Star Wars: Saviors of the Broken

Chapter L

"There is no hatred, there is love.

There is no ignorance, there is wisdom.

There is no fear, there is courage.

There is no prejudice, there is acceptance.

There is no violence, there are Hula hoops.

The Force will show me the way."

- The Code of Mikey

Mikey was curled up in bed, ready to fall asleep, when he heard a strange rustling noise. His eyes snapped open, and he immediately reached for his glasses. As he put them on, he spotted a blue glow out of the corner of his eye. At first, he backed away, unsure what was happening, but when he looked closer, he saw that there was no reason to be afraid.

There was a figure standing in the doorway. He was wearing glasses and a black fedora, and there was a faint blue glow around him. "Patrick?" Mikey said.

"Hi Mikey," Patrick said with a smile. "How are you doing?"

"What are you doing here?" Mikey asked.

"I wanted to talk to you."

"Go talk to Pete. He needs it more."

There was a profoundly sad expression on Patrick's face as he said, "I wish I could."

"Why can't you?"

Patrick sighed. "I'm a Force Ghost now. I can only appear to those who have a strong connection with the Force, and Pete...I don't know if I should tell you this, but..."

"What is it?"

There was a long pause, and then Patrick said, "Pete's not Force-sensitive."

"He's not?" Mikey said, confused. "I thought he was a Jedi."

"It's a long story, but my point is that Pete can't see or hear me," Patrick said. "Believe me, Mikey, I'd talk to him if I could. I've been watching him over the last few days, and it breaks my heart to see Pete like this. I miss him like crazy, and I'd do anything if it meant he could be happy again."

Patrick started to tear up, and Mikey wished that he could help him. However, there wasn't much that he could do.

As Patrick wiped away his tears, Mikey thought of Pete. All this time, he'd never suspected that Pete wasn't Force-sensitive. Perhaps he should have seen the signs - had he ever seen Pete use the Force? - but more than anything, he wished that Pete had trusted him enough to tell him. They were friends, after all. Friends weren't supposed to keep secrets from each other.

"I can't talk to Pete, but you can," Patrick said. "And there's a lot I want you to tell him."

Patrick started telling him everything he wanted to say to Pete, and Mikey listened carefully. It was the least he could do, for both Patrick and Pete.

When Patrick was finished, he said, "Could you tell Pete all of that?"

"Of course," Mikey said.

"Thank you," Patrick said. "May the Force be with you, Mikey."

"May the Force be with you," Mikey said, but Patrick had already disappeared.

Mikey crawled back into bed, and when he stared at the space where Patrick was, he wondered if it was all a dream. Whether it was real or not, he decided that he'd talk to Pete about it. Maybe it would make Pete feel better, knowing that Patrick was a ghost now, or maybe it would only make things worse, knowing that he could never talk to him. Either way, Pete deserved to hear what Patrick had to say.