Searching balance

The visions

The cold raindrops that floated in the mist blurred her sight. Strains of her hair stick to her cheeks, itching. Every step has to be taken carefully; the stone steps were like soap because of the water. Rey is trying very hard to keep up the pace; Ben was so ahead of her, that he was almost a shadow inside the fog.

The island was completely blocked by thick grey clouds; she is still questioning how Ben was able to land at his first try, but know she must focus in not falling down the mountain. Ahch-To feels so different, cold, quiet, sad. Not even the porgs can be seen or heard, like all the life on the island has gone.

A heavy burden expands inside her with every minute that passes on their arrival, but soon enough she understands that is Ben's. He hasn't been the same since they reach that place, he is distant, silent. The dark force that lurks beneath them seems to have awoken with their presence.

The echoes of steps over the dry stone inside the cave block her senses, scaring her. Ben's connection was so unexpected that Rey stumbles in the last steps before the keepers' huts. "Wait for me here. Start a fire and get dry." He speaks emotionless, almost pushing away any feelings at all.

-"Where?"- She asks him back with a shivering voice due to the cold, walking through the debris of all the destroyed houses. The mist is so dense that obstructs her view; she can't see any further that where her hands can reach.

A sudden soft breeze passes her and opens a path in front of her showing the way to the last hut standing up, the metal door halfway open, barely moving by the wind. Even that she can't see him, she feels Ben's lips over hers, a mixture of warm and cold. In a split of a second, he is gone and the connection is broken.

With some hesitation, she enters the last standing hut on the island. The rusty door chirps under the pressure of her hands. Surprisingly the interior is intact, nothing seems disturbed. The last known home of Luke Skywalker is a testament of memory, family and unconditional love. Hanging in the wall is the kyber crystal of his father, a testimony of his power. Right next, the calligraphy set of his nephew, a reminder of the child that he lost. On the table ancient history books, a rare and precious present from his sister, a token of the importance of remembrance.

Rey passes her fingertips over those items, unaware of their true significance. For the level of destruction that the rest of the houses receive, she is completely astonished by the fact that all inside wasn't touch.

A sudden rush of wind opens the hut's door, shaking her to the core, part frightens and part cold. Stroking her arms with both hands, she approaches the little stove and starts a fire. Short warm waves bring little comfort into her soul; she can't shake the fear that had installed in her since their departure from the farm.

-"Hello, Rey. Happy to see you again."- The serene voice of Luke Skywalker shaken Rey, making her stumble with the chair. She looks at the ghostly blue figure, standing in the door, dress with his Jedi robes, his hands cross in front of him, looking at her with fatherly eyes.

-"Ma... ma... master Skywalker..."- Rey's mumbles to him, stretching her clothes and her hair, feeling like a teenager doing something wrong being discovered by her parents. This was her first time looking at his former master since she left the island to bring back Ben. Both stud in silence, looking at each other, regret and respect filling her heart.

At the top of the island, the sound of the waves crashing against the rift echoes inside the cave where Ben stands nervously, looking at the polish mosaic of the Prime Jedi. Somehow he can't feel anything else, except that pulsar energy coming from beneath the mosaic; that place makes him so uncomfortable.

The smelly salt keeps his focus in the now, in the imminent danger that they are exposing themselves standing in that island again. A humming sound, like a thousand voices speaking at the same time, surrounds him. He kneels in front placing his hand over the edge of the stones, appreciating how all the pieces in the mosaic stand tight to one another, aligned perfectly.