Memories - Ch. 4-3

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Anakin walked through the town. He stopped at the small foot path that led to the open field where the larger freighters came in to land. He noticed some new construction happening in that direction - a more complete and functional spaceport for the Jedi Temple. Shrugging his shoulders he turned away and headed towards the shopping district. A few more minutes of walking and he had entered the district. The bustle of people around him reminded him of home, of Coruscant.

He grinned and continued walking, happy to be able to lose himself in the flow of beings as they went about their various errands and tasks.

As he walked, he heard a soft voice. "Anakin?"

He turned to find Mara Jade sitting on a bench, working on a datapad, Ben cradled in a sling as usual. Anakin smiled at her, and crossed through the pedestrians to stand in front of her. "Hey, Aunt Mara."

"Do you think you could give me a hand with picking up some odds an ends?"

He quickly nodded his head, before replying, "Sure thing."

She smiled for him, and then stood up, and quickly made her way to the grocery store. He fell into step behind her. Ten minutes later, they stepped back out of the store, with Anakin now carrying a 15 kilogram bag of rice perched on one shoulder and a smaller bag filled with foodstuffs in his other hand. Mara stopped on the sidewalk and smiled at him once again. "Sorry for making you help me with this stuff on your day off."

Anakin gave her his father's famous grin, and said, "I don't mind-it beats unpacking."

Mara laughed and then turned away and started walking towards the apartment building. They got about ten paces, when someone started yelling, "Anakin!"

Anakin turned around and noticed that Mara had as well.

Tahiri was running at them, a bag held tightly in one hand, a wide grin on her face. "It is Anakin!"

She got within five paces of them and then tripped, falling flat on her face. Anakin winced as she landed. She leveraged herself up, kneeling there on the ground and Anakin noticed that her cheek and forehead were abraded from the fall and that tears of pain lined her face.

"I guess I fell down again." she managed.

"It wasn't my fault that time."

Tahiri merely sighed. Then Mara Jade stepped closer to her. "Are you all right?"

Tahiri looked up at her, surprised etched onto her face for a split second and then she quickly nodded her head. "Yeah, I'm all right. It happens every now and then to me."

"Good," Mara replied as she held out her hand to help Tahiri up.

Tahiri looked at it for a moment, as if she was uncertain she should trust the hand, and then grasped it, and allowed herself to be pulled back to her feet. As Tahiri gained her feet, Mara looked to Anakin. "Is she a friend of yours?"

Anakin slowly shook his head. "Nope, just some girl I don't know."

Hurt flashed in her eyes as they darted from Anakin to Mara and then back. "Could it be that Anakin really hates me?"

Mara looked at Anakin, one eyebrow arched. "That wasn't nice, Anakin."

Anakin grinned mischievously. "I do like you, Tahiri. She's one of the people I've met since I've arrived." Anakin focused solely on Tahiri and noticed the brown paper bag clutched in one of her hands. "Eating and running again?"

She shook her head. "No! The baker gave me these canapés. They're not the fresh ones, and he would normally just throw them out."

"The baker is a good man," Anakin began. "Even after all the trouble you caused him, he's still so kind to you."

She frowned at him, her eyes narrowing in anger.

Mara coughed, drawing Anakin's attention away from Tahiri.

"Aren't you going to introduce me, Anakin?" Mara asked.

He quickly blushed, and gestured towards Mara, while saying, "Tahiri, this is my aunt Mara. Jedi Master and the person who is apparently paying my rent."

Mara smirked at him. "No, I'm just not charging you rent. There's a difference."

He nodded his head once, before continuing. "Aunt Mara, this is my friend, Tahiri Veila."

Mara frowned, as if she was trying to remember something. "Tahiri… Veila?"

"Huh?" Anakin stuttered out.

Tahiri bobbed her head once quickly though. "Yeah."

Mara continued as if she had not heard them. "I... how..." Her expression seemed to darken, giving her face a haunted cast to it.

"Aunt Mara? What is it?"

Mara quickly shook her head, her eyes flickering from Anakin to Tahiri. "It's... It's nothing. It couldn't be anything."

Anakin frowned as Mara turned away and resumed walking towards the apartment. Anakin fell into step beside her and Tahiri fell into step beside him as she began a stream-of-consciousness diatribe about the nature of canapés, and how though warm or cool ones do taste good, they are not nearly as good as hot, fresh ones.

For a moment, Anakin wondered if she ever actually breathed.

They arrived at the apartment, and the view out the transparisteel window of the lift was enough to silence her. They reached the top with a small ding sound, and the doors slid open. Tahiri stayed in the lift, her nose pressed against the transparisteel. Anakin paused in the doors, frowning at her. "Hey, come on."

She glanced over her shoulder at him. "But... it's so beautiful. I've never see the town spread out like this."

Anakin sighed. "There're windows in my apartment. I'm about to get out of the way of the doors which means the lift will take you all the way back to the ground floor."

She looked out the window one last time and then darted out of the lift and into the hallway. Her eyes wide as she looked around.

"Stay here," Anakin said. "I'll be right back; I just have to go drop this off in Aunt Mara's apartment."

"Okay," she said happily.

Anakin took the bags he was holding into his aunt's apartment. He quickly went into the kitchen and put the groceries on the counter and then stepped away. He paused and looked into the living room, to find Mara sitting on the couch, staring off into space; the haunted look once more on her face.

"Aunt Mara?"

She blinked hard twice and then looked at him. "Thanks for your help, Anakin."

"Are you okay?" He asked as he had started to get worried over her.

She nodded her head once, quickly. "Yes. Just flickers of the past is all. I... I'll see you later, all right?"

Anakin frowned at that, but nodded his head. "Okay, Aunt Mara."

He walked out of the room, casting once last look behind him, and noticing that she had once more taken on that far away, haunted look. He sighed, wondering what that was about, but as he stepped out into the hallway pushed it from his mind. He opened the door to his apartment and stepped in, Tahiri trailing right behind him.

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