Waves of darkness rolled over her. She felt she should be afraid, but the sernity of being submerged in the waves was welcome. And the pain was gone.
So this was what death was like. She would have thought becoming one with the Force would have been more dramatic, dancing with vivid colors, sounds -- something. She had heard of those who had experienced a taste of their own mortality, describing it as seeing a blinding light of white, but as Padmé looked about her, all she could see was black. It was oddly comforting, like being submerged in warm waters.
An awareness crept upon her then as to why she was finding this place so peaceful. Obi-Wan was here. His presence seemed to infiltrate each layer of the darkness about her. His aura was so strong, she could almost smell the fragrance of him.
However impossible it seemed, Padmé realized that she was with him now, within the bond. It was the only explanation. In their pain and grief, they had retreated to the only place they would find peace. The only place they could find each other.
/Obi-Wan/ Her voice sounded foreign to her, hollow and echoing in the void, immediately absorbed by the darkness. It was just a moment before an answer echoed back.
/I'm here./
/I can't see you./
/Reach out Padmé. Reach out into the Force./
/I don't know how./
/Focus on me. Focus on our love./
That was one thing that she knew she could do. The one thing she had denied herself recently. It had become too painful to think about him, to think about the love they had been torn from.
She opened herself now to it, stunned by the intensity of the emotions that impacted her here. In an instant, he was before her, glowing, ethereal, radiant -- beautiful.
/Oh, Obi-Wan./ Her hands moved of their own volition toward him, but disappointedly passed through him as if he were a mist.
/No./ The joy that she had glimpsed faded quickly, but she was resigned not to dwell upon any negative emotion. He was here now. It was real. All of her other senses were full of him. She discovered that an eternity such as this would be more than she could have dreamed of. They were together.
/Padmé, we must go back. / His voice was like a gentle lover's caress.
/I don't want to. I want to stay here with you. I love you./
/And I you. But we cannot stay here. Something is changing./
Obi-Wan could feel the pull of the Force upon him now, drawing him from this existence, back toward reality. He could barely make out the voice of Master Windu rippling across the halo of light surrounding them, asking him to come back.
Padmé heard it too.
/We cannot let him separate us again./ Her statement was final. She would not put herself or Obi-Wan through the pain again. She would rather die first.
/He won't this time. I won't allow it. I'm sorry I did before. Trust me, Padmé. Everything will be all right this time. You have to let go./
With a sad smile, Padmé reluctantly released her mental hold upon the bond and found herself drifting away, riding a wave back into the darkness, away from the light that was Obi-Wan. She watched with trepidation as that light faded to black.