She stands in the shallows beside her Master, an expression of intense concentration on her face as the fourth fish swims toward the net and then abruptly turns away and returns to sea as if mocking her. "How do you do this?" She growls in frustration.
"Growing up on a desert planet I never had any exposure to fishing. I was forced to adapt the technique in order to eat." He bends and casts out his own net, woven of twisted vines. With a serene look, she watches him as he raises a hand and within mere moments, there are small stirrings of fish breaking the smooth surface of the water. They fill the net within a few seconds.
Rey can't stop her jaw from dropping at the sight. "That's enough to feed us for a long time."
"We'll release most of these and just keep what we need. Do you want to try again?" He offers her a reassuring smile.
"I don't know. I'm not very good at this." She shakes her head.
"You're doing fine," he says. "Try again. You caught their attention. Now you just need to make the suggestion and draw them in."
"All right." She purses her lips before she closes her eyes. She stretches out and finds a school of fish through the Force. They seem to be ignoring her suggestion that there is a source of food near the shore and instead making them head in the opposite direction. Suddenly, there is a flash of interest from one and then another in and soon they start to divert their path toward the shore.
Luke interjects with a hand on her shoulder, "That's it. Now, concentrate just a bit more...don't lose focus. They're almost in the nets."
She opens her eyes and sees that the two fish have made it into the nets. Quickly, she closes it and lets out a deep breath.
"You did it, Rey." He squeezes her shoulder with a proud smile.
"I've heard about parents taking their children fishing but never like this." Rey laughs and a smile lights up her face.
"This family has never been typical. " He shrugs in a self-deprecatory manner and she places a hand on his cheek before he can turn his face away, already seeing shame starting to creep into his expression.
"Hey. I like it. There's no one I'd rather do this with." She bends to haul her catch up to shore and stumbles a bit with a sudden look of terror.
Luke catches and steadies her. "Rey, it's all right. I've got you. What's wrong?"
"Nothing, it's just that..nevermind." She bites her lip, studying the net.
He notices that she is quick to get to higher ground and senses what's troubling her. "Forgive me. I was thoughtless. You can't swim.."
She shakes her head. "No. Water was so precious on Jakku there was hardly enough for drinking and bathing. When I was little, I thought the entire galaxy must be just one big desert."
"I thought the same thing. If you want to learn, I could teach you."
"Shouldn't we be focusing on my Jedi training?" She raises an eyebrow.
He grins and just for an instant she catches a glint of the mischievous farmboy he had once been.
"Who says we can't do both?"
They make breakfast together and he tells her about Han and Leia, about flying his X-wing and his first days as a Jedi master. She's amazed that he seems to remember every student he ever taught. Everything from their quirks to the way they laughed, to what they excelled in or struggled with. When Rey asks him how he can remember so much, Luke replies. "I hold them in my heart forever and I try to honor them."
"You do," she says, "I can't imagine you ever being anything but honorable." He clears his throat, averts his eyes, and mumbles that they shouldn't wait too long to swim. She fears the words intended to bolster him will cause him to descend into sadness and self-loathing again, so she gets up, smiles and pulls him along to the water's edge.
Rey has climbed through the innards of crumbling wreckages, survived through terrible sandstorms and battled a Sith, yet when she stands on the shore and stares out at the vast sea, she feels insignificant and uncertain.
Sensing her disquiet, Luke turns his head and smiles. "It makes you feel small. The sound is like listening to the heartbeat of the planet."
Rey watches him as he closes his eyes, breathes in the salty air, and listens to the sound. "I'm not sure. What do I do?" she asks.
Her mentor sheds his outer cloak and removes his boots, then wades just a couple of steps into the shallows of the small cove, and turns holding out his hand to her. "Just step in when you're ready. I'll be right beside you. I promise."
She removes her own boots and sleeveless jacket, and then steps forward, at first wincing at the cool sensation. "It's colder than I thought."
"It's not so bad once you get used to it." He laughs gently, waiting for her to move forward.
Taking a deep breath, she steps into the water again, moving up to her ankles. Once the shock of the cold passes, she finds that the sensation is rather pleasant, though she still clings to her father's hand. "This might take a few lessons…" She wrinkles her brow.
"You can do this, Rey. The first step is to learn to float."
She regards him with skepticism. She can't imagine how useful it would be to simply lie in the water on her back, but she doesn't argue. "How do I do that?"
"Just lie back in the water. I promise I've got you and I won't let go." One of his arms rests against her back, steadying her as she leans back in the water. His other hand rests lightly underneath her calves. Though she has an instant of silent panic as the water enters her ears and dulls her hearing, once she looks up at Luke, she relaxes and begins to feel safe. A sense of peace comes over Rey at the feeling of weightlessness. She's being held in her father's arms, and the feeling of comfort is something she's been waiting for almost her entire life.
Luke closes his eyes and removes the arm supporting Rey's legs. "Close your eyes and feel the Force flowing through you, surrounding you. When you are calm, at peace, this is when you will be able to sense it the most."
Rey startles for a moment, realizing that the voice is speaking directly in her mind. She sends an answer. "I feel it." She stretches out, sensing the life in the ocean and on the land. Her father's presence is like a sun diminishing everything around it. With a pang of sadness, she feels how the energy that resonates through his body stops abruptly at the beginning of his artificial limb.
The mental voice answers with gentle amusement. "Try not to get distracted. Extend your senses. I'm right here but I'm going to let you go now."
Rey gulps, forcing herself to breathe and silences her fears of sinking into the great abyss, drowning in the dark depths. "All right," she replies. Then, she feels the slight shift in the water next to her and realizes Luke is floating beside her.
They enjoy a few moments of tranquility before Luke speaks, "Try and stir the water, direct the currents to carry you towards the shore."
Rey stretches out, brow furrowed in concentration. Just when she is ready to give up, she manages a slight ripple. She cracks an eye open. "Well, that was disappointing."
"Don't say that. That was very good. Just focus a little more." She can hear the reassurance, the pride that she feels is undeserved in his voice.
Taking a deep breath, Rey tries again and manages a small wave that pushes them both towards the shore. Struck by a sudden playful urge, she stirs up another wave that drenches her master. As he rights himself, stands up and looks at her with crossed arms, she feels a sudden sense of guilt as she stands and moves towards shore. "I..I'm sorry, Father."
She feels less sorry when a very large Force-assisted wave strikes her back. As they find themselves making up for lost time, splashing in the shallows, the war seems very far away.