A/N: Hello my dears, I hope you are all well and having a wonderful week-end. This is a shorter, more serene chapter that has been waiting quite a long time to be written - I hope you will enjoy it, the one speaking here is definitely dear to me :). Take care, see you below, Meysun.
Sparks of Hope (A Star-Wars Advent Calendar)
By Meysun
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19. Circles (Yoda)
52 BBY
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A wonderful sound it was, the laughter of children, echoing like silver bells in the Force. Sparks of simple joy that warmed the heart, causing the tender flowers and strong leaves to quiver with elation, bringing a smile on Yoda's lips.
A harbour, the Temple Gardens always were to him, but nothing brought him more joy than to see the little Initiates roam the grounds, small sprouts as they were themselves.
Barefoot, the little ones were allowed to be, able to sense the grass and roots under their feet, to feel for the warm rocks and the damp earth. The Gardens were wide enough to provide peace for those who wished to meditate, and to allow Initiates and young Padawans to play and simply be children.
Green and golden, the Force always seemed to him there, treading the path that would lead him to his favourite place – a stone overhanging a brooklet, shadowed by large, old trees.
Yoda loved the way the sunlight wove patterns on the flat stone, the sound of the water flowing below him, and the rustling of the trees – they carried him far away, deep within the Cosmic Force where everything became one.
He heard laughter echoing from the right and watched young Luminara perform a row of perfect gymnastic wheels, small hands barely curbing the grass beneath her palms. He could sense the signatures of several other Initiates, playing games of hide and seek, running after each other, delighted to be outside – and the stronger, calmer presence of Master Ti, always mindful of the small younglings buzzing around like bees.
Surprises, the Gardens could also harbour. Yoda's ears twitched slightly, ember eyes warming, when he realised his favourite spot seemed already occupied by an auburn-haired and silent little bee, whose Force-signature had melted so completely with the brooklet it took Yoda several seconds to make out its pattern once more.
An astonishing connection, young Obi-Wan had, with the Cosmic Force – a powerful shielder, the boy already was, one that had almost escaped the Temple's notice. And yet the little one shone brightly in the Force once his presence was revealed, glowing warm and loving like a star.
The little one was humming quietly, bare feet resting against the earth, small hand drawing patterns on the stone, following the shapes the light threw between the leaves.
"Crocuses in the meadows / Are blooming, are blooming / Crocuses in the meadows / Summer is ending…"
Yoda watched his small toes curl as the boy lost himself into his song once more, fingertips sketching invisible circles on the stone.
"The red autumn leaf / whirled away by the wind / is swirling and spinning / dancing with the ground…"
The rhyme was somewhat hypnotic, undoubtedly a song for children, but it sounded foreign, and Yoda had not heard it in the crèche or among the younglings. Little Obi-Wan was still drawing, his song turning into a wordless hum – but then the boy looked up, and Yoda watched his grey eyes lighten as he spotted him, dimples appearing as he smiled at him.
"Hello, Grandmaster Yoda", Obi-Wan chirped, gathering his feet under him so as to kneel properly and bowing his head.
"Hello, young Obi-Wan", Yoda replied, walking up to him and sitting himself next to him, feeling the little one's signature brush against his, like a small, loving bird.
"Happy I am, to see you, little one", Yoda said, and he watched Obi-Wan's tiny hands brush the stone once more, his smile brightening his face even more.
"I am very happy too, Grandmaster. Do you like this place as well? Do you want me to give you some space?"
Yoda chuckled, shaking his head.
"No, Obi-Wan. Space enough I have, here and in the Force. Bask in the warmth of a fellow Jedi, a pleasure it always is, for me. Enjoy this place, you do, hmm?"
"Yes, Grandmaster. It is calm. Quiet."
Yoda hummed, turning so as to watch the brooklet below them. And Obi-Wan readjusted his position as well, hands calmly placed on his knees, signature still open and eager, but focused.
"Very strong, the Force is, on this particular spot. Feel it, you do?"
The boy did not answer straight away. Instead, Obi-Wan closed his eyes, taking a few deep breaths, allowing himself to reach out through the Force, brushing leaves, stone and water alike.
"It is flowing. Singing. Wind. Light. Water. Leaves. They keep changing and flowing. They tell us… they tell us we are the same. Flowing."
Yoda reached out with his signature, brushing against Obi-Wan's, who was brightening even more, lighted by the Force that was indeed flowing unencumbered through him – because the little one was still pure and young in the Way.
"It loves us. Very, very much. It wants us to know it is there. Around us. And within us. We must not… fear to abandon ourselves to it. But this… this I do not understand, Grandmaster."
Obi-Wan was frowning slightly, eyes still closed, and Yoda smiled at him, amber eyes softening in love for this innocent child – this uncurbed little reed, this peaceful brooklet he had been so lucky to find in the Force.
"Abandonment, a complicated notion is. But not always, little brooklet. Many ways they are, to get lost in the Force. When we do so with trust, and love – when we meet what is beautiful and living and loving – this is abandonment, Obi-Wan."
The boy opened his eyes and looked at Yoda, still puzzled – he was so young, a tiny child of five. But there was a flame, within him, that warmed the Grandmaster's heart.
"Singing like a robin you were, drawing patterns on the stone, basking in the light and pleasure of the Gardens. Nothing but abandonment, this is."
Obi-Wan's lips parted in silent astonishment, and Yoda patted his knee, playfully. The boy relaxed even more at his side, and for a while, both stayed silent.
"Without your friends, you are, little one?"
Obi-Wan shook his head, facing Yoda once more.
"No, they are playing on the grass."
"Hmmm… With them, you did not want to stay?"
"No, Grandmaster, I like them very much!"
The little boy's eyes had grown wide and Yoda patted his knee once more, sending reassurance through the Force, as well as a soft nudge.
"It… It was loud", Obi-Wan whispered, in the end. "Sometimes, it feels so loud, in the Force."
"Silence, we all need, every once in a while. Find our own song in the Force. Quiet you sought, little brooklet. Understandable, this is – very insightful of you. The Gardens, many Jedi seek for this purpose."
"You do not feel loud, Grandmaster", Obi-Wan said, softly. "It is all quiet and peaceful, when you are around. It feels… it feels just like this place."
Yoda smiled at him and allowed his hand to meet the boy's shoulder.
"Loud, I have been, long ago, young Obi-Wan. Peace and quiet, I have learned to treasure, and also to bestow. Happy I am, to share this with you."
Obi-Wan smiled back, his face shining with quiet, childish joy. They both closed their eyes, the boy allowing Yoda to guide him into meditation, melting with the brooklet's song once more, their signatures swirling and spinning, dancing with the Force in peaceful abandonment.
A/N: Abandonment is such a beautiful thing indeed... it is letting go while still being aware of the beauty around us, it is trusting in what is good despite the insecurities and fears around us and clinging to these beliefs in order to move on. I think it is something Obi-Wan achieved to perfection, something I wish for all of us to be able to reach every once in a while. Usually I'm not referring to real world events, but I'm so, so happy about what happened last Wednesday in a certain country that I could not help myself, I had to write Master Yoda marvelling in what is beautiful. Writing some trust and wonder and kindness and beauty - because it is high time that they become once more key values in our world :). And that we can be reminded that **they exist**. And won't stop existing.
To come back to little Obi I love so much, the song he sings is a translation of a French nursery-rhyme called "Colchiques Dans Les Prés" (Crocuses In the Meadows). The tone is quite melancholy but it is beautiful, and it was a song I loved when I was about Obi's age. Here, the song is something Obi remembers from his elder brother Owen - in my headcanon it is Yoda who found him on Stewjon and brought him to the Jedi Temple (you can read a bit more about it in my story 'Blossoms In The Wind').
Five more little sparks to go for this Calendar - thanks to all of you for reading. Take care, much love, Meysun.