VII
It did not take long for Owen and the homestead droids to dig the grave for Shmi's body. By early afternoon, her body had been placed in the ground and a small, burial ceremony had been arranged to take place under the hot, blazing sun.
I dressed for the occasion in a white, skin-tight jumpsuit. The top has long sleeves with decorative, metal armbands on each of my upper arms. I'm wearing matching white pants that are tucked into sand-colored boots that rise to just below my knees. I place a utility belt that matches my boots around my waist. Beru gives me one more gift when we meet together before the burial: a sand colored cape that wraps around my chest and hangs down to my knees in the back.
I wrap my hair into tiny, tight loops that intertwine upon themselves. It is a small hairdo and hangs no lower than my head. No excess hair falls down to my back this time. It's as if I'm sporting a simple, tight bun on the back of my head made of these tightly looping fixtures of my hair.
The congregation of us gathers outside the homestead and to a small burial ground. Three headstones are set into the ground. The center one, bigger than the other two, sits above a plot of freshly packed ground—this is Shmi's grave.
I stand in between Threepio and Anakin. Owen and Beru are on the other side of Anakin, off to my left. Cleigg moves his chair up to Shmi's grave and quietly mourns.
"I know, wherever you are, that it has become a better place for you. You were the most loving partner a man could ever have. Goodbye, my darling wife. And thank you." He says before tears break off his moving eulogy.
I begin to see flashing images of Cleigg and Shmi during the happy beginnings of their relationship—whenever that may have been. I see them happily laughing to each other in the courtyard of the homestead. I see the smiling face of Shmi and she and Beru prepare dinner for the happy family. I see her talking to Cleigg as they watch the twin suns set—presumably telling him all about Anakin, and the day in which he'll return to Tatooine for her.
Anakin takes a step forward after a brief pause and approaches his mother's grave. I can't imagine what must be going through his head right now. Tears form in my eyes imagining Cleigg and Shmi's short-lived, happy time together. I cannot bear to imagine the thought of Shmi's emotional, ecstatic face, had she been here for Anakin's return.
He drops to his knees and picks up a handful of sand fresh from the top of her grave.
"I wasn't strong enough to save you, Mom. I wasn't strong enough. But I promise, I won't fail again." He mutters and my eyes fill with tears hearing him mourn.
He then whispers, "I miss you so much." And I am sure I was the only one near enough to him to hear it.
There is silence for a long moment. The sun beats down on us, but it's as if we are protected from its unbearable heat. No one wants to leave. No one wants to end this simple burial. No one wants to take the son away from his mother's grave.
Anakin and I expect to leave soon, and it cannot be easy knowing that he'll never have a reason for coming back. He'll never be here again. He'll never have to. The moment he leaves Tatooine, he must go back to his Jedi duties.
Suddenly, a series of beeps and whistles break the silence. I turn on the spot and see Artoo wheeling up behind us.
"Artoo? What are you doing here?" I ask the small droid as he rolls up to where we stand.
He continues to beep and whistle and it is Threepio who turns to Anakin and I and translates for us.
"It seems that he is carrying a message from an Obi-Wan Kenobi. Master Ani, does that name mean anything to you?"
Anakin rises to his feet. He and I exchange glances and look back to Threepio uncertainly. Yes, that name means a lot to us. Contact from him can only mean two things: answers or trouble. And knowing Obi-Wan the way we both do, it could very well be both.