Memories. Ch. 16

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Anakin and Tahiri stood side by side, watching the other two occupants of the dimly lit room. This room contained two beds. Eryl sat on the edge of one, a bandaged wrapped around her head, and Anakin could see the edge of another wrapped across one of her shoulders. In the other bed, Tenel Ka sat up, a blanket covering her legs.

Finally, Anakin finished telling Tahiri and Eryl everything that he and Tenel Ka had been through.

"Wow," muttered Eryl. "I had no idea all of that was happening. I... I didn't know any of that..."

Anakin's gaze flipped over to the bed were Tenel Ka was propped up in a sitting position, hands folded neatly in her lap as she stared straight ahead. He returned his attention to Eyrl. "Don't feel bad, we were keeping it from you after all. Besides, it's all over now."

Silence fell over the four of them, and Anakin scratched at the back of his head for a moment. Finally, he asked, "Did you tell security anything?"

She brightened slightly. "Yeah. There's these odd beasts in the jungle. They have two heads, big claws, can fly and sometimes they'll come out of the jungle searching for prey. Anyways, I told security that one of them had attacked me. What about the Temple? How did it fare?"

Anakin chuckled. "Well, the Temple was ripped apart pretty badly, but not bad enough to cancel any of the classes being taught. Uncle Luke just moved some folks around while they're repairing the damaged rooms and hallways. Though there's a number of rumors about what had happened. Some folks think it was the Empire Reborn, others the Shadow Academy."

Tahiri spoke up for the first time. "Well it helps that most people don't think Tenel Ka could have done that much damage by herself."

He grinned. "Yeah, you've caused us a whole bunch of problems, but you've got everything solved now as well."

Eyrl spoke up. "This is true. So let's not focus on the past anymore. We have enough things to deal with in the present and in the future."

Then Tahiri bounced over to Tenel Ka's bedside. "So, Tenel Ka. How're you feeling now?"

Tenel Ka bowed her head slightly. "Physically, my wounds are healing. Master Cilghal says that I should be able to leave by the end of the local winter. She was scared to use Bacta since the wounds were Force-inflicted, so I must heal naturally."

Eyrl lifted her head from Tenel Ka to look at Anakin. "You don't have to worry about us. Tenel Ka's parents are coming in from Hapes, so we'll have plenty of company."

"I see," Anakin replied to Eyrl. Then he turned towards Tenel Ka again. "Get well soon. You could use a speedy recovery."

"I still cannot put my mind back in order. The Force is fractured within me. But given time, I think I can calm down and settle this within myself." Then she lifted her head to stare straight into Anakin's eyes. Her grey meeting his blue. "Thank you so much Anakin."

He grinned at her. "Well, you're the amazing one here, Tenel Ka. Instead of running away from your pain, you're trying to cope with it."

She sighed slightly. "There is someone near to you, who is trying to turn away from her pain."

"Huh?" he replied, confused.

She dropped her gaze again. "You need to give her strength."

A short while later, Anakin and Tahiri were walking through the hallway of the medcenter, heading towards the lift which would take them to the ground floor.

Tahiri scrunched her nose slightly, and then looked up at him. "Tenel Ka sure is a mysterious person, isn't she?"

Anakin chuckled, and looked over at her. "Sorry about making you come with me."

"It's okay," she said, a smile brightening her face. "I like Tenel Ka..."

He frowned at the way her voice trailed off. "But?" he prompted.

She looked down, watching the floors for a moment. When she spoke, her voice was softer. "But, I don't think I like this place."

Chuckling, he said, "Well, there's not a whole lot of people who like med centers."

They turned a corner, and down the hallway, Anakin saw a girl with a shawl wrapped around her shoulders. She was leaning against the counter of the nurse's station, flipping through a pad of papers.

Anakin frowned for a moment, and then whispered, "Nelani."

Tahiri perked up, and raced down the hallway, calling out her name, "Nelani!"

Nelani turned, a frown on her face for a moment, but when she saw who it was, a smile quickly came to her lips.

"It's been a while!" Tahiri said as she grabbed Nelani's hands in her own.

Nelani smiled at Tahiri and then turned her gaze to Anakin. "Do you both have colds?"

He chuckled. "No, we were just visiting some friends." He thumped Tahiri on the back of her head. "'Ri here doesn't catch colds, right?"

She scowled at him, as Nelani laughed.

"You two never change."

Tahiri gave one last evil glare in Anakin's direction and then turned back to Nelani. "I'm Tahiri Veila. I don't think I introduced myself the last time I saw you."

"I'm Nelani Dinn," she replied, bowing her head slighlty. "It's nice to meet you."

"You too!" Tahiri chirped.

A voice called out from behind Nelani, "Nelani."

Everyone turned that way, to see a middle-aged woman walking up, dressed in a light-blue lab coat, a datapad held in her arms. Nelani smiled at her. "Ah, hello Doctor."

"Friends of yours?" the doctor asked Nelani as she walked around to stand beside Nelani. As she did so, she was finally able to get a good look at Tahiri who had been mostly hidden by Nelani. She stopped short, her mouth dropping open. The doctor blinked hard a couple of times.

Tahiri tilted her head, confusion causing one eyebrow to arch slightly.

Anakin looked down at Tahiri and then at the doctor. "Is there anything wrong with her? Well, besides the craziness."

The doctor shook her head, and then smiled at them. "I'm sorry, it's nothing."

Tahiri looked up at him for a moment, and he shrugged his shoulders in response.

The doctor turned towards Nelani. "I've finished talking to your mother, so shall we go?"

Nelani nodded her head, and then turned towards Anakin and Tahiri. "I guess I'll see you two later."

"Bye!" Tahiri said happily as the doctor and Nelani turned away and walked off down one of the side corridors.

After they were gone, she looked up at Anakin. "What type of illness does Nelani have, anyways?"

He shook his head. "She says it's just a cold."

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Anakin stepped into the kitchen, as Tahiri danced out of the food prep area. She wore an apron over her clothes, held her arms behind her back and had a bright smile on her face, as she chirped, "Good morning!"

He arched an eyebrow, watching her for a moment, "Jaina already went to the Temple?"

Tahiri nodded her head. "Yeah, she said she had practice this morning, so she left in a hurry. She didn't even stop for breakfast."

Anakin watched her for a moment. "And what about Aunt Mara?"

Tahiri scratched at her head. "I don't know. I haven't seen her this morning. She could still be sleeping in her apartment."

Anakin frowned, walking towards the table. "That's not like her."

Tahiri brandished a spatula from behind her back, waving it in the air. "And that's the reason that I've taken Mrs. Mara's place." Anakin started to sit down, as she continued speaking, "And I'm making breakfast."

Anakin halted his movements, and started to stand up again. "Oh yeah, I have early morning practice as well."

Tahiri's face fell. "But you're not on any of the teams..."

Anakin sighed, and hung his head as he returned to the seat. Tahiri clapped her hands and started bringing out plates to sit in front of him. Within a few moments, five separate plates were arrayed in front of him, each containing unidentifiable black substances.

He looked up at Tahiri, and saw the bright smile still on her face. "Cooking is pretty difficult, after all..."

He glared at her for a moment, and the smile disappeared, replaced by a look of concern. "I'm sorry, Anakin..."

A short while later, he was walking down the street, his stomach grumbling in protest over the lack of food. Oh well, he thought. I guess I'll get something to eat at the store.

"Anakin! Anakin!"

Stopping, he frowned, and looked over his shoulder wondering who was screaming his name only to see Tahiri running down the street towards him. She seemed to exude panic in the Force.

"Anakin!"

As she got closer, he could see the fear and confusion on her face.

"Tahiri? What's wrong?"

"It's Mrs. Mara... She's... She's..."

Anakin took a few steps towards her as she continued running towards him.

"She's..."

He frowned, and said, "She's what?"

She finally closed the distance between them, and then stumbled. Anakin caught her, and pulled her into a hug. Surprised at how comfortably her body felt against his. Between breaths she gasped out, "Mrs. Mara is..." Then she raised her head, and Anakin could see the tears lining her eyes. "Mrs. Mara is.... there's something wrong..."

Anakin frowned, and looked up at the apartment building they lived in. Then he ran. He could hear Tahiri's footsteps behind him, but he ignored them. Focusing on putting one foot in front of the other in order to get to the apartments as quickly as possible.

He rode up the elevator, frustrated at the slow speed of the machine. When it reached the top floor, he was sliding through the doors before they even had a chance to fully open. Then he was at Mara's door, and slammed his palm against the lock plate. It chimed once and the door slid open.

He rushed into the room, and found Mara sitting at the kitchen table, a cup of caf sitting in front of her. She arched an eyebrow in his direction, as Tahiri brushed past him, and ran to Mara's side. "Mrs. Mara, you have to rest..."

Mara smiled at Tahiri. "It's okay. It's just a low fever. I'll be good as new in a day or so."

"Is that all," Anakin asked with a sigh of relief. "Tahiri was in such a frenzy that I was worried it was something serious."

Tahiri glanced up from Mara, looking at Anakin, confusion and fear still clouding her face. "But..."

Mara shifted her attention from Anakin to Tahiri and then back. "I'll get better if I just rest for the day. Besides, Luke is supposed to be back later this afternoon." She took the final swallow of caf from her cup and then pushed back in her chair and stood up. "Now then, if you'll excuse me. I think I'll go lay down."

Anakin watched Tahiri as the young girl's eyes followed Mara down the hallway. Fear and worry still vied for dominance on her face. Her lips twitched slightly, trying to not frown.

He took a few steps closer to her. "Don't scare me like that."

Mara disappeared into one of the bedrooms, and Tahiri stared at the door for a few moments. Then she looked up at him. "I think I'm going to stay here and take care of Mrs. Mara today."

Crossing his arms over his chest, Anakin looked down at her. "Let me guess, there's no way for me to stop you."

"Yeah," Tahiri said, nodding her head once. "I really like Mrs. Mara, and I'm worried about her..."

About a half hour later, Anakin was at his desk next to Jaina, and had just finished telling her the story.

Jaina absently straightened a stack of flimsies she had on her desk, staring off into space as she thought. "I didn't even notice anything this morning. I hope Aunt Mara's okay."

"I'm worried about Aunt Mara too," Anakin said. Then he leaned towards Jaina slightly, and continued, "But Tahiri has me really worried. She was in such a panic this morning."

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Anakin walked beside Nelani, telling the story about Mara and Tahiri for the second time of the day.

As he finished, Nelani nodded her head, and then said, "A cold, huh?"

He smirked, and looked over at her. "Yes. Jaina's on the com with Tahiri right now. So, even if I hung around, I wouldn't be all that useful."

"I see," she replied. They walked a handful of steps in silence, before she spoke again. "I'm sorry for making you spend time with me."

"I said that it's fine," he shot back. He took another step, and then looked over at her, admiring the way the wind picked at her hair. "Anyways, tomorrow is Natunda, and I was wondering if you had any spare time."

She lifted her head, and slowly shifted it to look at him. Her eyes were wide, and surprise filled them. Her mouth dropped open in shock, and she stopped walking. She blinked her eyes twice, and her eyebrows scrunched together. "Huh?"

Anakin took another step, and was past her, and then spun on his heel to look at her. He grinned. "I know I told you before that we should do something together sometime. I want to spend the day with you."

Slowly, her face transformed from one filled with confusion to one shining brightly with joy. The answer to his request, plainly evident on her face.

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The day's classes were over, and Anakin and Jaina were just about to leave the Temple building itself, when Jaina smacked her forehead. "I didn't tell Kiranna Ti that I wouldn't be there for practice today. You go on ahead, and I'll meet you there, all right?"

"Okay, got it," Anakin replied, waving at her as she darted off down the hallway.

He watched her disappear, and then turned, and left the building.

Before long, he was riding in the elevator, cursing it as it slowly rose to the floor on which he lived. Finally, the doors opened, and he stepped off the machine. The doors to his apartment and his Aunt's were both opened. Sitting in the middle of the hallway watching him, was Ikrit.

"Hello? Anyone here?" he called out, and frowned when he didn't get a reply.

He took another step into the hallway, and knelt down to scratch Ikrit's head. "You wouldn't happen to know where everyone was at, would you?"

Stepping into his apartment, he looked around and couldn't see anyone.

Shrugging his shoulders, he turned and walked over to Mara's apartment. He glanced into the kitchen, and bit back a laugh. Dishes were piled high in the sink, and all sorts of food items were scattered across the counters and floors. He looked up and saw some type of batter hanging from the light fixture. He looked down at Ikrit, and said, "She sure was energetic for Aunt Mara today."

Leaving the kitchen behind, he went to the hallways, and knocked on the door to his aunt and uncle's bedroom. "Hey, Aunt Mara, are you in there?"

He heard a slight rustle, and then Mara's voice came through the door. "Come on in, Anakin."

He pushed open the door, and stepped into the room. Mara was sitting up in bed. Tahiri lay across her lap, soundly sleeping, as Mara petted the girl's long blond tresses.

Anakin arched an eyebrow in her direction. "Are you okay with not resting?"

"Yes," Mara replied, once more stroking Tahiri's head. "Thanks to her."

Tahiri shifted slightly in her sleep, a content smile on her lap. Her voice was soft and indistinct as she whispered, "Mom."

The next day, Anakin was walking beside Nelani through the shopping district. She was dressed in a simple skirt and long sleeved blouse, her customary shawl wrapped around her chest. Clutched tightly against her chest was a sketching pad. Together they weaved in and out of the other pedestrians, simply enjoying their time together.

Nelani looked up towards the sky. "I'm happy that the weather was so nice today."

"Yeah," Anakin replied, not really looking at anything.

She shifted her gaze to watch him. "How is your aunt doing?"

"Don't worry," he said with a smile. "It's nothing more than a cold, she's already feeling better."

"Really?" Then she faced forward again, a bright smile still on her face.

Anakin watched her for a moment, wondering what she was thinking about. If she was having a good time. "So, uhm, how's your... cold doing?"

"About the same as always," she replied with a resigned sigh.

"Well, hurry up and get better, so that you can come finish your training, OK?"

She simply nodded her head, and then walked together in silence for a little while longer.

Then Anakin asked, "So, what's the sketchpad for?"

She blushed, a bright splotch of red on her pale cheeks. "Drawing is my hobby. Since the weather is so good today, I was thinking of going somewhere and doing some sketching." Her eyes sliced towards him, her blush deepening slightly. "Shall... shall I draw a sketch of you?"

He chuckled. "Are you all right with using someone like me as a model?"

Nelani began to chew on her knuckle for a moment, her eyes taking that far away look that Anakin noticed she would get when she was thinking hard about something. Finally, she moved her knuckle away from her mouth, and looked at him. "You know, that's a really good point. Let's not sketch you then."

Anakin stumbled to a stop, his mouth dropping slightly as he watched her continue walking.

After a few steps, she twisted to look at him over her shoulder, a smile beaming on her face. "Just kidding!" She giggled and took a few more steps forward, and then pointed towards one of the storefronts. "That's an arcade isn't it?"

Anakin walked the few steps that separated them. "Yes, it is."

"I had wanted to go into one of those, at least once."

Surprised again, he looked down at her. "You've never been in one?"

"Nope. Never. They didn't have them on Llord, and well, I've not been out much since we came here. My sister has told me a bit about them though."

He arched an eyebrow in her direction. "Are you going to turn into a fish or something? Maybe a whisperkit?'

She looked at him, tilting her head slightly. "What are you talking about?"

Anakin quickly shook his head. "It's nothing, don't worry about it. So, shall we go play something?"

He then walked towards the arcade. From behind him, he could feel Nelani's surprise and then her joy, as her laughter rang out and she ran towards him to catch up.

Before long, they were standing in front of one of the arcade games. One with the amusing title of "Whack the 'Wok" It was comprised of nine holes, from which holographic Ewoks would pop up. The player would then try to slam down an over-sized mallet on the Ewok's head in order to gain points. It was a game that gained a less-than surprising popularity within the Imperial remnant and worlds that held either a lot of Imperial visitors or a strong Imperial lean within their culture.

Amused, Anakin watched, as the Ewoks popped into existence, and Nelani would squeal with unrestrained delight and move to hit it with the mallet. As she swung, the furry creature would disappear, as another Ewok would pop up from another hole. At which time the whole process would repeat itself.

Finally, the game let out a whistle, an indicator that the game was over. A large 0 flashed on the score display.

Nelani looked over her shoulder at Anakin, a smile lighting up her face. "It's over."

He nodded, and replied, "Yes. And I've never seen someone get a score of 0 before."

She blushed. "I don't have very good reflexes."

"Don't say that," he responded as he handed her back her sketchpad. "Being able to completely miss every single target like that... that's not something most people can do."

She looked up at him, a pout coming to her lips. "I really hate people who say things like that."

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Anakin followed Nelani until they came to a road some distance from the shopping district. It was a tree-lined residential street, one which looked vaguely familiar to him.

He glanced over towards her. "So, this is your favorite spot?"

She slowly nodded her head. "This is where I first met you and Tahiri." She glanced up at him for a moment. "Do you remember that?"

Anakin worried his lip for a moment before replying. "Tahiri ran into a tree, and you got covered by leaves."

"I remember everything about that day," she responded solemnly. Then she smiled mysteriously. "It's one of my most important memories."

Laughing, Anakin said. "It's not old enough to be considered a memory, is it?"

"With memories, time doesn't matter," she replied, her tone becoming more serious; her voice somber. "How important it was to any given person... I think that's all that matters."

He arched an eyebrow. "Was it really that important?"

"You see," she said, a blush brightening her pale cheeks. "You and Tahiri were really funny that day. After I got home, I just laughed and laughed. I couldn't stop."

"Really?"

She nodded her head, clutching her sketchpad tighter to her chest. "I laughed until I cried."

He watched her, as they walked along that tree lined street. Her eyes never wavering from the path, the wind as it would occasionally toss her black hair around her face. Not for the first time, he wondered just what was wrong with her. Why she was sick all the time.

Why something as innocuous as that first meeting would, could, end up being one of her favorite memories.

Silence settled around them comfortably as they continued walking. They walked pass the side street where Nelani had turned on that first day, and continued following the path.

Finally, the street ended, emptying into a park with a large fountain in the certain. Jets of water shot out of nozzles at its center, a spray of water which, when the wind blew just right, would blanket the stone edges of the fountain with a fine mist. Anakin walked to its edge, and noticed that it was a deep pool. It appeared deep enough to actually submerge himself in. He looked around the park, frowning at the emptiness. The sense of loneliness it invoked in him. Off to the right, almost hidden behind another set of trees, where a few food vendors, and beyond that appeared to be some sort of office complex.

Yet he felt like it was just him and Nelani, alone in this place. On this world.

Nelani broke the silence between them. "And this is another place that I really like."

Not sure what to say, he replied, "We're the only ones here."

She giggled. "That's because it's reserved just for us." Then she looked over at the food vendor. "Oh, I'm hungry."

He held his hand out towards her, and she hesitatingly took it. Together they walked over to the closest of the food vendors and he bought her an ice cream and himself an order of Ithorian noodles. They sat on a bench which wrapped around a young tree, one that was only 5 meters or so in diameter, talking of inconsequential things as they ate their food. What Anakin remembered most though, was her laugh.

It was free, and light and cheerful. Filled with a sense of life that he had not felt since he had taken Sannah back to Yavin 8.

He looked towards the fountain, a smirk coming to his lips. Setting, the empty container on the bench beside him, he looked over at her. "Hey, let's go swimming?"

She blinked, twice. "Eh?"

Standing, he held his hand out towards her again. "Swimming. Let's go."

"But where? And we're not dressed for it..."

Laughing, he pointed towards the fountain. "That's big enough. And the park's empty. Let's just swim in our underwear."

She blushed furiously as she watched him. Then with a suddenness that surprised him, she nodded her head. "All right. Let's go."

He quickly stripped down to his boxers, and then dashed over to the fountain, jumping in, splashing water over the raised edge. Dropping like a stone, he began to panic until his feet hit the bottom. Then he kicked upwards, breaking the surface, sputtering. He lunged for the edge, grabbing hold of it. "Kriff, that's deeper than I thought even."

He looked around to find Nelani swimming towards him, a bright smile on her face. As she neared, she splashed water in his direction, a giggle escaping as she did so.

They swam for another half hour, and Anakin felt anxiety building within him. He knew that he was nearing another panic attack. He had suffered them, anytime he spent long periods of time in water, and had for years. Finally, it was too much, and he pushed himself up onto the edge, his breath coming in short, shallow gulps.

Nelani swam closer to him. "What's wrong, Anakin?"

He shook his head. "I, I just... I can't spend a lot of time in water. I get panic attacks."

"Oh. All right. We can get out now."

Anakin frowned. "But you were having so much fun."

She smiled brightly. "And we can still have fun. Besides, you promised to let me sketch you, and that needs to get done before we lose all the daylight."

He nodded his head, and stood up, collecting his clothes from where he had dropped them and quickly getting dressed. Turning, he saw Nelani, already dressed, her shawl wrapped around her shoulders once again, sitting on the fountain's edge, her sketchpad propped in her lap. She pointed to a small bench a few paces in front of her, and he sat down in it.

Her stylus scribbled furiously over the pad, and after awhile, she pulled back from it, and looked up at him. "I... I think it's done."

Anakin stood up. "Well, let me see it."

She blinked, and frowned at him. "You want to see it?"

He started walking towards her. "Of course I do."

She stood up, putting the pad behind her. "No. It's embarrassing."

Anakin arched an eyebrow, and smirked at her. "Oh, come on. After using me as a model..."

He feinted right, and when she fell for it, his hand snuck behind her and snatched the pad away.

He danced back a few steps, looking at the pad, as Nelani balled her fists up, and said, "You can't!"

He stared at the image, holding the pad in one hand, stroking his chin with the other.

Nelani lifted one of her knuckles to her mouth, and began to chew at it. "H-how is it?"

"Can I be honest with you?"

She lowered the knuckle and nodded her head. "Yes."

Continuing to stare at the picture, he said, "I don't think portraits are your strong point."

"Even if they thought so," she shot back. "Normal people wouldn't say it so bluntly."

Anakin lowered his hand from his chin, looking towards her, the famous Solo half smile touching his lips. "Then how about, 'it has flavor?'"

She turned away from him, putting her hands behind her back. "That doesn't make me very happy either."

"Can I... keep this?"

Her head snapped towards him, her eyes opening wider as she looked at him.

"You went through a lot of trouble drawing it for me," he explained. "That alone makes me happy."

She turned to face him fully, a bright smile coming to her lips. "Sure!"

Before long, evening started to fall. The sky took on the shades of red and oranges of sunset and Yavin-rise. Anakin and Nelani were once more walking down the tree-lined street.

Nelani looked towards him. "Time sure flies when you're having fun, doesn't it?"

He smiled at her, and replied, "I'll spend as much time as you like. I don't have any other plans today."

She stopped, and turned to look up at him. "A long time... It would be nice if we could spend a really long time like this."

Anakin fought to keep a frown off of his face. Wondering what she meant, why her words had taken on such a somber tone. He watched her as she chewed on her lower lip for a moment.

Then she looked up at him. "Anakin? There's one more place I'd like to go. Is that all right?"

A half hour later, they were walking through the empty halls of the Jedi Academy. Nelani looked around, her eyes wide. "It's been a long time since I've been in here." She looked up at him, before continuing, "If a teacher finds us, we'll probably get in trouble."

Anakin shrugged his shoulders. "In that case, I'd pick you up and run away."

"Really?"

"If you're too heavy, it won't work though."

"That was rude," she replied, her lips twisting into a slight frown. "And I don't weigh that much."

Finally, Anakin stopped in front of one of the classrooms and pushed open the door, beckoning Nelani inside. She stepped through, looking around, walking towards the window and ran her fingers along the top of one of the desks beside it.

Anakin walked in, following her footsteps. "So, this is your classroom?"

"Yes," she replied as she sat down in the seat. "This is my desk. Well it was. The seating assignments have probably been changed by now. Did you know that I had only attended a single day of training--the first day of the previous term?"

She paused, and Anakin walked past, facing the back wall; hiding his frown from her. Not for the first time, he wished he knew what to say to people. He cursed his inability to speak the way his mother could. She always seemed to know what to say.

After that moment's pause, she continued speaking, "A new life at a new school was beginning. But on that day, I collapsed. After that, I haven't been to class a single time."

Turning his back to the wall, he faced forward, watching the back of her head. "I know," he replied.

Her head jerked, and she turned in her seat to look at him.

"I heard from one of your session-mates," he continued. "She said she had talked with you during orientation."

"I see..." Nelani turned her head away, lowering it.

"She's been worrying about you."

Silence stretched between them, and Anakin found himself once more watching her, studying her. Worrying over her.

"Actually," Nelani began again, her voice softer, weaker somehow. "The doctor told me to not go to orientation. But there was something I wanted to do. A dream I had, that I wanted to fulfill, no matter what." She lifted her head, and looked towards the ruddy glow of Yavin. "I wanted to go to the same school as my sister... eat lunch with her in one of the gardens... stopping in the shopping district on the way home, and then talking about our day when we got there."

She lapsed into silence, staring out the window. A few minutes later, she lowered her head to stare at her desktop. "When I told my sister she laughed. But... it's such a simple dream..."

Closing the distance between them, he simply said, "So it wasn't a cold after all."

"I've been in poor health since I was born. Going to school every day was always impossible." She shifted in her seat, and looked up at him for a moment. Unshed tears lined her eyes, and then she dropped her gaze way from him. "I lied to you. I'm sorry."

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Anakin walked into his apartment. Jaina was humming merrily in the kitchen as she cooked dinner. He greeted Jaina, and suddenly his comlink went off. Seeing that it was a call from Kiori, he opened the device. "Anakin, this is Kiori. I need to talk to you; could you come out for a bit?"

"Sure," he replied, and turning around, he walked back out of the apartment; leaving a confused Jaina behind.

He walked through the dark knight, until he came to one of the many parks that dotted the area around the Academy. Bright lights lined the walkway, but standing in the shadows near a wall, he could barely make out a girl's form. He angled towards her, as he neared he noticed she was in one of the jumpsuits which most of the Academy students wore on a daily basis to training.

He stopped a few paces away from her, at the edge of one of the bright lights. "Kiori, I'm here. What did you want to talk about?"

She merely stood in the darkness, her back towards him.

After a moment, he spoke again. "Is it about Nelani?"

"Nelani..." Kiori replied. "She's... my... she's my... sister. She's been sick her whole life."

"I've heard," he replied.

"She was looking forward to it. Going to school with me, eating lunch with me... Those silly little things that everyone does every single day; those were her dreams and hopes. They've been that ever since she was little."

Silence, settled over them again, and Anakin wondered what exactly Kiori was trying to tell him.

"Her birthday is in a week," she said. "Her birthday... and the doctor's said that she wouldn't live past her next birthday.

Anakin felt his mouth drop open. He shook his head, trying to wrap his mind around the concept.

Kiori continued speaking. Words fell from her lips that Anakin did not want to hear, but he could not stop listening. "She's going to die soon. There's nothing that they can do for her. All this technology we have, the Force, Bacta--but nothing helps her. I've, I've been trying to not look at her. I don't want to watch her grow weaker anymore." He noticed her shoulders begin to shake. "She'll disappear... I know it. I know that she'll disappear from in front of me any day now. At any moment. That's why…that's why I've been avoiding her..."

Kiori dropped to her knees, covering her face with her hands. Though muffled, he could still make out the words she said next, "And wishing I never had a sister. If it... If it makes me feel this horrible... I would have been better off never having a sister."

He knelt down in front of her, resting a hand on the top of her head. "Kiori..."

She looked up, and flung herself at him, clutching to him, her whole body shaking from her tears and sobs. "Anakin... Why? Why was she... born?"

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