"Ok, here's one. If a tree falls in the woods and there's no one around to hear it, does it make a sound?" Carl, Mando, and I were sitting off to the side at the communal gathering; we were playing a different, improved version of Twenty Questions. The village had come together around this huge bonfire that lit up the whole place. Carl and I were eating seafood and some vegetables while playing; Mando, of course, ate nothing in front of us.
I shook my head, taking another bite of this white carrot looking plant. "That's a rhetorical question," I told Carl; he's the one who asked in the first place. "A what?" "It means there's no answer; it's a question that has no answer." "Well sure there's an answer. The tree either makes a sound or it doesn't. I wanna know which it is." "Ok, fine. Think of it this way: there may be an answer, but we'll never know what it is." "What's the point of that?" Carl took a sip of his water. "I answered your question; it still counts," I retorted, pointing at Carl with my forefinger. His eyes rolled unimpressed. "Fine. Mando, it's your turn." "Why do you keep wanting to play this game?" He asked in his usual, gruff voice. I smiled and Carl shook his head.
"For fun. Now ask a different question." "That counts," the Mandalorian shot back at him. "I have one. How many planets do you think there are?" I asked while taking a sip of my drink. "Oh, hundreds; maybe even thousands. It's a big galaxy," Carl hummed. "I wonder if it's possible to visit all of them?" I hummed to myself too, leaning back and gazing up at the night sky. "Likely not," Carl replied half-heartedly; I don't think my query could compete with meat at the moment. That's when I peered over to my side and caught Mando looking my way. This automatically made me grin.
"We can play a different game if you want, Mando." "Why does he get to decide? I, for one, like this game," Carl interjected. "It's fine. You two keep playing," Mando said. "But I….." Before I could finish my sentence, some of the villagers got up and started to gather beside the bonfire. It took me a moment to realize that all those congregating were women; adult women only. The men stayed where they were, though they had excited expressions on their faces. Within a minute, Winda's mother made her way over to us, or rather me. She grinned down at me with some elation.
"The wives are going to dance, Saoirse, if you'd like to join us," her hand extended down to me. Wives… Oh, yeah! She's a widow, so she must have been married at some point. I leapt up to my feet eagerly; I'd never danced before. Well, with other people anyway. Hand-in-hand, the mother guided me to where the other women were standing, but not before I heard Carl say to Mando: "Hear that? She said wives." I could feel the glare the Mandalorian was shooting him from here.
The dance was pretty simple. Just twirl around with your arms up in the air; we would form a circle by holding onto each other's shoulders at the end. Some men and children played these odd instrument-looking things. Dancing was actually super fun. Lots of laughing and spinning around quickly. I paused every now and again to gaze back at Mando and Carl; they both had their eyes glued on me with fervour. This only made me dance faster and better. God, I can't remember the last time I'd had that much fun.
After the dancing was over and the fire was put out, we all headed back inside. Mando and I went to the barn with two cots now laid out. While I got tucked into one, I noticed that he didn't lay down beside me. Still, I knew he wouldn't be going far so I elected not to press the matter. Instead I grinned while looking at him.
"That was so much fun! I love dancing!" "That's good." "What about you? Did you want to dance tonight?" A pregnant pause ensued. "Mandalorians don't dance." "Oh….." My eyes lowered slightly. Why am I not surprised? Still….. "So does that mean I'll never get to dance with you?" I heard myself ask before my brain could stop me. Mando stopped whatever he was doing for a moment to look back at me. It was quiet for a brief minute, then he spun back to his work. "Like I said, Mandalorians don't dance."
"That's too bad," I rolled onto my back so I could stare up at the ceiling. Well, perhaps this is for the best anyway; I'd never danced with a man before. I have no clue what that would even be like. My eyes gently shut as the back of my hand drew up to rest on my forehead. Sensing my change in mood, Mando spun his feet around to gaze at me once more. His hands rested down at his side. "But you liked it, right?" "Yes," I breathed softly. "Then that's all that matters," he proclaimed, not heading to the front door. Mando…..
"Where are you going?" Reopening my eyes, I sat up in my bed. His head was facing my direction as he was about to leave. "Just doing a round before bed. Go to sleep; I won't be long." "Alright… Mando?" I was able to stop him before he left. While he was standing there watching me, I grinned in a very gentle, sincere sense. "I just wanted to say thank you; thank you for staying here with me."
This seemed frazzle him for a second, as the Mandalorian merely stood there, his gaze drifting off to space, and his mouth silent. But eventually his head lifted back up towards me. "No need to thank me. I'm the one who took you from your home planet, after all," he said quietly. My reaction was to smile at this, cause of course it was; I smiled a lot around him I found. And I didn't even have to try; it just happened organically. "Have a good sleep," was the last thing he told me before leaving, careful to shut the door behind him.
I waited until he was gone before laying back down. My eyes were locked onto the ceiling again; my hands clenching the blanket up to my neck. Masters, I still have no idea what I'm doing or what I'm supposed to do. But something tells me that I'm right where I'm supposed to be right now; without my "doing" anything, I'm where I'm meant to be. That must be true, since I'm still with Mando. If it was against the will of the Force, then we would have parted long ago. But here we are, still together after all this time….. I peered over at his empty cot beside mine. I'm not totally clueless; I know he's checking the area of the village before he goes to sleep, just to make sure its safe. The thought made my eyes lower tenderly. Yes, this must be the will of the Force; I can't hear it, but it makes sense to me. We're together because everything around us willed it.