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The small shape moves toward him, barely visible above the shimmering mirages, a darker, human shaped blur.
He’d begun to think the Force had misled him. (Or that he was engaging in wishful thinking.) But this is definitely Luke Skywalker, stumbling across the salt flat, dragging his empty canteen behind him.
Obi-Wan runs to the small form, slowing down when he’s within twenty yards so he doesn’t startle the boy. He stands a little taller than Obi-Wan’s knee, his pale hair matted to his head, face tear-streaked and red.
He looks up with wide blue eyes and asks, “Are you real?”
“Last time I checked,” Obi Wan replies. “You’re quite far from home, aren’t you?”
“There’s somethin’ out here. Or I thinked there was?” He coughs then, and starts to whimper.
“Would you like some water?”
“Yes, please.”
Obi-Wan holds the canteen and lets the boy drink, careful to not let him take too much at once. When he’s had enough, he wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and lets out a big burp.
“Thank you.”
“Does your aunt know where you are?”
“She said I couldn’t go nowhere and made me sit with a droid ‘til she was done with breakfast but I put a ‘strainin bolt on him and goed anyway.”
“That was clever of you.” Too clever, really, for a child of three, but he comes by it naturally.
The boy peers up at him again with those too-familiar blue eyes. “What’s your name?”
“My name is Ben, and we should get you home. My landspeeder doesn’t function well on the salt flats, so I left it at the edge.”
“Uncle Owen says I’m not s’posed to go with anyone I don’t know.”
“That does leave us in a predicament then,” he says, gazing out across the blistering plain. Luke’s gaze follows his.
“Maybe he won’t care just once,” the boy sighs. “Can I have some more water?”
“Of course.” He lets the boy hold the canteen himself this time. He has to grip it with both hands and exhales loudly between gulps. When he’s finished, he hands it back and thanks Obi-Wan again.
“My legs are tired.”
“It’s a good thing mine aren’t, then.” He stoops down. “Hop on.”
Luke giggles and jumps onto Obi-Wan’s back.
“Doncha get warm in these robes?”
“They’re made so that they keep me cool.”
“If you say so.”
As they jog back to the landspeeder, Luke tells him about his other adventures. Once, he left in the middle of the night so he could look at the space traffic from the top of a nearby ridge. That time he hadn’t gotten caught, but usually he does.
“They never wanna go where I wanna go,” he says when asked why he doesn’t go places with his aunt or uncle.
“It’s very dangerous for you to go out alone. You ran out of water today, and got lost.”
“But you finded me.”
“You were very lucky.”
When they reach the speeder, Luke climbs down from Obi-Wan’s back and circles the vehicle. “This old thing works?”
“It will get us back to your farm, at the very least.”
“If you say so.”
Obi-Wan gives him a piece of bread and a cup of milk from an insulated canteen and they’re on their way.
Luke falls asleep—in the middle of a sentence--before they’re halfway to the Lars farm. Beru is in the yard, facing the opposite direction, peering out toward the Jundland Wastes. She whips around when she hears the speeder and runs toward it.
“Is he alright?” she asks. Obi-Wan carries the boy from of the speeder, the blond head nestled on his shoulder. Beru reaches them and inspects Luke’s face, hair and clothes. Luke grumbles, hiding his face in Obi-Wan’s robes.
“A bit sunburned and windburned, but fine. I found him on the salt flat.”
“Oh my stars,” she says, taking the boy into her arms. “Thank you, truly.” She hesitates, turns toward the house, then turns back. “Come fill your canteen and wash up. I’ll contact Owen, tell him Luke is home.”
Beru settles Luke onto a bench in the kitchen and pours Obi-Wan a cup of water. “Breakfast is still warm, if you haven’t eaten yet.”
“No, thank you. I should be on my way before Owen returns.”
Beru shakes her head. “I’m sure he won’t mind seeing you here, considering.”
“You don’t have to tell him I found the boy.”
“Yes, I do. Anyway, do you think Luke would be able to keep his mouth shut about the man in the robes who rescued him?”
“He is…quite a talker.”
She looks over at her sleeping nephew and smiles. “That he is. I just wish he weren’t quite so adventurous.”
“Well…”
They both fall silent, lost in the past and what might have been.
“I want to thank you,” Beru says. “Not just for today, but for staying. You didn’t have to.”
“I did.”
Beru gives him a rueful smile. “I know that Owen would never say this to you, or even to me, but he’s grateful too.”
“Thank you.” He takes one last look at Anakin’s son and turns to the door.
The suns are edging toward the horizon as he starts the speeder. Sunsets are glorious on Tatooine, but he’s got a long ride through treacherous territory. Best to be on his way.