What would you do for the person you loved? Would you denounce everything you stood for? Would you stand against the most powerful darkness in the galaxy? This is the story of Ben and Rey, sworn enemies brought together by the Force, but united b...
Although we are both exhausted, I don't want the night to end yet. After dinner, I pull out a discarded maze game I found under the bed. All of the pieces appear to be intact. I motion to Ben, asking if he would like to play, and he nods "yes."
Many evenings, I spent my idle time, watching children playing this game on Jakku, so I know a little about what the strategy is.
The game consists of a shallow box with square wooden pegs creating a maze. The pegs can be moved resulting in changing the maze. It is a two-player game. Each player has a magnetized sphere. The object of the game is to attempt to move the spheres to a magnetized opening on the opposite side of the board. By altering the maze, you enable your sphere to be pulled in the right direction or to block your opponent's progress. Ben's sphere is white, while mine is black. The irony is not lost on me.
Within a few minutes, it becomes obvious Ben has had much more experience at playing this game than I. He beats me in only six moves. I notice that his demeanor has begun to perk up. The second game, it takes him eleven moves to win. The third game, twenty. I am a fast learner. In the fourth game, we reach a stalemate with our spheres becoming stuck on opposite sides of the same wooden peg. Due to the strong pull each oppositely magnetized ball has toward the other, neither of us is able to make another move. This happens over and over in the next games. We are now perfectly matched—equals.
In the final game, I ask Ben what would happen if I remove the peg between the two spheres. He gives me a deep look. To be the object of such an intense gaze is almost disconcerting.
"Try it and see what happens," he whispers.
When I pull the small wooden barrier from between the two orbs, they immediately crash together with a loud crack, bound to one another. I watch with wide eyes as slowly the spheres begin to liquify and completely join together. The shiny black and white balls mixing to form a larger solid silver-gray sphere.
"Did you know they were going to do that?" I ask Ben.
Nodding his head, "Yes." He stares intently into my eyes again, waiting for my next question.
"How do you get them back apart?" I ask.
"You don't," he whispers. "Once joined, nothing can separate them again."
A heaviness settles on the room. The kind where you know something significant just transpired. I am having a hard time maintaining eye contact with Ben, so I get to my feet yawning, leaving the maze on the table with the large silver/gray orb shining in the firelight.
"I'll leave so you can rest," Ben states while getting up.
"No," I say a little too quickly. Fidgeting, I ask, "Will you stay here with me tonight? Stay and hold me while I sleep?" The words surprise me as they leave my mouth, but I don't regret saying them. Initially, Ben looks pleasantly surprised, then his brow furrows in apprehension.
"It's ok, you won't hurt me." I reassure him.
He nods his head, walks over to the bed, and lies down on his side. I crawl into bed beside him, placing my back to his chest. He reaches his arm around me and pulls me in tighter while burying his face in the crook of my neck. The intimacy of the act is foreign to me, but not unpleasant. I feel a warming deep in my soul.
Nothing is said between us either out loud or through the bond—nothing needs to be. After a few minutes, I notice his breathing slowing, and I feel his body relax. He is physically and mentally exhausted, and desperately needs this sleep. I feel myself slipping away also, completely comfortable and safe in his arms.
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Author's note- Thanks for reading. Hope you are enjoying the story so far. This was one of my favorite chapters to write. It's also a very important chapter to what will be my envisioned ending to The Rise of Skywalker. Please take a moment to give some feedback.
