Chapter 2: The Voice

'Rey.'

My eyes spring open and I sit strait up to look around the room to see if there was anyone there. What was that? I tried to shake the feeling but something seemed off. I turned my head and noticed it was light outside. The sun shining brightly through the window. My body ached, like I slept a thousand years. Then I remembered the conversation with Luke last night. Was that a dream? Quickly I put on my boots and swing my staff over my shoulder, will I even need this. I feel naked without it. My only form of protection was this staff back home. Splashing some cool water over my face and trying to find some composure. I head out the door in search for Luke. I found him standing on a ledge overlooking the ocean. I will never tire of the view from up here.

"Luke?" I asked, still afraid to startle him though I know he heard me coming. How long has he been there waiting for me. "I'm ready for whatever you have planned for me. I am ready to accept my destiny." He turned around to face me but his eyes looked right past me. What is he looking at?

"Your staff will do you no good here. Today is all about your mind. You are stronger than you know Rey. An energy flows around you like the wind you feel around you now." It wasn't until then I realized their was a slight cooling breeze on my skin. How could I not notice, Jakku never had a breeze like this. The air was always so thick and hot that it even made breathing a chore. Here, everything was so serene and peaceful. I didn't know a place like this ever existed except in my dreams. I close my eyes and feel the air, the breeze, the sun, on my skin warming me. "Keep your eyes closed and sit. Star breathing in slowly, listen and feel your surroundings. The force is something you must feel around you. It flows through all living things. I want you to meditate."

Doing as I'm told I sit down and cross my legs. After a minutes of deep breathing I can feel more now than I have ever felt in my lifetime. I feel the leaves blow in the tree to my left, and on my right I can hear some sort of animal scurrying across the ground. Something small but fast. I sneak an eye open and look to see if I can point out the sound. But there isn't anything there.

"Close your eyes young padawan. You must feel the life around you. Meditation is key to strengthening your abilities." I close my eye before he finishes his sentence, trying to feel the life around me. I must be there for hours because I can feel the sun moving across the sky. I feel the water moving in the ocean. So calm and tranquil, I focus on that.

'Rey', suddenly echoes in my mind.

Like my own thought but someone else's, a voice not my own. I jumped up and stumble back tripping over a small branch falling hard onto my back almost knocking the wind out of me. My eyes so wide the light is burning them. Forcing myself to sit up despite my aching tailbone, I'm met by worried eyes watching me from a few feet away. Should I tell him about the voice.

"What's wrong young one?" Luke looked worried. He was sitting In front of were I was sitting, I didn't even know he was that close. "There is no danger here. You are safe on this island. It took many years for someone to find me, for you to find me."

Standing up, I fixed my pants and wipe the dirt from my hands along the side of my shirt. OUCH, a small cut starts pumping blood down the side of my palm, pooling in the middle. So much blood for a small knick. I look behind me to see a small rock sticking from the ground that just missed my back. Luke slowly walks over to me still trying to access the situation. "When you meditate you are opening your mind to the world. To all your senses. Allowing the light flow through you." He walks over and puts my small hand into his. "This will heal before you know it." He starts wrapping a small cloth around my hand and looks at me and winks. I'm so confused, what does all this still mean. What am I doing here, can I even learn how to be a Jedi. I suddenly miss home, being alone was simple. "Someday you will understand that your purpose in the galaxy is far bigger than you ever imagined. I loved fixing this when I was young" he looks up like he is reading my face to see if he should tell me this story. My small hand still in his he leads me to the edge of the cliff and looks over the water. "When My uncle bought R2 D2 almost felt I instantly had to help him. He had a message from Leia, and I wanted to make sure it got his message to Obiwan. Like how you felt about BB8." How does he know all this, no wonder he hasn't asked about the Starkiller base, he probably already knew.

He continued, "When I realized who I was, what I was. I was scared, excited, ready for the new life waiting for me. You need to be ready Rey. Are you ready to see the galaxy waiting for you to bring peace between the First order and the Resistance?" So that's it, he knows my destiny, he knows what I am. I need to trust this man, he seems to be the only person I can count on. Suddenly I miss Finn, the only person to ever come back for me. Me, a scavenger... Just a scavenger. No one to him but he still felt he needed to protect me and care for me. Why? Does he know who I am.

"I'm scared I'm not going to be what you need me to be. What the Galaxy expects me to be." I'm starting to cry, why am I crying. Stop crying Rey.

"Let's stop for today. Maybe try meditating on your own by the water. It always brings me great peace. Slow your breathing, open your senses, and let the force flow through you." He says, almost worried. He's probably thinking how it was a mistake to try and train me already. I look to face him. But just like that he was gone. I look down from the edge and take a step back. It was high, so high, it stood taller than any vessel left in the sun, picked apart by other scavengers like me back home on Jakku. Skeletons of the wars before my time for sure. Let's try meditating I think to myself. And start my long walk down the stone steps to the beach I found my shells. It was so serene, so peaceful. I came down here the second day slightly hoping Chewie was still here, I knew he wasn't but I still wanted to check. Any excuse to see the water. I was so mesmerized how beautiful the water was here. So blue and so open. The air crisp and clean.

The most at peace I have ever felt was sitting by this water. I don't know how to swim, there was never a need to learn or water to learn in. I focus on my breathing and close my eyes picturing the water surrounding me, cooling my hot skin. Slowly my mind focuses on the sounds of birds, waves, the way the air moved around me. Than I heard it again.

'Rey, you can't hide from me'.

I don't open my eyes but try harder to focus on the voice, it sounds so familiar but like a distant memory. Maybe it's Luke, testing my focus skills. But could he do that, get into my mind without being there. Did he know that trick to. But the voice is much different from Lukes. I try harder, scrunching my face tight.

'I know where you are scavenger'.

It's him, that voice, it's him. The man in the mask. Suddenly everything went dark.