The Mandalorian Chronicles

Elodie: To Be Continued.

I know life isn't going to be the same. It was inevitable in the end, the changes. But I was definitely caught off-guard by them. It's been a week since the whole capture-rescue-escape gig, and I feel much better. Well, feel much better physical  health-wise. Emotional health... 

Let's just say I'm not great at goodbyes. 

The duchess and the Jedi told their daughter she could spend one last week on Coruscant with her friends. One last week, you hear me, young lady?  As I sat on one of the couches in my mother's apartment, I stared out at the traffic and contemplated life. Who am I going to spend my goodbye days with? How am I going to spend them? How can I say goodbye without losing it? I groaned, throwing my head back in exasperation. The door to the apartment suddenly slid open and I leaped to my feet, holding my fork like a sword. When I saw it was Gwen, I relaxed. 

"What're you doing here?" I asked with an easy smile. 

"Your mom told me you were having some goodbye days. Where'm I on the schedule?" Gwen replied, collapsing onto the couch next to me. I shrugged, looking at the blank schedule my mother had made for me in a notebook. It reminded me of the gazillion notebooks of drawings my adopted sister used to have. With all the commotion, I kind of forgot who was who in the Shoshina family. 

"I suck at goodbyes," I sighed, tapping my pen on the notebook. Gwen yawned, leaning back and resting her head on the top part of the couch. 

"Me too, 'Lodie," Gwen murmured, staring at the empty schedule with me. Our moment lasted for a good five minutes. I finally yanked myself out of my thoughts, ready to plan this goodbye nonsense. 

"Gwennie, do you think I'll be able to come back to Coruscant?" I asked, mentally listing all my friends. I can do Veda's today and hang out with Sorcyy, Sunder, and Vri at the diner, I thought. I scribbled it down in the notebook. But what am I going to do with Veda? I picked up the datapad I'd dropped on the floor earlier. She said she was from Alderaan. Maybe we could go someplace nice and talk about our homes. Maybe I'll finally get the chance to tell her the full truth. She deserves to know it, and not just because of what I dragged her into. 

"Sure. They can't keep you away forever." Gwen shrugged, running a hand through her hair. 

"Today is going to be Veda's day. I need to explain everything to her and... I need time to go back and look at my life. Veda's good at observing." 

"Hey, I'm good at observing too!" 

I laughed. "I know you are. I'll see you later, Gwen." 

-

Veda and I had a good time talking and walking around Corusca City. I explained everything to her, starting with Naboo and ending with what's happening to me now. I felt really bad for concealing it from her, and I told her so. She'd told me not to worry about it. Everyone has their secrets, Elodie. That sparked my curiosity, and I made her tell me all about her past life. Turns out, Veda did a lot of theater in her youth. Theater, according to Veda, is 'absolutely wonderful' and 'teaches good life skills, which you probably already have, but you should do theater anyway.' I explained to her about my parents and my theory about the datapad, and how I never meant for it to have gone this far south. She told me to stop apologizing. 

Since they were leaving tonight, I spent my afternoon with Korkie, Amis, Lagos, and Soniee. 

Even though I'd see them again, I owed Soniee, Lagos, Korkie, and Amis a day because I messed up their lives too. Plus, they'd come all this way to find me. I showed them around Coruscant, took them to all my old hangouts, including the old house I'd painted.