As his tears faded, they had turned into tears of relief.

Luke found comfort in all of this now. He knew Beru was going to tell him no more, but that was ok. He learned that day that despite his impatience, that the truth unravels itself slowly through time.

But this would be one of the less painful times in his life that Luke learned the truth about whom he was and where he came from.

Beru and Luke leaned against one another a few moments longer, gazing at the gravestone. The twin sunlights breaking the horizon behind them shone on it brilliantly. It truly was a treasure to Luke.

"Now, to deal with your uncle," Beru said suddenly. "Luke, you've done a wonderful job getting everything started this morning. I want you to go to the north ridge with R5 and start working. Take the other speeder. Get going, as fast as you can. I will need to deal with your uncle when he comes back and sees this -- and DON'T WORRY. There will be no punishment. Everything will be fine. Right now you need to tend to your chores; and you need to trust me. Off you go, now!"

Although he did exactly as his aunt said, Luke DID worry. All day, he agonized over visions of his uncle slamming his fist against a wall again, maybe even disowning him. He knew that for Uncle Owen, the truth about Luke's past was a sensitive subject. It was the one thing that he did not ever want to deal with when the boy asked him about it.

Much to his shock, Luke came home to find both his aunt and uncle acting as if nothing had changed. He showed up on time for dinner. Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru were already seated and eating, chatting about Owen's trip to Mos Espa. Luke joined them apprehensively.

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After Luke was seated, Owen looked up at him cheerfully and said, "We closed a deal! Our new partners are going to help us and the Darklighters hire more hands! We'll be making some real money now, Luke. Some of which could go to an education at a later date, should you decide to…well, you know…make that choice."

Beru simply sat there with her ageless smile. She beamed at Owen for being a bigger person this time, and at Luke for making the effort to try and understand his uncle better.

Luke continued to maintain his look of shock. Without a word, he proceeded to eat his dinner.

It hadn't been easy calming Owen down when he saw the uncovered tombstone, that's for sure, she thought to herself. Owen had put her through twenty questions about what she had and had not revealed to Luke, his rage making him sound like more like the horror stories she had heard from outlanders in Mos Eisely about Imperial interrogators than her husband. He had become a man she didn't know. Letting him vent was the easiest thing to do—plus, Beru was good at it. Owen raved for many minutes, but it wasn't until Beru saw him gaze down upon the tombstone of his step-mother for the first time in thirteen years…that he at last fell silent and calmed down.

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As the day drew to a close, Owen stole a chance and peeked up the entryway at Luke. The boy was standing off in the distance, flanked by the tombstones on the left, and the twin sunset on the right. Owen would always wonder what the boy thought about when he stood there.

That's nonsense, Owen, he thought to himself. You KNOW what he thinks about. He thinks about the one thing you don't want to deal with.

Owen had to do it. Not for Beru, not even for himself. He came outside, and joined Luke, standing beside him.

The boy immediately looked uncomfortable that he was there, as if expecting another scolding from Owen.

"You did a good job getting everything started up today, Luke," Owen said. "Is R5 working better than that last piece of junk I bought?"

Luke simply nodded, continuing to stare off into the sunset.

"Luke, look…I know you like technology, spaceships, adventure…you have since you were little…there isn't much of a farmer in you. I'm not going to keep you here forever if farming is not what you want to do. You should know that. But you know that you still have chores to do as long as you're living here."

"Uncle Owen, about today, I…" Luke started.

Owen raised his hand. "No, let me finish, Luke."

Luke fell silent.

"Obviously, I know what it was you found today. I didn't act like it was that important to me when you got home, but that's because I let it go. Maybe you shouldn't have been digging for it, and then again maybe I shouldn't have hidden it from you, but I'm not going to punish you for it. Yes, I was mad about it. There are things that I just can't…"

Owen trailed off for a moment. For a split second, he just wanted to tell Luke everything and get it over with. He wanted to let it all out, and be done with it.

"I know, Uncle Owen," Luke said before he could finish.

"You're…growing up now, Luke. I know I'm not the easiest person to get along with. And yeah, I'm gonna be a downright grouch from time to time. I admit all this to you. I will start to learn to trust you to handle yourself. All I ask is that you follow our rules as long as you're with us. Some rules I'll start to let you bend and even break, but not all of them. You and I aren't always going to agree on everything, and I guess that's just life. Maybe…I don't know…maybe life would be more boring if we always agreed on everything, you know?"

There was a long pause as the curvature of the last sun sank into the distance.

Luke turned to Owen at last, offering him a smile.

"Anyway," Owen said, "when I think you're ready…I'll tell you what you want to know. I promise, I won't keep things from you forever. Until then…study what you like about the Academy, or whatever you want to do with your life, but keep your chores done. Watch your sunsets if it makes you happy, but be in before complete dark. Deal?"

Owen extended his hand. Luke stared at it for a moment.

"Deal," said Luke, taking Owen's hand, then putting both of his hands on his uncle's.

"Well, you should get inside," Owen said, "we wasted some power out here talking a few extra minutes."

After Luke had gone in for the evening, Owen remained outside for a few minutes to do some pondering of his own.

Something tells me I'll definitely have to let Luke go one day. Then, I'll have to tell him. I hope he will be ready as much as I hope I will be, he thought to himself as he shut the power down for the night.

In the end, it was Owen himself who realized that he missed seeing that headstone. Shmi was as much a mother to Owen as she was to...Luke's father. Owen even decided to have Cliegg's and the other Lars' tombstones uncovered once he heard Beru's side of the story.
He saw no harm in hiding them now that Luke knew the truth about his grandmother. The knowledge of the boy's father and mother were still intact.

Owen also had a revelation after he spoke to Luke that evening. Covering the gravestones was indeed a mistake, even though he thought that simply blotting out the past would be best for the boy. He hoped that Luke would understand one day. But he also finally accepted the fact that Luke one day discover his true heritage, whether Owen told him or not.

Luke and Owen still had their scuffles, but they were not nearly as intense as they had been in the past. Luke did work hard, and Owen always remembered to give him credit where credit was due. But, Owen came to the sad realization that he and the boy would never fully bond like he would with a son.

There would be times in the future when Luke would poke and prod at Owen for information about his father, but Owen would still not tell him. Owen tried to keep Luke with him as long as he could; because he truly loved the boy, even if he did have trouble showing it.

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OUT BEYOND THE DUNE SEA

Ben Kenobi sat meditating in his small hut one month after he had met with the thirteen-year-old boy in Anchorhead. A small flicker in the Force had at last answered the question he sought.

A smile then ran across his face, knowing he planted the seed inside the boy to start the inward journey....

...the journey to find out who Luke Skywalker was.

Master Yoda would not be pleased with the knowledge I have helped the boy find. 'Adventure and excitement are not what a Jedi needs', he would say…

But, long has this child been so unhappy as I have watched him. I had to help give him some hope. I also had to give him belief in himself, and the realization that his identity would not remain a mystery to him forever.

Perhaps even if I had not planted the idea of the sandstorm in his mind, he may have found the grave on his own, regardless.

Kenobi found solace in that notion; that this was the will of the Force.

As for Luke, he was happy the day he found his grandmother's resting place, because he gained the first piece of himself that he had been searching for. Kenobi continued to smile as he felt this through the Force.

EPILOGUE -- 70 YEARS AFTER 'A NEW HOPE'

Cool dawn breaks through early morning.

The sands of time do not hold still, they are ever constant. Footfalls on the dunes could be heard, if there was anyone here to hear them. A distant past sits lurking in the sand, its ruins long since deserted and looted. The footfalls approach the ruins and make a guided turn, stopping at a precise place.

A black hand rises into the air, calling upon the power it holds to make a hill of sand swirl, and wash away from it, like a rushing waterfall down a mountain. The sand is removed and replaced elsewhere. A single stone is unearthed.

Built to withstand the ravages of time, it is a simple stone, dark brown and very opaque.

The black-hooded figure kneels before it. He removes the glove from his hand and places his hand on the stone, feeling the smoothness of it against his fingers.

Jedi Master Luke Skywalker removes his hood. He has aged gracefully. His mind, body and soul are all culled and tempered by many wars and struggles, but strong with the Force.

I have returned to Tatooine many times, but never to this place. I always felt there was too much pain here. Too much sorrow to deal with. Too many roads that lead down the path to anger.

But there is no anger here; there is peace. He can feel the past in this place through the Force, and many rich memories flood his senses.

I understand now why I was taken care of by two farmers. They were my family, just as much as anyone else that watched over me. My experiences here taught me to want for nothing, to be resourceful, self-reliant and so much more. They were a good start for my life. I cannot thank you enough for all you did for me. I know now that you were not hiding the truth anymore than Obi-Wan was, but you did not know how to tell me. I left here, sobbing and mourning your deaths. In life, I was never even afforded the chance to say goodbye. That is why I could not face returning here. For that, I am truly sorry. But now that I have returned, I now know that you are at peace.

He has come prepared for this moment.

Master Skywalker lifts a single finger towards his old X-Wing. R2-D2 is lifted out and lands on the ground. The old faithful astromech droid opens one of the storage compartments on the side, the machinery revealing and bringing down a small, heavy black colored stone. R2 uses an anti-gravity cart to bring the stone over, and sets it down next to Shmi Skywalker's gravestone.

Simple white letters are engraved against the black stone. It reads:

Here Lie

Beru Whitesun Lars
and
Owen Lars

Full of love, nurturing care and guidance --
--and ever watchful guardians.
Servants of the Old and New Republic
Your Loving Memory Shall Never Be Forgotten.

A newer V-Wing lands beside the X-Wing, and Luke can feel a familiar presence approaching him.

"Father?" a voice calls from behind him.

Ben Skywalker, an able-bodied man in 40s comes up behind Luke, who is sitting cross-legged in the sand near a black stone. Called by his father through the Force to join him, he senses something familiar about this place in spite of the fact that he has never been here. Looking down upon the stone, he knows exactly why his father wished to share this moment with him.

"It's beautiful," Ben says, admiring it, "and a fitting tribute. I am glad you decided to return here, Father."

"I had to, Ben. The Force has been calling me to this place for a very long time. These people watched over and protected me as their own during a time of evil and horror in the galaxy. My life began here. They are as important a part of my life as the people I knew in the Alliance, the Jedi Academy or the New Republic. I have never forgotten them. Nor have I forgotten the memory of my grandmother…who somehow was able to watch over me as well when I was a small child, even though she had long since become a part of the Force prior to my birth."

Luke Skywalker smiles into the sunrise of the place he once and always calls home. He decides to stay for a day, so that he may watch the twin sunset one more time. He realizes now after so many, many long years WHY this place gave him comfort as a boy.

I know why watching the sunset gave me comfort. The Force was calling to me every time I stood here.

Shmi had been here. The beginning of his life had been here. His father's life had been here. The legacy and genesis of his entire family began here, and all of those things resonate powerfully through the Force and into Luke, giving him comfort.

Sometimes in life, questions we can never answer as children simply come to us after maturity. Although much older and wiser, Master Skywalker feels young and full of life again. He feels like he felt…

…during the days of the past when he was simply called Luke.

The answers we seek always unfold over time. If we are lucky, those answers even spawn other answers about so many things. I now realize all of them and feel the truth inside of me.

I came back to say...Thank you, Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru. I will always love you both.

The End