Anakin came when he said he would— right as the sun had set, there was three knocks on Akya's door. "It's open," she called. The familiar face opened the door and smiled at her proudly. He seemed to be very sure of himself.
"What are you so happy about?" she asked, turning back around after she'd closed the curtains.
"This is going to work," he said. "I know it is."
"Then I suppose let's get started," she told him. "You can take your cloak off, if you want. Were you outside?"
"Oh, yeah," he said, realizing his cloak was still on. He slipped it off over his shoulders and laid it on Akya's bed. "Sparring. You can take a seat on the mat there," he said, pointing to her carpet. She did as he asked, and he sat right in front of her. "Okay," he said. "I just thought of this exercise a little while ago, but I think I've got the concept down. Now, I want you close your eyes. Reach out with the Force the best you can, and all I want you to do is feel my presence. Feel that I am here."
Akya nodded and shut her eyes. Inside, of course, she knew he was there, but she couldn't exactly feel him. She just knew he was still sitting there.
"Now, I am going to move to another place in your room," he continued calmly. "This place is familiar to you, and I am out of place inside it. Picture your room in your mind's eye, and put me inside of it. Tell me where I am standing." She hadn't even realized that he had walked away, nor that his voice was getting further. She tried to think about where he could be located, feel him out of place in her room. Based on her feelings—
Actually, Akya felt nothing. She only knew of his presence because of logic, because she knew he was inside her room, somewhere, waiting. So Akya made a rather random guess. "You're standing by the dresser," she said. Anakin heard the unsureness in her voice, though he could probably tell she was trying to mask it.
"Open your eyes, Akya," he said. Akya opened them to find him not standing by the dresser, but just next to the bed, where his cloak was laid. If she had thought a little more, perhaps she could have assumed that. But she still wouldn't have been able to feel Anakin through the Force. Akya sighed at her mistake and looked down into her lap.
"That's alright," he said hopefully, coming back toward her to sit. "We're going to try again. Differently this time."
"Okay," she said. Somehow, his confidence in himself made her trust him just that much more.
"Close your eyes," he said. "I'm going to close mine, too. Then we're going to join hands." Akya nodded to him, and they both closed their eyes. Before taking his hands, Akya took a deep breath, clearing her mind of all doubt in herself. Perhaps it would aid in their attempts. Then, slowly, she put her hands out, reaching for where she thought Anakin's would be. Their fingers brushed each other, finally finding the object of their search. Once their palms touched, Akya's eyes moved quickly. She saw nothing but red, everywhere. She heard Anakin's voice in the distance somewhere— but couldn't make out what he was saying. Lightning struck, and Akya opened her eyes with a gasp, pulling her hands away from his.
"What, Akya?" he said, now worried. Anakin's voice was no longer distant. "Are you okay? Did something happen?"
"I saw..." She couldn't explain it. "Red. All I saw was red. And there was a storm. And your voice."
"My voice?"
"I think so," she said. "It was so fast."
"Try again," he said, putting out his hands. She nodded, and they both shut their eyes once again. This time, when their hands intertwined, she saw only the back of her eyelids. Perhaps it had meant nothing.
"Nothing," she told him.
"Then we'll continue," he said. "Now, Akya, through my hands, I want you to feel me. Feel my touch. The way the Force surrounds you and I, and the way our auras mix when we feel each other's hands. I want you to know me. Repeat after me, okay?"
"Mhm."
"You are Anakin Skywalker."
"You are Anakin Skywalker."
"I feel your touch, and the way the Force surrounds us."
"I feel your touch, and the way the Force surrounds us."
"I see you. I feel you. I know you."
"I see you. I feel you. I know you."
"Continue."
"I see you. I feel you. I know you." His hands squeezed hers a little. Akya continued to take deep breaths in between every statement. She could picture his face, his blonde hair, his blue eyes. She felt the soft skin on his hands, pictured his smile. Anakin felt like lying in a field of tall grass, staring up at the sun. He brought a warmth with him, somehow, that everyone wanted to follow. Akya had only met him this morning, and yet, she knew him. So well.
"I see you. I feel you. I know you."
"I'm going to walk away. Once you're ready, you tell me where I am standing." He let go of her hands, yet somehow, she could feel him lingering. Was this it? Was this what it felt like? Akya followed his presence far off the carpet they sat on, all the way to the wardrobe door just behind her. She could see him in her mind's eye, standing, waiting. He was the abnormality in the oh-so-familiar room, and yet, she didn't mind him being there.
"The wardrobe," she said. "You're standing by the wardrobe."
"Open your eyes." Akya could hear the smile in his voice. She did as he said then turned around to find him standing exactly where she thought he would be. She broke out into a grin and stood up. "I told you you could do it," he said to her, walking back over to where she was. "Did you feel it?"
"I felt you," she said. "That was like nothing I've ever experienced in my life, Anakin. I felt you. My eyes were closed, and yet I saw you."
"Let's do it again." Anakin joined her on the carpet once again, though this time, they stood. They took each other's hands and closed their eyes.
"I see you. I feel you. I know you," Akya recited. Anakin let go of her hands, and she pictured her room, following his sunshine aura to the corner of the room, where there was a long windowsill. He sat on it. "You're sitting on the windowsill." She then opened her eyes to find Anakin, indeed, sitting on the windowsill, still grinning from before.
They continued for hours. It was like a children's game they didn't want to stop. Akya didn't need to repeat the mantra anymore. Soon, she knew what he felt like more than herself.
"The dresser."
"The door."
"The bed."
"Don't touch my pillows, Anakin."
"The window."
"You're right in front of me."
Every single time, she had it right. They started taking turns. Anakin found Akya on the first try and every try after that. Akya wanted to do this forever. It was like a thrill, to reach out through the Force, to feel his self as it fed her happiness. She loved the way he felt. She'd never experienced feelings like these before with any other person.
"Anakin?" she said, as they laid on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. It was late.
"Yes?"
"What do I feel like?"
"What do you mean?" His head turned to face her, and she did the same.
"When I feel you through the Force, you have a specific feeling. I can only describe it as warmth. You feel like the sun beaming down on a grassy field, like the rays in the sky looking down upon us. But what do I feel like?"
"I never thought of it that way," he said, staring back up at the ceiling. "I suppose I'm so used to the feeling the Force brings that the only way I can describe it is that it feels like you."
"Does everyone have a feeling like that?"
Anakin was quiet for a moment. "Yes," he said. "They do."
"What do I feel like, Anakin?" she pleaded. "I want you to describe it."
"You feel like..." He paused. Anakin was unsure how to describe it. But Akya's feeling was like none he'd ever felt before. Like pure, liquid bliss. "You feel like happiness. You feel like the balance that is water in a clear glass, and moons high in the sky at daytime. Like moonbeams coming down amongst the stars. You feel simple and so complex at the same time."
Akya smiled at the ceiling. Anakin loved the way she looked when she smiled.
"Thank you, Anakin," she said. She sat up and moved to the edge of the bed.
"For telling you what you feel like?" He mirrored her actions.
"No," she said. "For helping me feel the Force for the first time. Wait 'til I tell the Masters, Anakin. Wait until they know. You had the power to do what no other Jedi did. To make me feel what no one else could."
"I was happy to do it. But... maybe let's not tell the Masters. About this. By all means, tell them about your abilities, but not what we did."
"Why?"
Anakin glanced at the clock on the night table behind him. "Because it's past curfew. And because technically, we're not supposed to be here right now."
"I'm sure they'll forgive us—"
"Just... don't."
"Okay," she said, though still confused. She was not sure at all what Anakin was feeling, but she trusted him enough to follow his words without reason. "Can we do it again? Tomorrow?"
Anakin nodded. "Every day," he said, taking hold of her hands. "Meet me here at dusk."
"Thank you, Anakin."
a.n.:
OMG GUYS THEYRE SO CUTE WHAT???
decided to do another little chapter, the first one where they really actually interact. i always thought of the way that people could be sensed through the force as people being able to connect. the way that everyone is an individual in the way that they look and are personality-wise, i think they all have a different feel through the force. at least that's how i imagined it.
i know you're going to love this book so much. I'm so excited to keep updating.
don't forget to vote!!
molly