Memories Ch 2-1

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A dream.

I am in a dream.

It's not my dream. My dream is different. My dream is the forest and the river and someone screaming my name.

This dream, the one I am in, is not mine. This dream is always the same. The same view. The same feelings of helplessness. I see a wall. One that is painted an antiseptic white. Set into that wall is a window. Outside that window is a wider world, but all the window shows me is the sky. Some days the sky is a brilliant flawless blue. Other times the sky is a canopy of stars. And at yet other times, ominous dark clouds gather outside the window. Threatening. Frightening.

Yet the weather outside the window never affects me. I'm just shown the same scene over and over again.

Every day it is the same. The same wall. The same window. The same dream.

I slowly fall asleep, and I wish for only one thing.

I wish to close my eyes and open them to see a different scene.

To see something new.

To see someone I knew.

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Anakin's eyes snapped open. He felt like he was on the verge of a memory; an expectation of recollection. He stared hard at the ceiling, trying to figure out what that feeling meant. He sat up in the bed and scrubbed at his face with his hands. Throwing back the covers, he stood up and then walked over to the window.

A bright, expanse of blue sky greeted him, and he found himself grinning. For a moment, he wondered why but then shrugged the concerns away.

The morning sun, had just began to peek above the horizon, the bright shafts of golden light streamed through the trees of the forest. Anakin placed one of his hands on the glass. A flock of avians burst from the forest in the distance, taking flight, and cartwheeling in the sky. Details of just what type of birds they were were lost to the distance, but something about them called to Anakin. Something in their dance spoke of freedom; of escape.

Then he saw the thin silver finger of the smaller river as it flowed towards the larger one in the distance.

He dropped his gaze to where his fingers were gripped tightly on the window sill. The pressure against his hands was turning the tips of his fingers white. Anakin released the window sill and took two steps back away from it. Raising his hands in front of his face, he struggled to remember if something like this had ever happened to him before.

He took two more steps back, and then spun on his heel and walked to the door.

He stepped out into the hallway, and ensured that the door behind him was firmly closed. Leaning his head against the door, he closed his eyes and slowly exhaled.

A subtle, but persistent beeping rose to his attention. He frowned and opened his eyes as the beeping grew louder. Anakin crossed the hall, and noted that the sound seemed to be coming from Jaina's room. He balled his fist, and rapped it against the door a few times.

When no response came, he quietly opened the door and stuck his head into the room.

He was not certain what he was expecting to see, but one thing he knew was that this room was not it.

Half of the room appeared to be equal parts garage and junk repair shop. Along one wall was a long, waist high workbench, an array of tools and electronics and mechanical parts spread over the top. Shoved under the workbench in one corner was what appeared to be a headless R2 unit. Two or three blaster rifles were in various states of disassembly and what appeared to be a repuslor sled, the type used by children during winter in the snow, was spread across a large portion of the floor, each type of piece set in precise, neat little piles.

The other half of the room reminded him of his old room on Coruscant; scattered clothes and datapads, a bed shoved tight against the wall and a wardrobe hanging open, clothes falling out.

Curled up in a ball on the bed, a thin blanket covering her was Jaina. Fast asleep. On the nightstand beside her bed was the source of the annoying beep: a simple alarm clock.

Stepping into the room he said, "Hey Jaina, I'm coming in."

She never stirred. He walked over to the alarm, and pressed the deactivation button. Silence fell over the room, and Anakin grinned.

Then he poked her on the nose.

"Jaina. Jaina."

He frowned, and looked around the room. Then he grabbed her shoulder with both hands and rocked her back and forth.

"Wake up, Jaina."

Her arm shot out in his general direction; a weak slap which he easily sidestepped.

"Go'way 'Kin," she muttered from her pillow.

Anakin laughed. "No can do."

Then he shook her again.

Muttering obscenities, she rolled out of bed, the sheet falling away revealing the short shorts and halter top that she wore as night clothes. Anakin took a step back and watched as she stretched and yawned. Then her chin dropped to her collarbone, and she started to snore.

"Hey! Don't go back to sleep!"

Then Anakin poked her in the belly button. Her body twisted and she giggled. Her eyes popped open, and she glared at him.

"You tickled me."

He barked a short, sharp laugh. "You should have woken up then."

Keeping her eyes focused on him, she reached down and grabbed her robe, sliding it on over her pajamas. Then she stomped forward, brushing past him, muttering things about him under her breath. Anakin was still chuckling as he turned to follow.

They walked the short distance from Jaina's room to the kitchen. They pushed open the door to the kitchen and both stopped in their tracks.

"Well good morning, sleepyheads!" An exuberant Mara Jade exclaimed from the kitchen. She glanced up at the two of them from the food prep station, a grin on her face.

"Aunt Mara, you're scaring me." Jaina replied.

Mara Jade just laughed and turned back to what she was cooking. Anakin cautiously settled into the table watching his uncle's wife as she prepared a meal. After a while, she picked up two plates and then turned to face him and he noticed the sling off to the side, a pudgy fist poking out of it. Mara walked to the table and placed one of the plates in front of Anakin, and the other plate at an empty spot.

"Thank you, Aunt Mara." Anakin said and then looked down at the plate that was before him; a couple of pararolls, a chunk of nerf sausage, and a slice of toasted bread.

Anakin took a bite out of one of the pararolls, and grinned, inexplicably surprised at how good the food tasted.

Mara Jade leaned against the counter that separated the table from the food preparation area. "I just thought the two of you might like a nice warm meal before classes started for you."

Jaina sat down and pulled to herself a jar of sweetjam for her bread. She slathered a layer of it on her bread, and held the jar towards Anakin. "You want some?"

Anakin shook his head. "No thanks, I'm not that fond of sweet stuff."

"Oh!" Mara Jade exclaimed. The two teens looked towards her as she started from the room. "I'll be right back."

Anakin watched as she left the apartment, and then looked towards Jaina who just shrugged her shoulders and started to eat again. Slightly confused, Anakin picked up the pararoll that he had started and shoved the remainder into his mouth, chewing happily.

A minute later, Mara Jade returned from her apartment holding a jar which contained a golden, yellow substance. As she entered, both teens turned towards her. As soon as Jaina saw the jar, she stood up abruptly, pushing her chair backwards in the process.

"I've got to head towards the Temple now, thanks for breakfast Aunt Mara."

Anakin looked at Jaina, confused at her actions. "But breakfast?"

Jaina shook her head quickly, her brown pony tail whipping back and forth. "I... I've had enough."

Then she was gone.

Anakin frowned, and a solid thunk beside him drew his attention. He turned that way and found Mara had set the jar beside him, and was happily opening it.

"Here, you want some of this jam?"

"It's not sweet?"

Mara shook her head. "Nope. It's not sweet."

"Then sure."

She took his slice of bread and slathered some of the yellow jam on it. Then she passed the bread back to him. Anakin looked at the bread for a moment, and then took a large bite of it.

The world around him wavered for a moment, and Anakin felt a burning sensation in his mouth.

"So, you like it right?"

Anakin looked over at her, to see the expectant smile on her face. He nodded his head slowly. "Uh... Yeah, yeah. I do. Uh... so, what's in it?"

Her grin grew larger, as she shook a finger at him. "Nuh-uh. You don't get to know that, it's a secret."

Anakin looked down at the remainder of his bread, and fought to keep the grimace off of his face. Gathering the nerve, he shoved the remaining bread into his mouth and chewed it quickly, trying to swallow without tasting the jam again.

He grimaced, forcing himself to not throw his breakfast back up. He inhaled deeply, and slowly exhaled the breath, practicing one of the Jedi calming techniques that his mother had taught him. He looked over at Mara Jade again. "Thanks for breakfast, Aunt Mara. But I've really got to head off to class now."

Mara Jade frowned for a second. "Are you sure you don't want more?"

"I couldn't eat another bite," Anakin lied. Suppressing a shudder, he watched as she placed some of the jam on a piece of toast and proceeded to happily eat it.

Then he stood up, and left the apartment. He jabbed the lift recall button multiple times, waiting impatiently for it to arrive. As soon as it did, he darted on. As the lift descended, he slammed his fist against the wall, holding his other arm across his stomach. A small groan came from him, as his stomach spasmed.

The lift reached the ground floor and the doors opened to reveal Jaina standing there, a worried expression on her face.

"I'm sorry, Anakin. Are you okay?"

Anakin looked up at her. "Yeah... I'll be okay. What was in that jam?"

"I don't know. She's never told me. I just know that it's a good idea to have an excuse ready for when she brings it out."

Anakin sighed, and then got off the lift. Still holding an arm over his stomach, he started walking towards the main entrance. "Let's just get to class."

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