As the day's shadows grew longer, Taren continued to walk the streets of Coruscant. Morning had passed to mid-day, which passed into afternoon. Still, he knew not where his feet led him. Everywhere he turned, he saw the ghosts of his past. He looked around and all he saw were memories of the happiest time in his life. Wherever he turned, there was always something there to remind him of his heart.



_____I walk along the city streets you used to walk along with me. _____

_____And every step I take reminds of just how we used to be. _____

_____Well, how can I forget you girl? _____

_____When there is always something there to remind me. _____

_____Always something there to remind me. _____

_____As shadows fall, I pass a small café where we would dance at night. _____

[Whenever his people had cause to celebrate, he would join them for the joyous occasion. He took time to dance with all the maids and young girls, making each blush deep crimson. He could still see the light shine brightly in the faded eyes of the old widows as he danced with them, making them feel like young maids again.]

_____And I can't help recalling how it felt to kiss and hold you tight. _____

[Whatever duty he was suppose to be supervising, he always found a way to lure his lovely bride away from her duties to steal a kiss, or two, or three. They were rumored to be frequent visitors at some of the local favorite trysting places -- and not without reason. He smiled as he remembered the glow of the moon upon satin skin.]

_____Well, how can I forget you girl? _____

_____When there is always something there to remind me. _____

_____Always something there to remind me. _____

_____I was born to love (you), and I will never be free. _____

_____You'll always be a part of me. _____

In the near distance church bells rang, reminding him of his wedding day. [Dressed in a flowing gown of snow-white silk, Flora's hair was braided into a white crown about her head. White rose buds peeked out through the thick plait. Small pearls entwined in her hair glittered in the sunlight streaming in through the glass windows that faced the east. Crystal beads sewn onto her dress created tiny rainbows as she walked down the aisle.]

____ (And as I find I) miss the sweet and tender love we used to share, _____

____ (I) go back to the places where we used to go, and (you'll) be there. ____

_____Well, how can I forget you girl? _____

_____When there is always something there to remind me. _____

_____Always something there to remind me. _____

[In so many small ways they would say 'I love you' without words. And he remembered them all as his body and heart ached with a pain of loss that ran deep.]

_____I was born to love (you), and I will never be free. _____

_____You'll always be a part of me. _____

_____'Cause there is always something there to remind me. _____

_____Always something there to remind me. _____

_____Always something there to remind me. _____



Tears ran down his face as memories threatened to overwhelm him. Trying to escape the cruel taunts of his past, he turned on his heel and Force-ran as hard and as fast and as long as he could. Again, he felt his sanity holding on by a thread.

@}--- @}--- @}---

As his lonely days without his heart-mate continued many of Taren's old friends went out of their way to see him. Each, in their own way, tried to ease him out of his melancholy. Childhood friends, now also Knights, some with padawans of their own, helped him recall adventures of their younger days. Even his old Master joined in recalling misadventures of his own youth. Each felt him slipping farther away from them.

Master Yoda and Master Healer Meador often wore frowns as they discussed his lack of progress. They and Taren's closest friends knew how much heartache he was shielding.

One day, as Taren paced in the Healer's office Meador found the reason for such deep pain as her patient talked about what he remembered of his missing year.

"...Even before I left on vacation, I knew, somehow I knew, I was going to meet my destiny. I did not realize it at first, but my heart knew, even if I did not."

"What did you know, Taren?"

Taren continued pacing. "For many days, or mayhap it was weeks? I vow, in truth, know I do not. I kept hearing a melody, an elusive song that only my subconscious could hear.

"Countless times a vision would come to me. More and more, 'twould come to taunt me as I meditated, and as I dreamt. Each night, I would wake, bathed in a sweat," his voice became a harsh echo within the confines of the Mind Healer's office. His pain could now be heard, as well as felt. "There was a terrible ache buried deep within my very heart. Try as I may, I could not find the rest I needed.

"Finally, the dream-vision sang to me and I understood," he finished in a whisper as he gazed out the window into the past.

Meador waited patiently, then prompted, "What did you come to realize, Taren?"

Silence.

"Within my very being there was a feeling everyone yearns to feel deep inside. 'Tis a feeling that starts without the blessed person even being fully aware of its presence. When recognized, it becomes an all-powerful force of nature that can not be denied. 'Tis the all-consuming force of love. The love for someone not yet met, but without whom you can not survive. To deny this love is impossible, for it lay deep within those of my blood. 'Tis the love of more than a life-mate or a soul-mate; 'tis the love of a heart-mate.

"I finally understood the meaning behind the imagery of the vision-song... 'Twas that somewhere near was my heart-mate. The other half of my heart."

Healer Meador recalled reading on his chart that Taren Savlon was from the planet Tauzin. Somehow, that was important.

@}--- @}--- @}---

Day after day, Flora could feel a little more of herself slipping away. Even though she did an admirable job of disguising it, 'twas was becoming harder and harder each day to hold on.

In the evening, Flora's feet shuffled across the floor. Wearily, she prepared for the night.

Another lonely night came as darkness descended. Blindly, she went through the motions of preparing for the sleep she dreaded. She knelt at the foot of her bed to pray. This night, as every night, she asked for the same thing. She pleaded to somehow be reunited with her other half.

She sighed as she laid one hand over her child. She knew 'twas only the babe that kept her here. Without her child she would have given up long ago.

Every night, she prayed to her god for his mercy and ask to be reunited with her heart's love. Every night, she prayed that her child would come to know his father.

She bowed her head as, again, the tears began, and she remembered.



_____Mornings alone, _____

_____When (he comes) home_____

_____I breathe a little faster. _____

She recalled how their hearts and breath would become one when they were together.

_____Every time we're together_____

_____It'd never be the same_____

_____If (he's) not here. _____

_____How can (he) stay away, away so long. _____

She turned to eyes towards the heavens as she implored her god.

_____"Why can't we stay together? _____

_____Give me reason. _____

_____Give me reason. _____

_____" 'Cuz I, I don't wanna say it. _____

_____I don't wanna find another way_____

_____To make it through the day without (him)." _____

Her voice caught hard in her throat, threatening to block the words as she prayed.

_____"I, I...I can't resist_____

_____Trying to find exactly what I miss. _____

_____It's just another day without (him). _____

_____It's just another day." _____

Tears fell one by one as she pleaded for her heart to become whole once more.

_____"Making the time_____

_____Find the right lines_____

_____To make (him) stay forever. _____

_____What do I have to tell you? _____

_____I'm just trying to hold on to something. _____

_____Trying to hold on to something good. _____

_____Give us a chance to make it, to make it." _____

She released the bedclothes from her fists and raised her hands in supplication.

_____"Don't wanna hold on to never. _____

_____I'm not that strong. _____

_____I'm not that strong. _____

_____" 'Cuz I, I don't wanna say it. _____

_____I don't wanna find another way_____

_____To make it through the day without (him). _____

_____I, I...I can't resist_____

_____Trying to find exactly what I miss. _____

_____It's just another day without (him)." _____

She beat her fist upon the bed in frustration, in anguish.

_____"Why can't (he) stay forever? _____

_____Just give me a reason. _____

_____Give me reason. _____

_____" 'Cuz I, I don't wanna say it. _____

_____I don't wanna find another way_____

_____To make it through the day without (him)." _____

She pleaded until her throat became sore from her cries.

_____"I, I...I can't resist. _____

_____Trying to find exactly what I miss. _____

_____It's just another day without (him)." _____

'Twas just another day alone. 'Twas just another night of heartache.

_____"I, I don't wanna say it. _____

_____I don't wanna find another way_____

_____To make it through the day without (him). _____

_____"It's just another day. _____

_____It's just another day..." _____



She dropped her head. Her hair fell about her as she gave in to the weariness in her heart.

Tears coursed down her cheeks. How many times had she cried herself to sleep? She lost count long ago.

As every night since finding herself in this extraordinary world, Flora crawled into bed and curled herself around her babe, and cried herself to sleep.

Each night, she slipped into slumber with a plea upon her lips, as well as a promise,

_____"(Please) remember me when the west wind moves_____

_____Upon the fields of barley. _____

____ (We'll) forget the sun in his jealous sky, _____

_____As we walk in fields of gold." _____

"I will remember you, my Lord-husband," she whispered to the moon and stars.

Each night, she dreamt of a tall, noble knight whose dark eyes captured her gaze with a love they both felt deeply. Each night, she dreamt of a Wizard's Moon and the love it brought her. Each night, a voice called out to her. Each night, she felt his body next to hers as she caressed her beloved husband in her dreams and in her memories.

Every night, she awakened bathed in sweat as her heart cried out for what it lost. Every night, she would wake, reaching out to him, with his name upon her lips. Every night, he fell out of her reach in a blinding flash.

In the moments before dawn, betwixt sleep and wake, she would often times hear a small voice. 'Twas a voice her heart recognized, but could not remember as she crossed the barrier into wakefulness.

After a time, Flora's appearances in public became less and less frequent. Even her skills at inventorying and organizing began to suffer as her mind wandered back into the past.

Oshan felt the overwhelming sadness in her. Her baby, he determined, was the only thing holding her to this world. Without the presence of the child, he felt certain Flora would seek her death, unwilling to continue in life without the man she loved so deeply.

@}--- @}--- @}---

"Worried, you are, about Knight Savlon," replied a soft voice tinged with grief.

"Yes, Master Yoda, I'm *very* worried. I feel he's heading down the path to self-destruction."

Naftel's head came up sharply as his gazed skewered Talon's Healer. "Are you saying my padawan would commit suicide?" Master Ramer demanded to know. His heart was in his mouth at the very thought of losing a friend. Such a death went against the Code and he feared for Taren's life.

"No, I don't believe he would do such a thing," Dorga shook her head. "He believes too strongly in the Code to take that forbidden step. This goes much deeper than his grief, Naftel.

"Let me explain," the Head Mind Healer took a deep breath, to calm her own fears about her patient. "Knight Savlon is from the planet Tauzin." All present nodded and waited for the healer to disclose her information. "Taren belongs to a clan from the central desert regions of his home world. They are still, even to this day, a nomadic people who must often times fight to protect their herds of highly prized desert livestock from poachers and other unscrupulous people intent on robbing them of their land for personal gain.

"Among his people there is an old belief that involves falling in love. It's believed that a 'crescent moon with three bright stars shining near by is called a 'Wizard's Moon.' It's considered an omen of great fortune to marry under such a rare celestial occurrence."

"Forgive me for interrupting," Naftel cut in. "But, I don't see what any such astronomical occurrence has to do with my padawan slowly losing his mi- -."

Thwack Master Yoda's gimer stick landed abruptly across the younger Master's shins. "Impatient, you must not be, Naftel. Learn, you will, by listening. Interrupt, you will not again."

Naftel shook his head, "No, Master."

Healer Meador continued, "Often, the very life-force between two people is *so* strong that they bond as more than lovers, more than merely husband and wife, and more than merely what many would call 'soul-mates'. They become 'heart-mates.'

"They become more than one soul -- they become 'one heart.' Should one die, it's believed, the other would surely go mad with grief and slowly die of the heartache left by such an emptiness.

"Such cases have been documented; this is *very* real!" She pounded on her desk to emphasize the point.

"And this, you believe, is what is happening to Knight Savlon?"

"Yes, Master Yoda, I do. I've noticed many times he interchanges the word 'wife' with the word 'life.' Just as I believe someone in this circumstance would."

Master Ramer nodded, "Yes, I've also noticed he has a tendency to do that a lot. More and more, I feel him pull his shields tighter about him. It's as though he wants to hide what he's feeling, like he doesn't want us to know what he's going through.

"Often he will leave the Temple and wander the streets. When I inquire about this, he merely mumbles that he is searching."

"Search for what, does he?"

"He won't say, Master," Ramer shrugged. Desperation tinged his voice as he asked, "What more can we do to help him come back to us, Dorga?"

The healer leaned back in her chair with a heavy sigh. "I honestly don't know, Naftel. Either he finds what he's searching for, or he brings himself out of this depression. If this goes on for much longer, I'm afraid I'll have to seriously consider putting him on a drug treatment. That is something I have no wish to do, Masters."

The others nodded for it was frowned upon for a Jedi to take on any kind of drug treatment. This was something done only as a last resort.

"As long as he is not deemed a threat to himself, I see no reason why he can not continue living in his own quarters with you, Naftel." Dorga leaned forward in her chair and pounded on her desk again, "*However,* if you see *anything* to give you cause to question this, Master Ramer, you must contact me *immediately*. You are in the best position to keep an eye on him at this point. Watch for any sign that may indicate any type of self-mutilation. That is usually the first step on the path to suicide. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Healer, it is clearly understood," Ramer nodded. A cold chunk of ice suddenly settled in the pit of his stomach as he envisioned his Padawan, his friend, the eager young boy he took under his wing and into Knighthood, pale and cold. Dead.

Master Yoda closed his eyes and reached out into the Force. "Fear not for him, you should, Naftel. See him dead in the near future, I do not."

"Thank you, Master."

@}--- @}--- @}---

TBC...