Esinons

Chapter 4

I wake up to a soft whisper in my ear saying,

"Good morning Izzie. I'm leaving for Ilum."

I sit up and hug Ahsoka as tight as I can. I check the clock from over her shoulder. It reads 4:01 am. I don't know when I'll see her next. I hope it's not long, but with the unpredictability surrounding the Clone Wars, I have no idea.

"Goodbye Ahsoka. I'm going to miss you." I say with a sniffle.

"I'm going to miss you so much." Soka responds.

I let go of Ahsoka and stand up so I can look her in the eyes.

"When will you be back?" I ask.

"I should be back tomorrow so that I can assemble my saber. But I'm leaving as soon as I finish. I'm not sure if I'll see you or not. I might not be allowed to come back to our quarters. This is an initiate dorm. I'm technically not an initiate anymore." Ahsoka says.

"Oh okay. Try and find me, okay? I don't want you to leave for good without another goodbye." I tell her.

"Okay I will." Ahsoka promises.

"See you tomorrow Ahsoka." I say.

"See you tomorrow." Ahsoka says back as she turns and walks out of our room.

I feel defeated as I plop back on my bed. I can't believe she's actually leaving. I feel empty. This room feels so bare. Ahsoka has always been here with me. I don't know what to do now. I get under the covers and attempt to sleep.

I toss and turn for what feels like hours. It's not the same without her. It's too quiet without her breathing and blanket rustling above me. I sit up and walk around my room in circles. Maybe that will make me tired. The clock reads 4:37 am. I should be tired, I think.

After a few minutes of walking in circles, I get back into my bed and try again. Nope. It's not happening, I think to myself. I get up and slip on my sandals.

I open my door as slowly and quietly as I can. Luckily, everything here is very well maintained, so the chances of my door creaking are low, but it's always better to be safe than sorry. As soon as I see that the hallways are empty, I tiptoe to the next room over and knock on the door. I wait a few seconds. Should I just go in?

The moment I start to tiptoe back you my room, I hear the doorknob turn. I see a drowsy Maye poke her head out of the door.

"What are you doing up?" She asks.

I don't respond. I rush inside her room as quickly as possible and hope I wasn't seen.

"Esinons what's going on?" Maye asks more sternly.

"Ahsoka just left," I say as I start to cry. "And I can't sleep and I didn't know what to do so I tried doing laps around my room to make myself tired and then that didn't work because it's too quiet and empty without Ahsoka so I didn't know what else to do and I-"

Maye cuts me off. "Izzie it's okay." She says as she wraps me in a hug.

"Ahsoka told me she was leaving last night after she packed her bags. Ahsoka said she couldn't sleep either and didn't want to bother you, so she came and talked with me since I was still awake." Maye tells me.

Maye doesn't share a room with anyone since there are no other girl initiates around our ages so Ahsoka and I often go into her room and chat if we can't sleep.

"That's good. I'm glad she told you. I didn't think she'd have to leave so soon." I reply.

"I know. Me too." Maye says. "Let's do some meditation together. Maybe that will calm us."

"That's a good idea." I say as I sit down on her floor.

She takes my hands and we close our eyes and enter a deep, soothing, peaceful meditative state.