones take them over to the point that it leads to the Dark Side." The woman's eyes widened in amazement at her answer.
"That is a very Grey Jedi attitude." Analise blushed lightly at the compliment. "Who taught you that?" She touched her bracelet with a finger.
"My father. Da loved Star Wars and he passed that love onto me. He linked some of the ways of the Jedi to our beliefs as Christians. I grew up with stories of the Jedi along with stories from the Bible and fairy tales." Analise twisted the bracelet around her wrist. "I'm sure you heard that Da died about a year ago. Just a couple months after I turned twelve." She spoke softly to herself. "It's hard to believe it's almost been a year. I'll be thirteen soon."
The woman eyed Analise's neck where her scarf had slipped and her wrist where a bruise still lingered. "Has it been a rough year?" Sensing his gaze Analise turned her wrist to hide the bruise and hitched the scarf up higher.
"For my mother and older brother, yes. Mother lost her job and there was adjustment when I had to go live with them. They did their best, so I shouldn't complain. I mean she's letting me go all over the country this summer..." The girl sighed.
"And yet."
"And yet..." Analise bit her lip, unsure if she should spill her deepest secret to this stranger. Her dreams since she was a little girl that she had only ever told Da. "Ever since I was little and Da introduced me to Star Wars, I would dream of being a Jedi, fighting alongside Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon and Anakin. The dreams always seemed so real. It doesn't help that I've never really felt like I belong here. Since Da died, I have had the dreams more often and feel more strongly that I'm not meant to be here. Like there's a part of me missing, some people are missing and I need to find it...them. That when I find them, I'll find my true home and family." Analise gently bit her lip. "I'm crazy, aren't I?"
The woman shook his head. "No. You are meant for something bigger then anything you can find on this planet my Moon. Your true family is waiting. Your twin needs you. Your true destiny is calling for you." Analise's eyes widened.
"Moon? Why do you call me Moon?...And what do you mean about my true family? Twin? I don't have a twin and I never told anyone of my dreams about Ani other than Da. Did he tell you about them? What destiny? I'm just a performer." The woman simply smiled as the questions poured forth from Analise and picked up a small brown paper wrapped object from beside her and held it out to the girl.
"This is for you. It is the key to your destiny." Nervous, Analise took the object.
"Thank you...but I don't understand."
"You will...Analise you will." The woman stood and bowed. "You will be an amazing Jedi Analise Joy." She turned and walked away. Analise stared at the object in her hand.
"Wait! I still don't under..." She looked back up and the woman was gone.