The day in which Luke Skywalker left behind his old life to became the first Padawan learner in twenty years, marked the beginning of a difficult, but also rewarding period for him, Obi-Wan and Naritha.
The following three years were full of danger and fear; of narrow escapes, long separation and almost death; of great losses and mind-numbing grief.
But there were also good moments and, at the end of the long, winding road, the dominating emotions were joy, fulfilment, love and hope.
Things happened so quickly, Naritha could barely keep up with them.
Basically from one day to the other she passed from being a long-time retired politician to being an active member of the Rebellion against the empire, working closely with Mon Montha to coordinate the rebel efforts.
Obi-Wan instead trained Luke in the way of the Force, and worked as military advisor and tactician for the Alliance. Under his guide, the Rebels began to obtain one victory after another, raising enthusiasm and support in all those systems that had never accepted the Empire's domination.
Yes, it was a busy period for Naritha, full of life changing events for the galaxy, but three moments stood out in her memory.
The first one, of course, had happened on the first Death Star, when she watched in horrified silence as Obi-Wan and Darth Vader fought again against each other.
Obi-Wan had separated from the rest of their party to go to disengage the tractor beam that trapped their ship, the Millennium Falcon. Naritha had wanted to go with him, but he had insisted he stood hidden inside the ship, in the special compartments Han Solo, the ship's owner, used in his activity as a smuggler.
Naritha had obeyed, but after the imperial troops had finished checking the ship, she had quietly slipped out her hiding place and had moved to the cockpit, from where she had watched the drama enfolding in the hangar.
She had watched as her bondmate and his former apprentice had circled each other, studying the changes time and other circumstances had brought to them.
"I have been waiting for you, Obi-Wan." Vader had said, in his mechanical voice. "We meet again, at last. The circle is now complete."
Obi-Wan had not answered, and Naritha had sensed him call the Force to him, as he used it to probe Vader's mechanical suit, looking for weak point. She had thus realized, Obi-Wan had no intention to kill Vader, just to bring him down and escape.
Then she had watched her bondmate move in a defensive position as Vader took an offensive one.
"When I left you, I was but the learner; now I am the master."
"Only a master of evil, Darth," Obi-Wan had answered, before Vader had attacked and the fight had begun.
Naritha had held her breath as the two blades, one blue, the other red, had clashed against each other, again and again. Darth Vader was stronger and taller than his former master and filled his blows with hate, but Obi-Wan was faster than him, for he had kept on training hard since the time, so many years before, a vision had alerted him that one day he would have to face Vader again.
Naritha had then realized this was the fight Obi-Wan had seen in his visions. She had understood why the older-looking man her bondmate had described himself to be in the vision he had before she came to live with him on Tattooine could have never won the duel.
It had been Obi-Wan's agility to make the difference on the Death Star, his ability to jump and leap with amazing speed, until the moment he had caught Vader unprepared and had cut his right hand. Ironically, it was the only limb he had not severed on Mustafar.
After that, Obi-Wan had not inflicted a killing blow, but had simply looked at his former Padawan with sad eyes, before running away to join Luke and the others on the Falcon.
Back on board, after they had escaped the imperial fleet, Naritha had dared to ask why Obi-Wan had not finally finished what had started 19 years before.
Her bondmate had given her a thoughtful look as he had rubbed his ginger-grey beard and had murmured. "The night she gave birth to the twins, just before she died, Padmé told me there was still some good in Anakin. I did not believe her back then but today…today I felt something. I think Padmé might have been right and that perhaps Luke will be able to reach for that good inside Vader. That's my most fervent hope and the reason I did not kill him today."
"And what if it does not work?" Naritha enquired.
Obi-Wan's eyes hardened. "Then I will do what I have to do."
The second moment happened shortly after the Death Star's destruction, when Obi-Wan and Naritha separated for the first time in twenty years. She went into hiding with Leia Organa and the other chiefs of the Rebellion, while Obi-Wan took Luke to Dagobah, the swamp-like planet Master Yoda had chosen for his exile.
They went there to complete Luke's training as Jedi, but also to hide from the massive man-hunt Darth Vader unleashed to find them.
They stayed away for months and would have stayed for much longer had not Vader captured Han Solo and used him as bait for Luke.
Impulsive, caring Luke fell fully into the trap and when Obi-Wan caught up with him, it was too late to prevent the loss his hand and part of his innocence to Vader's – his father's – lightsabre.
The third moment standing out in Naritha's mind was the celebration held on the Forest Moon of Endor after the battle that sanctioned the Rebel Alliance's victory and the end of the Empire.
It had been a joyous occasion for everyone involved, from Naritha to Luke, from Leia to Han, to Artoo and Threepio, but especially for Obi-Wan for, very late in the night, when the bonfires had burned down and the music had ceased and the Ewoks' village had fallen asleep, something extraordinary had happened.
Anakin's spirit had returned to say "Thank you" to his stubborn, dedicated master and for a short, perfect moment willed by the Force, his blue glowing form had coalesced, allowing him and Obi-Wan to embrace and to call each other "brother", as they forgave all the pain they had caused to each other.
§
The Seventh Receiving started just after the Empire's fall, and Obi-Wan and Naritha spent it on the moon, in a secluded hut the Ewoks put at their disposal.
It was a bittersweet time for the bondmates for they were aware that, no matter how young they felt in the spirit, their biological clock said differently. Naritha was sixty-seven, Obi-Wan had just turned sixty and they both knew there was the strong possibility it would be their last Receiving. So they tried to savour the experience as best as they could, making memories and storing them for a later time, but without having any regrets.
They had been too blessed in the past to feel anything but gratitude for the destiny that had brought them together, that day forty-two years before, when the world seemed to collapse around them, while instead the Force was at work to give them to each other.
§§§§§
The Seventh was indeed Naritha and Obi-Wan's last Receiving, but their lives were far from being over.
They lived many more years, both of them leading very active and fulfilling existences.
The bondmates moved to Coruscant, where they finally got married in front of their friends, Qui-Gon, Anakin and Yoda included.
Naritha then helped to organize the New Republic, as Obi-Wan worked with Luke on the rebuilding of the Jedi Order.
They faced every obstacle destiny threw in their way together, side-by-side, confident in the strength of their bond and in the power of their love.
But this, dear readers, is another story….
THE END