Memories Ch. 6-1

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A dream.

The day the dream started, the sun was shining. It was bright, happy, and warm.

It was the height of summer, and a silver boat bobbed by the water's edge.

The river was cold. Its dark waters had already soaked the lower half of the legs of my pants, causing them to cling tightly to my legs.

And then... and then...

Then there was a child crying.

Even now, here in my dream, I don't, I can't, remember his crying face....

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Anakin rushed through the halls of the Jedi Temple. His eleven year-old legs pumped hard as he ran through the hallways, searching the various rooms. He paused at a stairwell, leaning against it, breathing heavily. Then he glanced around, making sure that no one was near enough to see. Without hesitation he jumped up on the banister and slid down, dropping off at the landing halfway between floors. He listened for anyone again before jumping onto the banister again, sliding the rest of the way to the next floor down.

To his right were the old hangars, turned into training carrels for 'saber practice. To his left, more rooms.

He stepped into the old hangar and looked around. Most of the lights were out, leaving just a few pools of brightness amidst the darkness of the room.

"Tahiri?" he called out.

The only response was a slight echo of his voice bouncing back to him. He closed his eyes and reached out with the Force, searching for her.

He could feel a glimmer of awareness and darted forward, running into one of the supply closets.

Sitting in the back corner, her legs pulled up to her chest, her arms wrapped around her legs, was Tahiri. She looked up as he entered, her eyes flashing in anger with his appearance.

"Just go away. You were just making fun of me at breakfast."

Anakin sighed and walked closer to her. "No, I just didn't understand what you were talking about."

She glared at him for a moment longer before tucking her chin behind her knees and lowering hey eyes away from him.

"Tahiri, please..."

Her eyes flickered up to meet his for a moment before sliding away. "You're not so great, y'know."

"I know."

"Dummy."

He snorted a small laugh. No one had ever called him a dummy before. "Yeah, I guess I can be."

He dropped into position next to her, his back against the wall, his legs stretched out in front of him. After a moment, she shifted positions, laying her head on his shoulder.

"I was serious you know," she said. "I had a dream, I've had the same dream my whole life, but this time it was different. This time, you were in it."

"What was I doing?"

She doesn't respond for a few moments, and Anakin twists his head slightly to look down at her, noticing the tears that lined her eyes. She inhaled deeply and then slowly exhaled. Finally, she spoke, "Saving my life."

The admission hung heavily between them, Anakin unsure how to respond, Tahiri unsure of what it all meant.

Suddenly, Anakin stood and held his hand out towards her. "Come on," he said.

She looked up at him, confusion on her face as she grabbed his hand. "Where are we going?"

He just grinned at her, a lopsided slash of the mouth. "You'll see."

He pulled her to her feet and then dragged her from the room and back through the corridors until they arrived at the cafeteria. He pushed open the door slightly and stuck his head in, looking around the cavernous room. Seeing no one in there, he grinned and opened the door all the way, once more dragging Tahiri behind him. They quickly crossed the cafeteria and Anakin pushed open the door into the kitchen.

Once he was certain no one was in there, he once more took off, heading deep into the kitchen, still pulling Tahiri behind him. He stopped at one of the stoves and dropping her hand turned it on. Then he rushed over to the walk-in freezer. He shivered against the blast of cold air as he opened it, but went in anyways, foraging for something specific. Finding it, he left and returned to the stove, grabbing a baking sheet on the way. He laid the pastries that he had gotten from the freezer onto the sheet and then shoved it all into the oven.

Tahiri looked at him confused for a moment. "What are you doing?"

"Cooking," he answered.

A few minutes later, the stove beeped and Anakin retrieved the sheet. Gingerly he picked up one of the two pastries on the sheet and held it out towards her.

"Here," he said. "It's a canapé. They're best when they're fresh and hot."

She took the canapé from him, and bit into it. Her mouth stretched into a broad grin as she chewed. "This is great, Anakin!" she exclaimed. "I've never had anything like this. What's it made out of? And it's so sweet. Thank you.

He smiled at her.

Anakin lifted his head, his eyes opening slightly to find himself in a dimly lit room. It was just a dream, he thought.

For a moment, he wondered what had woken him up, but then he heard a sound - the soft click of the door opening. He twisted slightly in his bed, looking at the door. The door opened slightly wider, and then he could see the flash of a lighter. Whoever was on the other side, and Anakin thought it was most certainly Sannah, then threw a half dozen rings of fireworks into his room.

"That idiot," he muttered as he rolled out of bed, snatching up the fireworks. He ran to the door and quickly opened it. He registered that Sannah was sitting in the hall as he tossed the fireworks out at her. Then he slammed shut his door; just in time to listen to them explode.

Then he heard the sound of the fire suppression system activating.

He waited for another moment, and then once more opened the door. Sannah sat against the wall opposite him, her hair, clothes and skin soaked from the water which had just stopped spraying from the ceiling. She looked up at him, a miserable expression on her face.

Jaina opened her door, rubbing at her eyes. "What the kriff are you two doing?"

Anakin laughed. "I'm not doing anything, Jaya."

She then turned to Sannah, who tried her best to sink into the wall.

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