Chapter Three: Asleep
Anakin Skywalker waited a long time for Obi-Wan to come home. He watched the moons rise in the clear sky above, and he watched as they reached their apex, then continued back down. He fell asleep on several occasions, waiting at the window for his friend's return. And while he slept, he dreamt. He had had the same dream for years, but it never ceased to worry and confuse him. And it always started off the same...
The world around him was bare, as the harsh sand that was everything to be seen started to rise up in the blowing wind. Faster and faster, the sand spun, scratching him and getting into his eyes and mouth. He wanted to scream for help, but there was too sand, it was everywhere and he couldn't breathe...
And then the dust cleared, for only a moment, and there was a woman standing before him, with chestnut hair and sad eyes. "Ani..."
That was when he would wake up, abruptly and covered with a slight sheet of sweat, breathing quickly. As always.
Anakin looked back outside, and with a start, saw a figure coming towards the house, walking quickly and with purpose. He knew it was his vena, returning from the Infirmary. The boy rose from his seat and moved to the door, waiting to hear what Obi-Wan had seen and heard of the thing that had fallen from the sky.
The door opened, and a hooded man came in, quietly. There was something strange around him, something Anakin couldn't explain. He could simply feel it. Any feelings of excitement dissipated, as a worry for Obi-Wan began to overtake him.
"What's wrong?" he asked, and the young man jumped, startled.
The young man smiled, almost. "I should have known you would still be up." His eyes looked dull and frozen.
"Obi-Wan?"
The Gardener sighed, and he moved into the living space, settling down onto one of the chairs and collapsing in a manner befitting those who are on the verge of exhaustion. "He's a Jedi, Anakin."
The boy couldn't help but grin. "He's a Jedi? So he's okay? What's he doing here?"
Obi-Wan looked away, and out through the window, staring at the quiet night before him. "He'll be okay. With time."
A silence followed. "There's something bothering you," said Anakin, perceptive as always, "Tell me."
Time passed so slowly, it seemed nothing was happening at all. "I... he's..." For once, Obi-Wan couldn't articulate what he wanted to say. There was too much Anakin didn't know; too much that he hadn't told the child. Too much from the past that he was not eager to revisit.
Anakin didn't say, or do, anything at all. He was good at waiting, when he wanted to be.
His vena leant back into his chair and closed his eyes. "Do you remember when I told you how I got here, Anakin?"
Of course he did. "Yes." he answered.
"That may not have been entirely true."
Anakin's expression revealed his confusion. "How?"
The Gardener's face was pained, troubled. "I... I wasn't sent away to AgriCorps because I wasn't chosen as an apprentice. I was, for a while, a Padawan to a Master."
The boy's eyes grew large. "Really? You were a real Jedi?"
But the young man didn't smile. "Yes."
"And that man, that man in the Infirmary, he was your Master?"
Obi-Wan opened his eyes then, and looked back out into the great expanse. "A long time ago." And then he went vacant, and wasn't really there anymore, for a moment. Anakin's eyelids began to grow heavy, with the sleep that had yet to come.
"Time for bed, Anakin." said Obi-Wan, from far away.
And for once, the child listened.