Forever Indebted

belonging

"Who are you?" The elderly woman asked standing beyond Rey's reach.

"I'm Rey." She replied with dignity.

The wrinkles on the woman's face contorted, "Rey who?"

Blinking in response, words she wasn't quite sure of stuck in the back of her throat. This is the question Rey has been asking herself for countless stary nights in various parts of her ever changing universe. For so long she's always just been Rey; nothing more, nothing less, but now, now it's all changed.

After that dreaded night all those weeks ago she's been battling with herself. The thought never straying far from her over stimulated mind. Palpatine, Skywalker, Palpatine, Skywalker, Palpatine... Nobody. She tried not to dwell on the weight of those names but now the thoughts swirl through her head.

Palpatine; the evil, vicious, murderous Sith Lord. Bound to bring ultimate destruction to the galaxy, wiping away civilisations faster than anyone or anything ever had before. Palpatine; a will to bring ultimate darkness to the galaxy.

Skywalker; the keepers of The Force, Jedi legends bound for greatness. Though with such heavy standards and high expectations the Skywalkers are known to crack under pressure, exposing a thousand little cracks of naivety. Skywalker; a will to bring ultimate light to the galaxy. 

Nobody; familiar, easy, simple. Everything Rey knew and was comfortable with before rescuing that little ball of beeps. A simpler time, an easier time. She knew her place, she knew her role, she knew her future. Nobody: a will to live an absolute transparent life.

Kicking the sand around her feet, Rey looked up to find the woman still standing there with a look she can only describe as wistful. A look that she saw multiple times on General Organa's face.

"I'm nobody." Rey finally managed to let out. The dryness in her mouth causing her response to escape roughly. The woman didn't move a pace, only stared deeper at Rey.

"Nobody is nobody dear. Even deep down you know who you are. Dig that little bit deeper, there you will find yourself."

As if on queue Rey was swallowed by her conscious, pulling her into the depths of her own mind. She searched high and low, turning over rocks to unveil some of her most suppressed memories.

The first one was of a time when she was younger, maybe 14, on Jakku. She was scavenging on a far away star destroyer that had already been picked to pieces by scavengers before her. Trying desperately to pull a part from an entanglement of wires Rey had failed to notice the presence of life behind her. In one swift move she reached for her quarterstaff, whipping it around and knocking her opponent off their feet. Their fight flashed quickly through Reys mind as if trying to avoid a crucial part. Though Reys wish wasn't granted and she had to watch over and over again as her opponents life left his body. A boy not much older than she was, one of the few other humans she had seen on Jakku her whole life. That day she would never forget, the boys lifeless body still engraved into her mind.

Moving to another rock in desperate search of something better she was relieved to stumble across a bittersweet memory. The first time she met the General, their heartfelt embrace as they mourned the death of Han Solo. Unwilling to delve deeper Rey moved onto another.

Her favourite yet most hated memory of all. She remembers every tiny detail of it, like how the faint ray of moonlight flickered, how the strands of hair felt under her palms, the creases next to their eyes as they let out a long suppressed smile, the twinkle of their teeth in the light, their hand on her neck, her hand on their cheek, his lips on her lips, their souls together as one.

Rey snapped out of her memories, warm and wet tears flowing freely down her cheeks. She reached her hand out as if to bring him with her but there was nothing to grasp.

In a choked out cry she looked at the woman.

"I'm Rey. Rey Solo."

With a fulfilled smile the woman nodded at Rey, disappearing into thin air.

•

Wow I wrote this and heck even I'm crying 🥺

Please leave any thoughts and opinions, it's so greatly appreciated!