The Last Thing

I almost forgot what the twin suns of Tatooine felt like, and I still don't know why I'm back here. After all those years of dreaming for a chance to get off this rock, who would have thought I'd come back? I've been gone three years, but I guess when you feel lost, it's only natural to go back to the beginning, back to the last thing you're sure you did right.

I reach the old homestead, stopping the borrowed land speeder some distance away. The place is vaguely familiar. I know I'm at the right location, but the garage and home are disheveled and nearly unrecognizable. The remains were obviously raided by sand people.

With a deep breath, I gather my courage, exactly in the same way I did three years ago, yet somehow different. Three years ago, I was a naïve farm boy, racing home and hoping against all hope that my family had somehow survived. Now, I'm wiser. I know that hope, no matter the odds, is often futile. There is only the force, yet somehow that doesn't comfort me. If all that decides the future is fate, what does that mean for me? If the will of the force controls our destiny, then my father was doomed to turn. What about me? What do the powers that be have in store for me?

I move my gaze over the desolate scene. It's a depressing sight, yet at first I don't see the ruins. All I see is the homestead as it once was. Something about the familiar memories of growing up comforts me. Then images of the young boy fade away, and I see the damage of the Imperial Storm Troopers and the bitter remains of my home.

I looked up at Ben, "There is nothing for me here now."

I told Ben all those years ago, that I wanted to go with him. After losing everything, I was ready to become a Jedi and learn the ways of the Force. Not much has changed since then, I suppose. There's still nothing for me here, and yet I feel compelled to search. What am I looking for? I don't know.

I pass the garage. It's little more than pieces of wall and ash. Anything of value that could have been saved, I am certain the sand people found. I move to the subterranean courtyard, the heart of our home beneath the surface level. Moving down the stairs into the crater of a yard, I feel the temperature drop slightly. I don't think anyone but a native of Tatooine could appreciate the small bit of relief that the subterranean yards can provide.

I make my way into the kitchen unit, passing the dining area. It's the site of the arguments I had with Uncle Owen. There were too many to count, but they were always about the same thing, my future. He wanted me to stay here and be a farmer. Though I will never admit it out-loud, I sometimes wonder if he was right. Maybe I never should have left.

The kitchen is barren, anything of use has already been taken. The air feels musty in here, thick from the heat and lack of cooling units. I move along back toward the bedchambers. I come first to my own. It feels like walking into fog. Everything that was once familiar feels shrouded. My old cot, the refresher unit, it all seems familiar but somehow different. One of my ship models is smashed, the rest are missing. I'm not surprised. All the projects I was working on are gone too.

There's nothing left here except memories. I don't mind, really. I knew this would happen when I left. Besides, I never had anything of sentimental value, nothing that could tell me about my past. For that sort of thing, I must look in the old chamber of my aunt and uncle. If anything could explain this, explain what happened, what my aunt and uncle never told me, I will find it in that room.

I move cautiously into the chamber. Going to the closet unit, a part of me is waiting for Aunt Beru to come rushing into the room, scolding me just like when I was a kid. The closet door slides open, and nothing appears out of the ordinary. There has to be something, some relic of the past that will at least give me a clue.

The few valuables have been taken, and as I begin to wonder where else I might look, I notice a wooden box on the highest shelf. Gently I remove it. It must have been too plain to attract attention from the raiders. Sitting on the floor, I remove the lid, slowly and deliberately. Setting it aside I stare at the contents.

Mostly, there is ash and dust. My eye catches something, and sifting through the box, I find three holos. All three are dated, and I take the oldest out first. Activating the device, a portrait of Uncle Own and Aunt Beru's wedding is displayed. I gently run my fingers through the image, but it's only a hologram. I realize how much I miss them. They were my only family, and I've lost them.

The next holo offers no help. It's a portrait of Aunt Beru, holding me as a baby. Far in the distance is the fading image of Obi-Wan. This is not new information, but the holo stops me for a moment. I realize now how real everything was. Obi-Wan truly delivered me here all those years ago, and in all those years, I never saw him or my parents.

I pick up the last holo, hoping it will have some clue, but even before I activate it, I know what this picture is. It's of me, the day I won the young pilot's competition. Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen have fake smiles. Now, I know why. It's wasn't that they weren't proud of me, as I had thought back then. The fact was, they knew I was following in my father's footsteps and that terrified them. They knew what Anakin Skywalker had become.

Frustrated, I throw the holos aside. They have done little but bring up useless memories of the past. I reach for the box to return the holos to their place, but as I lift the box, something shifts inside it. Reaching inside, I pull out a forth and final holo. It was covered by the thick ash and sand, so that I hadn'teven notice it before.

It's dated older than the first three, and for a moment, my heart stops. This could be it. This could be the clue I've been looking for. Clenching my eyes shut, I activate the device. Slowly I open my eyes and see something I never expected.

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A/N: Thanks again to my wonderful reviewers. Please keep reviewing. You guys are great.