DYNASTY ( sw.. ) ✔

o3. homes and bonds..

"Not yet."

The ringing of her ears, the buzzing in her mind, it all turned to silence, then faded into the peaceful sound of waves rolling onto the shore, over wet sand and round rocks. Wind blew through the exotic trees and into the open window of the room, bringing a fresh aroma.

Lorna breathed it in as if it was the breath of life. It smelled good, so even before she squinted and opened her eyes, her lips managed to curve upwards, even if just a little. Once she opened her eyes though, a dull pain returned all over her body and she groaned, quietly, turning around in the bed to lay on her back.

What a nicely crafted wooden roof, she noticed in her thoughts. How did I ever end up here? Am I dreaming or am I...?

An acute pain in the side of her head made her sit up. Her hand came up in a futile try of removing the cause of the pain, only to come in contact with a bandage instead.

That white cloth was wrapped around her head, but it hurt only in a single place and Lorna remembered through that pain flashes of the rough landing, the crash. Realizations kept storming over her as she stared down at herself.

She was bandaged in several places.

A moment of worry overtook her for just a few seconds, before she realized that whatever pain she was feeling, was nothing more than a ghost of a memory. Nothing really hurt anymore.

Children laughter was what truly made her think of more, outside that little cabin on the beach of Maker knows where. The door to the cabin was open and through it, Lorna squinted a little to adjust to all the light outside, enough to recognize Luke, surrounded by children trying to teach him how to fish.

"So I died," Lorna whispered. It was easy to assume that, after all, this seemed too perfect. A small cabin, just the two of them, in a beautiful place. Luke was relaxed, out of his stiff clothes, wearing his baggy white shirts, like he loved to. And the children, they could teach them together in harmony, with no war, just a break.

I died in the crash for sure, Lorna reminded herself, sure that perfection cannot be achieved by her unless she sacrifices her life for it. Fighting against the ghost pains, she stood up completely, walking steadily slow towards the door. There, she just wanted to sit down again to take in her paradise, but Luke dropped his fishing stick faster than she could adjust to the light.

He was by her side, supporting her to stand and walk, but he was also excited beyond measure. So instead of walking, he ended up kneeling with her on the steps of the cabin. Cupping Lorna's face in his palms, Luke smiled, "You're awake!"

"Awake?" Lorna asked confused. "You mean I am not dead?" It made perfect sense to her to ask that, no matter how much she indulged in how real it felt to be held by him again. His hands were always so warm, even his hand replacement had a certain warmth to its roughness sometimes.

Luke chuckled. "You hit your head really hard, Lorna," he tried to make jokes and he tried really hard not to cry, but it was hard to keep it all in control after he has been consumed by guilt for two days as he waited beside her bed.

He was lucky their cabin was secluded and the waves deafened the sounds of his whimpers in the night. Luke tried his best not to cry again, but as he remembered how he swam with Lorna to shore and how cold she was, how she couldn't breathe...

"All the Jedi training, every single accomplished mission and I am useless every time I need to save the person I love," he remembered screaming his sorrow at his uncle, Ben.

Lorna watched the tears form and she finally understood the snippets of her own memory. She reached out and brushed those tears away, resting her hand on the side of his face, "Luke... I'm okay..."