A figure walks to the top of a hill late at night, he sits down on the sandy ground and pulls down the hood that covers his head, showing the face of a strong man whose skin has been damaged by six years under the suns of Tatooine. The man looks up at the dark night sky, staring at the distant dots above him.
"The stars look beautiful tonight, darling." He whispers. "You would have loved them." He turns around to see the gravestone behind him:
Aure Sinder
Strong, admired, loved
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They had shared five happy years together before she left. It was difficult to start from zero when they arrived to Tatooine, and it was even more difficult to forget about their past life. Obi-Wan probably felt the worst and it pained Aure to see the always strong man, so weak and broken. She knew he blamed himself for everything and that made both of them even sadder. He didn't share a word with her or anybody else for days, he didn't cry or show any of his feelings; he seemed to be emotionless, but deep inside, he was broken, depressed.
"Obi, listen to me." She had told him once, sitting next to him on the bed of a small room in an inn of Tatooine. He slowly turned his gaze from the floor to her. "I know it is difficult, but you must stop blaming yourself. You are always doing it! You blamed yourself for Qui-Gon's death, for my parents' death, for my loss of memory... And now, for Anakin's mistakes! You couldn't do anything to stop that from happening, so stop filling your mind with 'I should have's and 'what if's. It's making you feel even worse!"
And that was it, that was all he needed to lean his head on her shoulder and cry, letting go of everything he felt and he had held back for days. They spent many days comforting each other, sharing their tears and sobs. In the end, they started to feel better, but they knew they would never be the same.
Days later, they found a humble home. It was small, dusty and dark, but it was their new home, so they ended up loving it. As soon as they found this house, they got married. It was a simple ceremony; they couldn't afford any luxury. The only guests were a priest and the Lars couple as witnesses. Aure wore a simple red dress, her favorite one, and Obi-Wan tried to dress as elegant as possible, which was quite difficult, as he didn't possess many clothes and they couldn't afford buying new ones.
The ceremony wasn't perfect, it wasn't what she had dreamed about, but she couldn't express the happiness she felt at the thought that she was now Mrs. Kenobi. And seeing him smile for the first time in weeks made that day ever better. They were finally together without restrictions, without the Code. They were finally free to love each other.
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Days later, they layed together in bed at night, very close to each other, as the days in Tatooine were hot, but the nights were freezing. Aure's back was facing his front; Obi-Wan had his arms wrapped around her, with his left hand resting on her belly, which was already showing. A little smile played on her lips while sleep started to take over her.
"Are you happy?" Obi-Wan whispered all of a sudden.
Aure's eyes opened and a little frown formed between her brows. She turned around to face her husband.
"I mean," he continued nervously. "are you happy here in Tatooine, with me?"
Aure smiled wide, showing him her shiny teeth, and she chuckled. "Of course I am happy, Obi." She was now the only person who didn't call him 'Ben'. "Being your wife and carrying your baby makes me the happiest person in the galaxy."
With that, he smiled at her, kissed her lips softly and held her close while she fell asleep in his arms.
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It was a few months later when their baby was born; it was a girl, as they had guessed, a little ray of sunshine in this darkness. As soon as Aure felt the baby coming, Obi-Wan ran to the Lars' home asking for help. Without the opportune medical equipment and just with the help of Beru Lars, delivering their daughter was a difficult task. Aure had never felt a pain like that before, but the pain disappeared as soon as her husband gently placed the little girl in her arms, with tears of joy in his eyes and a huge smile on his lips.
Aure smiled and looked at their daughter lovingly. She had black hair like her and blue eyes like him. Aure looked at her husband and said with a tired voice "Azhara..." The couple never forgot about the little girl who sacrificed herself to protect Aure and the baby, so they named their most precious gift in her honor.
When Aure started to drift off, she handed Azhara to Obi-Wan, who gladly took her in his arms and sang to her until she was asleep, as well as Aure. He had never been happier, starting a new life with his two girls.
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It didn't take long for Obi-Wan to notice his daughter was Force sensitive. Aure and him agreed that he would train Azhara as soon as she was old enough. Obi-Wan would give her Qui-Gon's green lightsaber; he had kept it safe during all those years and he was excited and proud about his own daughter holding it one day.
Aure and Obi-Wan managed to earn just enough money to feed Azhara and themselves, as well as paying for other things they needed. She worked at a tavern in a nearby village, while he collected and sold parts of spaceships, droids and other machines. Obi-Wan used to be known as 'The Negotiator' back when the Republic existed, so he always got a good prize for the parts. When they couldn't look after Azhara, she would stay with the Lars. There, she met Luke Skywalker and they soon became good friends; they grew up together.
Aure would usually get back home late at night to find Obi-Wan playing with Azhara, or tickling her, or just telling her a story of their adventures. When Azhara saw her mother, she would run to hug her; after that, it was her time to go to bed. Obi-Wan would cook dinner for him and his wife, and they'd eat it while talking about their day before laying on bed together and falling asleep in each other's arms.
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It was a calm night. Obi-Wan and Aure layed naked in bed, their limbs tangled and their sleeping bodies close. Obi-Wan started to toss and turn, sweat rolling on his forehead while he whimpered. He was having a nightmare: Aure layed on bed, suffering, there was blood and the sound of Azhara's cries filled the air.
Obi-Wan woke up all of a sudden, he sat down on the bed and turned his head to his right, where his wife was sleeping safely. He sighed in relief and took a deep breath with his eyes closed to calm down. It was just a dream, a nightmare. He ran his hand through his hair and wiped the sweat on his face.
Aure's naked form moved under the sheets. "Obi..." She mumbled, waking up. She sat next to him and rested her hand on his back. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, darling. Just a nightmare." He reassured.
Aure looked at him surprised. Jedi weren't supposed to have nightmares, they were usually premonitions. A worrying thought crossed her mind and she intended to leave the bed. "I'm going to check on Azhara!"
She was ready to leave to their four year old daughter's room, but Obi-Wan held her hand and pulled her back into bed. "It wasn't about Azhara. It was... About you."
"About me?" Aure gulped.
Her husband nodded, avoiding her eyes. "You were suffering, dying."
For some seconds, fear crossed Aure's features, but she gave a kind smile. "It probably means nothing." She said unsure, as she pushed him down to lay again, kissing his cheek. "Don't worry, nothing will happen to me." And he didn't know why he believed it.
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A few months later, the illness arrived to Tatooine and entered their humble home. There was no cure. Aure wasn't strong enough to fight it, as she was pregnant with their second baby, a boy who they wanted to name Roan. Obi-Wan didn't leave her side as she died slowly, coughing blood, losing her breath, becoming paler and weaker every day. She was a fighter, it took three weeks for death to win the battle; it normally took just a few days.
It physically and emotionally pained him to see the love of his life dying a little every day and not being able to do anything to help. The first week, they had tried to hide the illness from Azhara, but then it became impossible. The blood, the fainting, the weak breathing. It had become too obvious to hide it. So they decided to tell her. Obi-Wan would never forget the look on Azhara's face and she was told that her mother was going to die with her little brother inside. Obi-Wan and Azhara weren't the same people anymore.
The day they feared eventually came, the day of her death. Aure was on bed, as she had been for a whole week. Obi-Wan was sitting next to her, holding her hand, while Azhara tried to understand a medicine book. The five year old girl was convinced that she would find a cure. Obi-Wan sent a faint smile to his daughter, she had been worried about the illness since she was told about it.
Aure started to cough violently and uncontrollably, more blood escaped from her mouth that ever, breathing became almost impossible and she knew: Death was coming. Obi-Wan was nervous and scared while he tried to move his wife to a more comfortable position.
"Azhara, leave the room!" He shouted at his daughter, who obeyed confused and scared.
He took a glass of water and brought it to her lips, but she refused drinking it. "Obi..." Aure managed to whimper between coughs and heavy breaths. "The time has come..."
Obi-Wan's nervousness was replaced by a huge sadness. "You can't leave me, Aure! Please, stay with me." He held her hand tightly, tears gathering in his eyes. He was going to lose his wife and his unborn son that day.
"You have to go on." She told him as her voice became weaker.
He shook his head. "I can't go on without you." He rested his forehead on hers. He kissed her lips for a few brief seconds, painting his own with her blood, but he didn't care. He needed to give her one last kiss. "I love you." He said looking into her brown eyes.
She struggled to give him a tired smile. "I love you too." Her eyes fluttered close and she layed numb on the bed.
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It has been exactly one year since she left them forever. He sits on top of the hill; that was her favorite spot. They used to look at the stars there, sometimes with their daughter. Although she is gone, he still goes there frequently. He looks at the sky above him, thinking about the five happy years they spent together, about all the things that could have happened if only she was still alive. Thinking that she will never see Azhara grow up into a beautiful strong woman and become a Jedi.
"The bed still feels cold." He whispers, hoping that she can listen to him from somewhere. Aure wasn't force-sensitive, but he had been taught that the Force surrounds and binds all beings, so he hoped that she was somewhere out there, with the Force, and that she could hear him. "Azhara and I miss you so much. She still makes drawings for you." He looks again at the gravestone, decorated with his daughter's drawings. A small smile appears on his lips. "Life is difficult without you, Aure." He says, keeping his head low.
At that moment, a small figure walks towards him. It doesn't take long for him to recognize his daughter in the darkness of the night. Her bright blue eyes, together with her smile, make him instantly happy; her black hair is quite long already, reminding him of her mother's. Many times he looks at Azhara and sees just a reflection of Aure; the girl looks more like her every day. Her smile is exactly like Aure's and it warms his heart whenever he sees it.
"Are you talking with mommy?" She asks, sitting right besides her father, who nods. Azhara's smile becomes bigger. "I love you, mom, and I miss you." Obi-Wan smiles tenderly at his five year old daughter, his heart flatters and he takes her small hand in his. "Daddy is going to train me soon so I'll be just like him!" She exclaims excited. "He also wants to train Luke, but the Lars won't let him."
Ob-Wan's mind travels to Luke; Azhara and him are good friends, so he sees him quite often. The Force is very strong with him, but he isn't allowed to train him. When he looks at him, he sees the image of Anakin; Luke looks quite similar to him, but his personality reminds him of Padmé's, which makes him calm down, knowing that Luke's destiny won't be like his father's.
After spending some time together looking at the stars above them, Obi-Wan and Azhara decide to go back home, but before, Obi-Wan whispers "I love you, Aure." like he does every night.
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Obi-Wan taught his daughter the ways of the Force. She was always eager to learn; she reminded him of Azha. By the time she was twenty years old, she had become a Jedi. Azhara looked almost exactly like Aure, but she had those blue eyes of Obi-Wan that her mother had always loved.
Azhara was still very good friends with Luke Skywalker, as they had grown up together. They even joined the Rebel Movement against the Empire, together with Obi-Wan, who was killed by Darth Vader. It was heartbreaking for Azhara to see her father die in front of her eyes. It was like living again the day her mother had died.
It was during this adventure against the Empire when Luke and Azhara fell in love.
They eventually had a daughter.
And she joined the Resistance.
But that's another story.
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~ Hello there!
This is it.
I actually cried while writing this.
Thanks everybody for reading this stories
I hope you enjoyed them
Thanks for reading!
Comment your thoughts and opinions
& may the Force be with y'all! ~
D.Xx