The Past Returns
Chapter Twenty-One
-The Past Returns -
Ben sat in his chambers, meditating, when Luke walked in. "Go away, please."
"No, Ben, we need to talk. There is something extremely important that you have to know. Can you please come outside with me?"
Ben opened his eyes, looking at Luke. "I suppose you won't leave me alone unless I go with you." Luke shook his head. Ben stood and followed Luke outside.
"Ben, what do you remember about your early years?"
"Not much. Why are you asking me? I've already told you everything I know!"
"I was searching for some information on the network and I came across something interesting. The Black Sun representative, Xern, the leader's brother, was killed in the explosion on Eriadu."
"I already know this." Ben said, getting exasperated.
"Just hear me out, please?" Luke said, one hand up. Ben looked at the sky. "As I was saying, it seems that you memories are right on the spot on everything about that incident." Ben started to say something, but Luke held up his hand again. "Then this man, Ben Kenobi, who you believe to be your grandfather, disappeared and was rumored of living on Tatooine. Just before he left, he had a final confrontation with a man named Damon Lars. Does that name ring a bell?"
"He was my grandfather's best friend until Damon betrayed him."
"Now that's where you are wrong."
Ben furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"
"Damon didn't betray Ben. Ben betrayed Damon."
"How do you know all this?"
"And another thing that is even harder to believe is that Damon Lars wasn't your grandfather's best friend."
"But -"
"He was YOUR best friend!"
Ben nearly fell over the balcony railing as his eyes went wide. He swallowed, collapsing onto the railing. "That - that is - isn't p - p - possible," Ben stammered.
"But it's true."
Ben looked at Luke. "Are you trying to tell me that I was the person that murdered millions of people, that I was a Sith, that I am the original person that the Black Sun is after?"
"Yes. I know this is all hard to believe. I found your journal lying by the trash and I had a feeling that in it lay all the answers to your problems. Using a special reading glass, I read a few of the slightly readable entries and after reading this one, I was utterly convinced that you are Ben Kenobi. Read." Luke handed the reading glass and the journal open to the final entry that Luke had read to Ben. Ben's hands shook as he took the items. Using the glass, he began reading:
......Damon's son Obi-Wan should still be alive. If I can train with him and become a Jedi Knight, then maybe I can help people, if I still retained my abilities after coming out of the chamber, instead of destroying people's lives. When I awake, I will have no memory of my past life but maybe, when I'm older, I'll read this and remember my past and know how far along I have come. Who knows? Maybe I'll even meet Luke Skywalker. That would be awesome. I had always wanted to meet him but I figured I never was since I thought he was fictional. Well, the night is coming and I want to be done with this before it comes. Goodbye, and to my future self, good luck."
Ben looked up, setting the glass and the journal down on the ledge. "Oh, my God." Ben sat down on a large, flat stone. He put his head in his hands, looking at the ground. Luke walked over and sat next to Ben, putting a hand on Ben's shoulder. Ben looked up at him. "The man that was questioning me at that cantina a couple of years ago, now I see why he was asking. He thought that I was a descendent of Ben Kenobi when in fact, I was actually Ben Kenobi, but I know for sure he didn't know that because first of all, he didn't look certain of what he was asking and second, if he had known, he would have killed me right then and there." Ben reached over to the ledge and took the journal. He began reading.
Journal Entry 1:
"My name is Ben Kenobi and my best friend Damon Lars and I are totally into this series of movies called Star Wars. I'm seven and Damon is ten and we've been best friends and fans forever. If you were to go into my room, you'd be in shock. Not an inch of wall or ceiling can be seen since they're covered in posters. My curtains and carpet have Star Wars figures on them and the back and front of my door is covered in posters so you can't see that either. When you close my door, it blends in with the rest of my room. My shelves have nothing except Star Wars figurines on them, old and new. My bed never has anything but Star Wars sheets and pillowcases. My Star Wars quilt always stays on and during the summer; it's hung over my closet door. Damon has just about as much as me. When I first saw Star Wars Episode IV 'A New Hope', I was shocked and excited that one of the characters had my name. From then on, Damon called be Obi-Wan, which I of course, had no problem with. I had always dreamed of being a Jedi and even though I thought Darth Maul, in Episode I, was awesome, I really, truly looked up to Qui-Gon Jinn."
"This series, Star Wars, it told exactly what happened here," Ben said, looking at Luke. He was beginning to remember. Ben looked back at the journal, turning the page.
Journal Entry 3:
"I just got word from the council. I had gone to meet with them yesterday and I waited in a guest room last night. The council isn't going to train me. But why? It wasn't fair. Just because I was seven. I'm sure I could learn though! It's kind of strange though, how this is all turning out. It's just like what happened to Anakin in Episode I. The difference though, is that I have no one to train me. Tahiri might, but I don't think so. I think she already has a Padawan. Oh well. I guess I have to go home now, but what would I do? I wouldn't really be happy, knowing I had been so close to fulfilling my dream. Anyway, Damon is going in today. Tahiri thinks he might have some Jedi potential. The council. I wonder if he would get trained. That would be cool if at least one of us became a Jedi."
"I knew your father," Ben said. "Knew of him, I guess from this series." Memories began flooding back into Ben's head. Ben looked at Luke. "I was so happy when I heard that I would be able to train as a Jedi. It was a dream come true. Damon and I used to talk about it all the time, how cool it would be to actually meet a Jedi." Ben laughed. "I guess our wishes came true, just not as we wanted. We had planned to stay best friends forever and looked where we are now. I don't know where Damon is, he could be dead for all I know, he would have to be in his upper eighties right now." A wave of sadness flowed over Ben as he remembered a certain conversation he had had with Damon . . .
"Damon, we're going to stay best friends forever and ever, right?" Ben asked, looking at Damon. They were lying on the grass, looking up at the star-filled sky.
"Definitely. Where one goes, the other follows. I'll always be there whenever you need me Ben. That's what these necklaces signify." Damon said, holding up his necklace that was around his neck. Ben looked at his own that was around his neck.
"Yep. Forever and ever." . . . . . .
Ben looked at Luke, tears welling up in the corners of his eyes. "I - I -I crushed that necklace in one of my fights with Damon, right after I had gotten over my illness. I still have Damon's necklace," Ben said, pulling down the neck of his robe to reveal Damon's necklace around his neck. "I never take it off." Ben looked back at the journal.
Journal Entry 5:
"The illness isn't getting any better. Palpatine's been coming to see me a lot. That helps. At least I know someone cares. I can't believe that Damon is a Padwan, and Qui-Gon's on top of it! He should have refused! He should have asked for a different Master! Damon knew that I wanted to train under Qui-Gon, why didn't he at least speak up? Maybe Damon didn't want to be friends with me anymore. I hate him. I hate him and I wish he'd just go away! He always takes everything away from me! Everything that rightfully should be mine! I shouldn't think like that though. But if he was my friend, wouldn't he at least come see me? I don't know if we're friends or not. I don't know anything for sure anymore. Palpatine's not as bad as everyone says he is. He's helped me so much; I can't believe he's evil. How could a man, a man that has helped me live through this illness, a man that has become my one and only friend, be evil? The movies were wrong. They had to be. I bet they have no truth in them. Palpatine is wise and he knows exactly what he is talking about. But I have to make sure. Tomorrow I will test him. Tell him things about what the movie said. I have to make sure that he wasn't evil. I still want to become a Jedi though, and I'll do anything to achieve it."
"That illness. I had a reoccurrence of it when I was fighting those gangsters in the alley my first year I was with you under my trial, remember?" Luke nodded. "The doctor had said that a man had had the same illness years ago and that he healed miraculously so they never got the antidote. That man was me!" Ben looked back down at the journal and turned a few pages. He came upon an entry that made him gasp. "Oh, my God. Luke, listen to this: 'Journal Entry 10: Darth Sidious just summoned me to reveal something I just can't believe. Damon is my brother. Damon has a son named Obi-Wan. I'm not sure what I'm going to do. Right now I need to focus on the present. I am leaving now for Soria and this time I will succeed.'" Ben looked at Luke. "Damon is my brother?!" A wave of memories flooded back. Ben looked down at the ground. "I betrayed my own brother? I wanted to kill my own brother? And his son!" Ben looked at Luke, shock covering his face. "Obi-Wan was Damon's son! My nephew!" Ben said, looking down. He put his face in his hands. His shoulders heaved as tears ran down his cheeks. "Oh, my God."
"Its okay, Ben. You were a different person. This person that wrote these journal entries doesn't exist anymore! You are different now! You're much better off now and you're a Jedi!"
Ben looked at Luke. "But, my brother . . . . I - I can't believe I hurt him so badly. All he wanted to do was save me and all I did was spit in his face. How can I live with myself now? After all the horrible things I did!" Ben put his face in his hands again.
"Ben, the dark side was controlling you. You're free from that. The chamber purged all that from you."
"Then why do I keep having these spurts of anger?" Ben asked, looking at Luke. "And resulting in horrible things?! That Ben still lives in me. Now that all my memories are back, I'm afraid that I'll go repeat history!"
"No, you won't," Luke said. "You are a Jedi. You fight to protect the innocent and keep peace. Those things are in the past. You have done many good things since then. Now it's time to take your future into your own hands. You'll be fine."
* * *
A few days later, Ben, after doing some research, found that Damon was in a hospital on Coruscant. They didn't know how long he would live. Ben and Luke went to see him. "I - I'm not sure I can handle this," Ben said, standing outside Damon's room.
"Don't worry. He needs to know." Ben nodded and went into the room. He walked over to Damon, who lay motionless on the bed. A sheet had been pulled up to his chin and his arms lay on top of it. Damon was staring at the ceiling.
"Damon?" Ben said quietly.
Damon turned his head to see Ben and sat up slightly. "You're Ben Kenobi's descendent. The one I met in the cantina."
"I am the person you met in the cantina, but I'm not one of Ben Kenobi's descendants."
Damon looked at him suspiciously. "Then who are you?"
"I - I am Ben Kenobi," Ben said carefully.
Damon looked up at the ceiling. "That's not possible. The Ben I knew died a very long time ago."
"Damon, it's me. Remember the time when your mom was baking that apple pie and she had set in on the counter to cool? You and I really wanted to eat some, but she said that it wasn't for us. It was for your neighbor, Mrs. Smith, who had just moved in. When your mom was out of the house to hang laundry, you and I snuck into the kitchen and very carefully pulled the crust back and ate the insides. Then we took some raw apples and laid them in there so that the pie would look full. Mrs. Smith was so surprised when she cut into that pie and found raw apples! Your mom grounded you for a month! And my aunt and uncle weren't too happy either. Remember? But we had had so much fun that the punishment didn't really matter."
Damon looked at him carefully. "How do you know all this? It - it can't be possible," Damon said.
"It's really me, Damon. I am so sorry. I -I was so horrible then! I finally realized that just before I made that chamber. The chamber that held me in stasus for thirty years. When I awoke, I was seven years old again. That's why I'm so young now. That chamber wiped out my memories and Luke said that it had driven the dark side from me."
"But once you've been in the dark side, it's nearly impossible to escape from."
"Luke's fine now and all he has is bad memories and a better sense of caution of the dark side. All I have is memories and I have absolutely no desire to repeat history. Damon, please forgive me. Please." Tears welled up in Ben's eyes.
"I can never forget what you did to me Ben. It's just not possible . . . . . but I see you have changed. A lot. You're my only brother, Ben. I knew you were destined for great things ever since we knew each other. I see that you are sincere, but I don't think I'll ever be able to see you the same way I did before we met Tahiri. Especially after you killed my wife, my son, and my best friend."
Damon coughed and Ben grabbed his hand, squeezing it. "I'm so sorry. I know that words can't fix what I did. I . . . . you don't have to forgive me." Ben looked down. "I'm a horrible person and I deserve your hatred."
"Ben. Ben, look at me." Ben looked up. "You are not a horrible person and I don't hate you. Right after losing those closest to me, of course I was angry and I couldn't help myself from hating you. It just came boiling out of me, despite my training. Even when you came back, trying to apologize, I couldn't forgive you, not after what you have done. But after all these years, I've realized that I don't hate you anymore. I'm getting older and you're all I have left of my family. I do forgive you. When you're in the dark side, you really don't have any sense of what you are doing. It clouds your decisions."
Ben hugged Damon. "Damon, I missed you so much."
Ben stood and Damon took Ben's hand in his hands. "I'm glad you've lived long enough to have known Luke and I'm glad that you've finally freed yourself of the past. You have the ability to become great, Ben. Never forget that . . . . I -" Damon stopped as his hands dropped and he moved no more. The heart monitor showed a flat line. Ben closed Damon's eyelids.
"Thank you, Damon," Ben whispered. "You're the best brother ever and I'm glad we got to talk before you died. I'm glad that I got to say that I'm sorry. I-I'm so sorry. I hope you are in a better place now and happy. Goodbye." Ben left the room.
Chapter Twenty-One
-The Past Returns -
Ben sat in his chambers, meditating, when Luke walked in. "Go away, please."
"No, Ben, we need to talk. There is something extremely important that you have to know. Can you please come outside with me?"
Ben opened his eyes, looking at Luke. "I suppose you won't leave me alone unless I go with you." Luke shook his head. Ben stood and followed Luke outside.
"Ben, what do you remember about your early years?"
"Not much. Why are you asking me? I've already told you everything I know!"
"I was searching for some information on the network and I came across something interesting. The Black Sun representative, Xern, the leader's brother, was killed in the explosion on Eriadu."
"I already know this." Ben said, getting exasperated.
"Just hear me out, please?" Luke said, one hand up. Ben looked at the sky. "As I was saying, it seems that you memories are right on the spot on everything about that incident." Ben started to say something, but Luke held up his hand again. "Then this man, Ben Kenobi, who you believe to be your grandfather, disappeared and was rumored of living on Tatooine. Just before he left, he had a final confrontation with a man named Damon Lars. Does that name ring a bell?"
"He was my grandfather's best friend until Damon betrayed him."
"Now that's where you are wrong."
Ben furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"
"Damon didn't betray Ben. Ben betrayed Damon."
"How do you know all this?"
"And another thing that is even harder to believe is that Damon Lars wasn't your grandfather's best friend."
"But -"
"He was YOUR best friend!"
Ben nearly fell over the balcony railing as his eyes went wide. He swallowed, collapsing onto the railing. "That - that is - isn't p - p - possible," Ben stammered.
"But it's true."
Ben looked at Luke. "Are you trying to tell me that I was the person that murdered millions of people, that I was a Sith, that I am the original person that the Black Sun is after?"
"Yes. I know this is all hard to believe. I found your journal lying by the trash and I had a feeling that in it lay all the answers to your problems. Using a special reading glass, I read a few of the slightly readable entries and after reading this one, I was utterly convinced that you are Ben Kenobi. Read." Luke handed the reading glass and the journal open to the final entry that Luke had read to Ben. Ben's hands shook as he took the items. Using the glass, he began reading:
......Damon's son Obi-Wan should still be alive. If I can train with him and become a Jedi Knight, then maybe I can help people, if I still retained my abilities after coming out of the chamber, instead of destroying people's lives. When I awake, I will have no memory of my past life but maybe, when I'm older, I'll read this and remember my past and know how far along I have come. Who knows? Maybe I'll even meet Luke Skywalker. That would be awesome. I had always wanted to meet him but I figured I never was since I thought he was fictional. Well, the night is coming and I want to be done with this before it comes. Goodbye, and to my future self, good luck."
Ben looked up, setting the glass and the journal down on the ledge. "Oh, my God." Ben sat down on a large, flat stone. He put his head in his hands, looking at the ground. Luke walked over and sat next to Ben, putting a hand on Ben's shoulder. Ben looked up at him. "The man that was questioning me at that cantina a couple of years ago, now I see why he was asking. He thought that I was a descendent of Ben Kenobi when in fact, I was actually Ben Kenobi, but I know for sure he didn't know that because first of all, he didn't look certain of what he was asking and second, if he had known, he would have killed me right then and there." Ben reached over to the ledge and took the journal. He began reading.
Journal Entry 1:
"My name is Ben Kenobi and my best friend Damon Lars and I are totally into this series of movies called Star Wars. I'm seven and Damon is ten and we've been best friends and fans forever. If you were to go into my room, you'd be in shock. Not an inch of wall or ceiling can be seen since they're covered in posters. My curtains and carpet have Star Wars figures on them and the back and front of my door is covered in posters so you can't see that either. When you close my door, it blends in with the rest of my room. My shelves have nothing except Star Wars figurines on them, old and new. My bed never has anything but Star Wars sheets and pillowcases. My Star Wars quilt always stays on and during the summer; it's hung over my closet door. Damon has just about as much as me. When I first saw Star Wars Episode IV 'A New Hope', I was shocked and excited that one of the characters had my name. From then on, Damon called be Obi-Wan, which I of course, had no problem with. I had always dreamed of being a Jedi and even though I thought Darth Maul, in Episode I, was awesome, I really, truly looked up to Qui-Gon Jinn."
"This series, Star Wars, it told exactly what happened here," Ben said, looking at Luke. He was beginning to remember. Ben looked back at the journal, turning the page.
Journal Entry 3:
"I just got word from the council. I had gone to meet with them yesterday and I waited in a guest room last night. The council isn't going to train me. But why? It wasn't fair. Just because I was seven. I'm sure I could learn though! It's kind of strange though, how this is all turning out. It's just like what happened to Anakin in Episode I. The difference though, is that I have no one to train me. Tahiri might, but I don't think so. I think she already has a Padawan. Oh well. I guess I have to go home now, but what would I do? I wouldn't really be happy, knowing I had been so close to fulfilling my dream. Anyway, Damon is going in today. Tahiri thinks he might have some Jedi potential. The council. I wonder if he would get trained. That would be cool if at least one of us became a Jedi."
"I knew your father," Ben said. "Knew of him, I guess from this series." Memories began flooding back into Ben's head. Ben looked at Luke. "I was so happy when I heard that I would be able to train as a Jedi. It was a dream come true. Damon and I used to talk about it all the time, how cool it would be to actually meet a Jedi." Ben laughed. "I guess our wishes came true, just not as we wanted. We had planned to stay best friends forever and looked where we are now. I don't know where Damon is, he could be dead for all I know, he would have to be in his upper eighties right now." A wave of sadness flowed over Ben as he remembered a certain conversation he had had with Damon . . .
"Damon, we're going to stay best friends forever and ever, right?" Ben asked, looking at Damon. They were lying on the grass, looking up at the star-filled sky.
"Definitely. Where one goes, the other follows. I'll always be there whenever you need me Ben. That's what these necklaces signify." Damon said, holding up his necklace that was around his neck. Ben looked at his own that was around his neck.
"Yep. Forever and ever." . . . . . .
Ben looked at Luke, tears welling up in the corners of his eyes. "I - I -I crushed that necklace in one of my fights with Damon, right after I had gotten over my illness. I still have Damon's necklace," Ben said, pulling down the neck of his robe to reveal Damon's necklace around his neck. "I never take it off." Ben looked back at the journal.
Journal Entry 5:
"The illness isn't getting any better. Palpatine's been coming to see me a lot. That helps. At least I know someone cares. I can't believe that Damon is a Padwan, and Qui-Gon's on top of it! He should have refused! He should have asked for a different Master! Damon knew that I wanted to train under Qui-Gon, why didn't he at least speak up? Maybe Damon didn't want to be friends with me anymore. I hate him. I hate him and I wish he'd just go away! He always takes everything away from me! Everything that rightfully should be mine! I shouldn't think like that though. But if he was my friend, wouldn't he at least come see me? I don't know if we're friends or not. I don't know anything for sure anymore. Palpatine's not as bad as everyone says he is. He's helped me so much; I can't believe he's evil. How could a man, a man that has helped me live through this illness, a man that has become my one and only friend, be evil? The movies were wrong. They had to be. I bet they have no truth in them. Palpatine is wise and he knows exactly what he is talking about. But I have to make sure. Tomorrow I will test him. Tell him things about what the movie said. I have to make sure that he wasn't evil. I still want to become a Jedi though, and I'll do anything to achieve it."
"That illness. I had a reoccurrence of it when I was fighting those gangsters in the alley my first year I was with you under my trial, remember?" Luke nodded. "The doctor had said that a man had had the same illness years ago and that he healed miraculously so they never got the antidote. That man was me!" Ben looked back down at the journal and turned a few pages. He came upon an entry that made him gasp. "Oh, my God. Luke, listen to this: 'Journal Entry 10: Darth Sidious just summoned me to reveal something I just can't believe. Damon is my brother. Damon has a son named Obi-Wan. I'm not sure what I'm going to do. Right now I need to focus on the present. I am leaving now for Soria and this time I will succeed.'" Ben looked at Luke. "Damon is my brother?!" A wave of memories flooded back. Ben looked down at the ground. "I betrayed my own brother? I wanted to kill my own brother? And his son!" Ben looked at Luke, shock covering his face. "Obi-Wan was Damon's son! My nephew!" Ben said, looking down. He put his face in his hands. His shoulders heaved as tears ran down his cheeks. "Oh, my God."
"Its okay, Ben. You were a different person. This person that wrote these journal entries doesn't exist anymore! You are different now! You're much better off now and you're a Jedi!"
Ben looked at Luke. "But, my brother . . . . I - I can't believe I hurt him so badly. All he wanted to do was save me and all I did was spit in his face. How can I live with myself now? After all the horrible things I did!" Ben put his face in his hands again.
"Ben, the dark side was controlling you. You're free from that. The chamber purged all that from you."
"Then why do I keep having these spurts of anger?" Ben asked, looking at Luke. "And resulting in horrible things?! That Ben still lives in me. Now that all my memories are back, I'm afraid that I'll go repeat history!"
"No, you won't," Luke said. "You are a Jedi. You fight to protect the innocent and keep peace. Those things are in the past. You have done many good things since then. Now it's time to take your future into your own hands. You'll be fine."
* * *
A few days later, Ben, after doing some research, found that Damon was in a hospital on Coruscant. They didn't know how long he would live. Ben and Luke went to see him. "I - I'm not sure I can handle this," Ben said, standing outside Damon's room.
"Don't worry. He needs to know." Ben nodded and went into the room. He walked over to Damon, who lay motionless on the bed. A sheet had been pulled up to his chin and his arms lay on top of it. Damon was staring at the ceiling.
"Damon?" Ben said quietly.
Damon turned his head to see Ben and sat up slightly. "You're Ben Kenobi's descendent. The one I met in the cantina."
"I am the person you met in the cantina, but I'm not one of Ben Kenobi's descendants."
Damon looked at him suspiciously. "Then who are you?"
"I - I am Ben Kenobi," Ben said carefully.
Damon looked up at the ceiling. "That's not possible. The Ben I knew died a very long time ago."
"Damon, it's me. Remember the time when your mom was baking that apple pie and she had set in on the counter to cool? You and I really wanted to eat some, but she said that it wasn't for us. It was for your neighbor, Mrs. Smith, who had just moved in. When your mom was out of the house to hang laundry, you and I snuck into the kitchen and very carefully pulled the crust back and ate the insides. Then we took some raw apples and laid them in there so that the pie would look full. Mrs. Smith was so surprised when she cut into that pie and found raw apples! Your mom grounded you for a month! And my aunt and uncle weren't too happy either. Remember? But we had had so much fun that the punishment didn't really matter."
Damon looked at him carefully. "How do you know all this? It - it can't be possible," Damon said.
"It's really me, Damon. I am so sorry. I -I was so horrible then! I finally realized that just before I made that chamber. The chamber that held me in stasus for thirty years. When I awoke, I was seven years old again. That's why I'm so young now. That chamber wiped out my memories and Luke said that it had driven the dark side from me."
"But once you've been in the dark side, it's nearly impossible to escape from."
"Luke's fine now and all he has is bad memories and a better sense of caution of the dark side. All I have is memories and I have absolutely no desire to repeat history. Damon, please forgive me. Please." Tears welled up in Ben's eyes.
"I can never forget what you did to me Ben. It's just not possible . . . . . but I see you have changed. A lot. You're my only brother, Ben. I knew you were destined for great things ever since we knew each other. I see that you are sincere, but I don't think I'll ever be able to see you the same way I did before we met Tahiri. Especially after you killed my wife, my son, and my best friend."
Damon coughed and Ben grabbed his hand, squeezing it. "I'm so sorry. I know that words can't fix what I did. I . . . . you don't have to forgive me." Ben looked down. "I'm a horrible person and I deserve your hatred."
"Ben. Ben, look at me." Ben looked up. "You are not a horrible person and I don't hate you. Right after losing those closest to me, of course I was angry and I couldn't help myself from hating you. It just came boiling out of me, despite my training. Even when you came back, trying to apologize, I couldn't forgive you, not after what you have done. But after all these years, I've realized that I don't hate you anymore. I'm getting older and you're all I have left of my family. I do forgive you. When you're in the dark side, you really don't have any sense of what you are doing. It clouds your decisions."
Ben hugged Damon. "Damon, I missed you so much."
Ben stood and Damon took Ben's hand in his hands. "I'm glad you've lived long enough to have known Luke and I'm glad that you've finally freed yourself of the past. You have the ability to become great, Ben. Never forget that . . . . I -" Damon stopped as his hands dropped and he moved no more. The heart monitor showed a flat line. Ben closed Damon's eyelids.
"Thank you, Damon," Ben whispered. "You're the best brother ever and I'm glad we got to talk before you died. I'm glad that I got to say that I'm sorry. I-I'm so sorry. I hope you are in a better place now and happy. Goodbye." Ben left the room.