Chapter 12: The Present

"Can we do the same?"

Anakin Skywalker's voice was filled with hope. The tale Obi-Wan had told him about earlier days' Winter Festival had ignited a spark in him. He wanted to experience the warm, comforting feelings of…well…having fun that had shone through his Master's story.

"No, I'm sorry Anakin. We can't." Obi-Wan's answer cut the hope down before it had even began to develop.

"But why…?"

Obi-Wan grinned.

"Actually, we cannot do the same because someone must have seen our ferocious snowball match so the following year the Upper Gardens were thoroughly closed by the beginning of the Winter Festival," he explained. "So our improvised match was a one time experience. That doesn't mean that we cannot have a good time though. We just have to do it in a different way."

And with that the matter was closed.

The following days Anakin tried in several ways to figure out whether his Master had some specific plans for the Winter Festival or not. He soon realised that a secretive Jedi Master was secretive indeed. He heard rumours about something that implied snowball matches but it seemed to be more some kind of tournament than a Master/Padawan thing.

…

Obi-Wan Kenobi on his side was thoughtful. He really wanted to do the same thing for Anakin that Master Qui-Gon and Tahl had done for him. He just didn't know how to do it. The dire truth was that he had no Tahl in his life. Not anymore. What he had was Bant, Reeft and Garen, but neither of those could help him out in this matter. He could not recreate the warm fuzzy feeling Tahl and Qui-Gon's conspiracy had created in himself.

But then again, Anakin wasn't him. Anakin was kind, active and sometimes reckless. Maybe the regular habits of the Temple would be good enough. With a small additive twist to it.

Obi-Wan went to research the lists of active Knights out on missions. Maybe someone would fit his purpose.

The evening before the Festival began, Anakin was basically bouncing on his toes filled with expectations he couldn't put words on. Not even to himself.

Nothing happened.

Not until late that evening.

Obi-Wan knocked on the door to his Padawan's bedroom.

"Anakin, are you awake?"

A muted mumbling on the verge of swearing reached his ears. Like most other growing boys Anakin did not like to be awakened.

"Get up. We have work do do."

A new row of uncomprehendingly sounds came from the bedroom and a very sleepy Padawan opened the door.

"Yes, Master."

The small living room had been transformed into a maze of boxes.

"What…?"

"I said we couldn't celebrate the Winter Festival the same way as Qui-Gon and Tahl and I did, but that doesn't mean we cannot find our own way. Since we have no Tahl, we simply have to do the decoration work ourselves."

Anakin brightened visibly: "You mean…we're gonna celebrate after all?"

"Absolutely," Obi-Wan assured him, "we just have to find our own ways. And decorating our quarters is a good place to start, don't you agree?"

Anakin nodded vigorously. All sleepiness completely gone.

An hour later the small spacings had been over covered with glittering festoons all over the place. A couple of holos with sparkling images of snowfall and dancing wampas were oh-not-so-tastefully placed on the table and in the shelf.

The room looked horrible. The muted earthy colours Obi-Wan was used to (and loved) had been transformed into a glittering cave, almost as shiny as his Padawan's eyes.

"It's wonderful," Anakin declared.

Obi-Wan decided it was worth it. After all the Festival would only last for three days. When he saw the light in Anakin's eyes he would gladly live with the colorful overloaded rooms for that period.

While decorating he'd gone back and forth to the kitchen area and the smell of hot choc sifted out into the spacings.

Anakin looked hopefully up at him: "Can we have some now?"

"Not yet," Obi-Wan explained,"we have a couple of other things we have to do before we can indulge in choc. Put your boots on. And bring the robe too. We're going for a walk. And no, don't peek into the kitchen."

"Oh…"

Anakin looked slightly disappointed but did as he was told. He still hadn't given up hope that the night would imply some kind of snowball fights. He was still curious about the whole snow thing.

They didn't go out. Instead they were climbing stairs and walking through dark abandoned corridors. For a couple of moments Anakin feared that they were lost and would never find their way back to quarters again, but every time Master Obi-Wan seemed to find a new direction.

They didn't stop until they came to a window overlooking the main entrance and with a marvellous view over Coruscant's.

"Master,…is this the place?"

"Yes, Anakin, it is. Even after Tahl died, Master Qui-Gon and I used to go here to see the opening of the Winter Festival when we were on planet. I would very much like to continue that tradition with you, Padawan."

And in that moment Coruscant went black for a few split seconds before it lit up in a full spectre of bright, vibrating colors.

And the snow began to fall.

Anakin was speechless. He had somewhat known what to expect from his Masters story, but seeing it live was something entirely different.

"It's beautiful," he whispered.

"It really is," his Master confirmed while roaming the inner of his robe for something Anakin hadn't noticed. A small bottle and two small mugs came out. Obi-Wan put the mugs on the window sill and poured the steaming dark liquid from the bottle.

"I thought we could have our hot choc up here," he explained, "it sure is cold enough here."

"Happy Festival, Padawan."

"Happy Festival, Master."

They stood in the darkness watching the snow fall and admiring the vibrating colours from the city's closest merchants areas, sipping their choc in quiet contemplation until the peace was disturbed by the quiet buzz of Obi-Wan's comm link. He furrowed his brow and keyed in a couple of words on it after checking his chrono.

"What is it, Master? Is something wrong?"

"No, but we have to continue. There's a place we need to be."

"Where is that?" Anakin demanded to know.

His Master grinned again: "Wait and see."

They returned through the same corridors and stairs they had come, until they were several levels lower then they trailed off and stepped into a turbolift. Then new corridors, brighter ones this time and a new turbolift (up again). Anakin had never seen this part of the Temple before.

"Where are w….?"

"Shhh," Obi-Wan admonished, "this is not an area where we're supposed to be. Usually."

Anakin could see that. The door they had stopped outside clearly declared "No entrance".

Obi-Wan keyed something on his comm and the door opened. A bothan stood inside.

"Knight Kenobi?"

"Yes," Obi-Wan confirmed.

"This is highly unusual but I've been told by my Master that you' and your Padawan are allowed to enter this time only so please do enter before anyone else sees you."

Anakin looked quizzically up at his Master.

"Come, Anakin. Let's follow Padawan San'eeli." Obi-Wan cast another glance to his chrono. "Perfect - we're just in time."

"For what?"

"An incoming call," Obi-Wan explained cryptically. And with that he placed a couple of earphones over his Padawan's ears.

"I believe this conversation requires some discretion," he said, "you have ten minutes before the channel is closed again. Padawan San'eeli and I will wait over there until you're finished."

The last thing he heard before leaving was his Padawan's incredulous voice: "Mom? Is it really you…?"

…

It was a very quiet Padawan who followed his Master back to quarters. Obi-Wan did not initiate any conversation. He had a feeling that Anakin would not like to show too much of the emotions that were rolling through him.

They didn't speak until they were safely inside their apartment again.

By then Anakin had managed to gather some of his composure.

"How did you do that?" he demanded to know. His eyes still glistering with unshed tears but the smile on his face was so wide it almost threatened to reach his ears.

Obi-Wan smiled: "I guessed that talking to your mother for a little while would be a much appreciated Festival Present so I went to the archives and checked with the misson overview list if there were some Knights on not overly complicated missions on or nearby Tatooine. Fortunately Knight Vee was in the vicinity. I managed to contact him and wanted him to find your mother and bring her to the ship so she could net up with the comm center in the Temple. It was just fortunate that Tatooine's day cycle right now is close to the one we have here. It would have been impossible if it was mid-day there. We cannot use our hand held comms for such long distances, but ship to comm center works fine."

"But the slave implant?" Anakin asked.

"Knight Vee is very good at shielding electronics. I was fairly certain he could manage to neutralise the chip for a short period of time until your mother was safely back into it's working range. He was even more sure to it than I. It does also help that Wattoo isn't the most meticulous slave owner on planet."

"She's fine." Anakin said dreamingly. "She's at good health and…I think she's got a friend. She was mentioning someone named Lars…"

Obi-Wan just nodded.

A little while later they were both seated in their living room, this time with a more generous mug of choc. The lights had been dimmed so the sparkling from the decorations was almost bearable. Almost.

Anakin looked up at his Master: "Master Obi-Wan, I think you gave me the most perfect present ever. Thank you so very much."

The answer was a Masterly arm wrapped around his slim shoulders.

"You're very welcome, Padawan."