Fulfillment: Star Wars

Part Twelve

 Tatooine hadn't changed much since the last time Anakin visited a couple of years ago. It was still all coarse sand, grit and dust with a sprinkling of smugglers, bounty hunters and criminals in the mix. Anakin still hated this place, too many horrid memories from his slavery years, to his mother's death, to his outrage and massacre of an entire tusken village. But of course, anything important always had to be on Tatooine. He cringed as he landed his fighter on the outskirts of Mos Eisley, knowing that this would be the place for relief efforts that these Jedi provided.

As soon as he pressed the button to release the canopy, sand began to swirl around and pour inside the cockpit. Anakin groaned and quickly exited the cockpit by jumping onto the soft sand below. The canopy closed after Anakin exited and he was met with sand gouging his eyes, tearing at his skin. Pulling his bellowing Jedi robes closer around him, he raised a hand to block the twin suns and trudged along in the sand. Land was just a couple of klicks away but walking through knee high sand made travelling any distance feel like an eternity.

The sound of his heart hammered into his eardrum as he grew closer to the city. Worries began to pound on the forefront of Anakin's mind that would make all his recent actions for nothing.

"What if he doesn't remember me? What if he labels me as a traitor? What if his offer expired?"

Thousands of what-if questions were thought of and dissipated in a matter of seconds. Throughout the Clone Wars, Anakin had been famously labeled: The Hero With No Fear. Recklessness was his middle name and everyone knew that Anakin Skywalker wasn't afraid of anything...

Anakin hated that nickname. It painted a high inaccuracy of who he really was, a false façade to the turmoil inside of him. Though he would never admit it, Anakin had many fears and many insecurities. Living as the supposed Chosen One in midst of hundreds of other Jedi alone would make anyone insecure. But pairing that with marrying the love of his life, a big sin in the Jedi Order, was a lot to weigh on the shoulders of one person. He lived in constant fear of his secret getting out but now, he didn't have much choice. He didn't have much choice over anything anymore. Anakin was The Hero With No Fear, The Chosen One, Jedi Knight, so many titles of what he was suppose to be, what he would become. As if his life was all mapped out. However, everything that was "mapped out" for him wasn't everything he wanted to do. Sure, he wanted to be a Jedi and help people all across the galaxy; but he also wanted to have a family with Padmé. A strong relationship with her where he would wake up every morning and find her sleeping next to him for the rest of his life. Anakin hoped that one day, he would be able to begin to make the choices he wanted for his life; but for now, he would have to be content with the control he did have.

After another seeming eternity of mushing through the sand, the Mos Eisley spaceport finally materialized on the horizon. A wave of glee filled Anakin with enough adrenaline to make him break into a sprint. He continued to run until he reached the bustling streets and marketplaces of Mos Eisley. Surprisingly, the young man wasn't out of breath and his eyes began to search through the city. Nothing... no one out of the ordinary. Anakin didn't even see any cargo boxes or any relief efforts being transferred through the space port. No signs of Altisian Jedi or of Master Atlis anywhere in the city. As a sigh pushed out of his lungs, his heart sank into the depths of blackness where emotions of disappointment and frustration lie.

"Maybe they already left. Or maybe I misunderstood Qui-Gon's riddle... or maybe this was all a big hoax..."

Dejected, Anakin contemplated walking all the way back to his fighter. However, the realization that he was parched gave him seconds thoughts about that journey. He decided to get a drink at the famous Mos Eisley Cantina and further contemplate Qui-Gon's clue.