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“Mamma,” the sweet voice of a young child called the woman that was sitting near the small window, examining the vicious wind that was swirling the sand and the dust from the streets of Tatooine.
The air was lashing, biting the skins of the adventurous as if they were the weak prey of some ravenous beast. Looking at the intensity of the sand storm, she only sighed exhausted, knowing that by tomorrow morning everything in the city would be ravaged and disturbed by nature's commotion. All of the windows will be dusty and full of grains of the harsh sand, impossible to get out even after cleaning the houses ten times or more. Only thinking at this and at the deranged people that had dared to walk through in it after the twin suns had set down gave her a slight headache.
“Mamma!” the boy insisted and pressured his mother, already pulling the sleeves of the woman’s blouse.
In Herdessa she would have had never to deal with such a disastrous and wild nature. On the said planet, she would have had to only worry about some stronger rains and maybe some storms. But even those were emerging from time to time, too ashamed to bother the Herdessans.
Oh, Herdessa! What she would willingly give only to get back there and to have never to deal with the sand colossus that bears the name of Tatooine. To never once again the sands on her skin or the cruel heat of the twins suns, that was only a dream she was afraid she’ll die not accomplishing.
“Mamma”, the blond haired kid cried for the woman’s attention while trying to climb her legs and to get into her gentle and caring arms. “Mamma”, he once again repeated the call while leaning his head back in order to look at the woman who seemed lost in her mind.
“Yes, Ani?” Shmi finally answered when she felt the agitation and the pulling of her skirt, lifting the boy into her arms only to observe, surprised, that her five-year-old son had changed his clothes all alone and was ready to sleep. “Ani, my dear, what have you done?” she asked amused when she saw the mess of the tiny buttons that were all superficially closed, softness being present in her smile while she started to redo his pajama's blouse.
“Mamma”, the boy pleaded once again while she allowed her to fix his clothes. “Tell me a story”, he added without taking a breath, expectantly looking at his mother with his exaggerated big blue eyes that, for some reason, were uncanny.
But Shmi they were the eyes of the most precious being in the universe - her sweet, kind and young son.
“A story?” she asked, a bit confused by his plea, lifting her gaze to meet his, those round eyes analyzing her expression as Ani was preparing himself to use everything he knew to convince her. “It’s a bit too late for me to tell you a story, Anakin. You should be already sleeping…” she sighed deeply when she rearranged his golden locks that she insisted to not be cut, feeling the softness of his hair.
“It’s only eight”, he pointed at the little improvised clock that Shmi was still trying to repair, struggling to hide his proud smile when his mother looked surprised at him.
She completely forgot that she taught him how to count to twelve by using the clock. Of course her son had picked how to read the clock once she told him that when the long hand was indicating a full hour when it was on the top of twelve. The woman was only able to smile a bit troubled when she was combated, still caressing Anakin’s hair. In order to conceal her astonishment, Shmi kissed the child’s cheek, thrilled by her son’s fast learning habit.
“You are such a smart kid, Anakin” the wholeheartedly praised him when she hugged him tightly, getting up and heading to their small and modest bed. “But sometimes I swear you use that against me”, she continued in a defeated tone when she put the boy down on the mattress, starting to change herself from her clothes. “You really seem to enjoy proving to me that you are right” she explained as she already started to think about what fairytale she should tell Anakin.
The boy only gave her a timid, sheepish smile while he waited for Shmi to sit along his side and tuck him under the heavy blanket that he was unable to even move. But his expression only grew grimmer when he saw that his mother was ignoring him, using some old rugs in order to protect their house from the sandstorm, tucking the clothes between the floor and the door and around the window’s frames.
“Mom”, he exaggerated the vocal in a childish way, stretching the sound of it in an attempt to get her attention. “You’ll tell me a story tonight, right?” Ani whispered a bit ashamed by the fact he was pestering her, but he wanted to know if his expectations would be met or not.
“Of course, my dear”, Shmi answered him in a calm, reassuring tone, when she finally got in the bed, scrunching her nose in a frustrated way when she heard the winds beating at their windows and poor-crafted door.
She made a self-note to see if she could somehow improve it or, in a more optimistic view, change it with something decent and more resilient to such an aggressive weather.
Only after she tugged the boy into the blankets, making sure he won’t be freezing - the nights of Tatooine were as cold as the days were hot, both excruciating to endure – and won’t get sick, she hugged her son and met his blue gaze that always reminded her of seas of Herdessa. She hadn't had the opportunity to see them more than once or twice when she was still on that planet, but Shmi was well aware of their existence. All the well-detailed stories that her grandfather had told her when she was a little girl were enough for her to imagine their strange beauty that could destroy everything that dared to enrage them. She could only hope that someday her son would be able to see a sea or even just a tiny lake, to forget that there was a planet full of nothing but sand, to feel a gentler touch of the sun and to look at the colorful nature they were deprived of in Tatooine.
“You said you wanted a story? Hmm, let me think a bit”, she tried to buy herself some time, well aware that she was only toying with her son’s little patience. “Oh, I know”, she whispered to him in the darkness while running her fingers through the blond locks. “In a galaxy far, far away, when the Force wasn’t even aware of itself and the time hadn’t had been able to reduce the beings into nothing, in a planet that wasn’t named back then and which name nobody remembers, was a boy that beared the name of…” she stopped mid sentence, looking into their tiny room for some inspiration, already knowing she won’t be able to top the stories her grandpa had told her. “Galtis. His name was Galtis and he was living near the sea.” the woman resumed her story, speaking slowly and clearly in order to make the fairytale easier to follow.
“What’s a sea, mamma?” the boy interrupted her while meeting her eyes that were a reflection of his, looking puzzled by the unfamiliar concept.
Dank farrik! Of course he didn’t know what a sea was if she hadn't explained it to him yet!
“Well, Ani, a sea is an immense gathering of salty water that is surrounding the earth of most planets. I bet you haven’t known that even Tatooine was once again a big ocean!” she exclaimed in a dramatic way to make herself more credible, chuckling when she saw her son’s impressed expression.
“An ocean?” he inquired, still amazed by the idea, incredulous of what his mom had just revealed to him. “Wasn’t that a lie? Does the ocean even exist?” he added while playing with the ends of Shmi’s braid.
“Oh, Ani, there is more than only one ocean or sea”, the mother responded with a soft smile on her lips, kissing the forehead of the blond haired kid. “In our galaxies, there are countless of them. One could only dream of discovering and remembering the names of each one of them!” Shmi added, still laughing, amused by the way her son’s lips made the shape of the letter ‘O’ after he heard her.
“Then why does Tatooine have none?” he inquired with frustration in his voice, his gaze darkening annoyed by the fact he wasn’t able to meet the sea if the ocean wasn’t available for him. “Where is the ocean? Had the Hutts drunk it?” the small kid added with naivety, scrunching his nose, unpleased by the selfishness of those aliens.
“Oh, Anakin, no. It wasn’t them. Nobody knows why the Tatooitean Ocean had disappeared. It had just dried up until there remained its sand.” Shmi answered both honestly and helplessly, hoping that her son wouldn’t ask her more answers that she didn’t have at the time or ever.
“So we are living at the bottom of the no-longer-here ocean?”
“We can say this if you want. You would be partially correct.”
“What does part ally mean, mom?”
“Partially, Anakin”, she gently corrected him while caressing his soft cheek. “It means that it’s only a part of something bigger. That you don’t hold all of the answers and that you aren’t exactly right but also not wrong. In this case, you are in the middle. But shall we not ask ourselves what happened with Galthis?” the woman asked in a tentative way, mustering a hope she’ll be able to get to the story Ani demanded. “Because I’m curious what had happened with the boy that lived near the seas”, she added with more determination.
But her only answer was the darkness and the sounds made by the sandstorm that broke the silence of the night. For a moment, she was convinced that the child had suddenly fallen asleep, unable to see his lowered gaze and make it clear if he was sleeping or just being quiet, troubled by something.
“Anakin?” she whispered his name with some reluctance, not wanting to disturb his sleep if he wasn’t awake anymore.
Could it be that simple?
“Mom”, his small and frail voice broke the silence when his fingers clenched her hand.
“Yes, my dear. I’m here”, she reassured him while starting to caress his tiny hands.
“Have you ever seen the ocean?” the young boy inquired in such a small voice that his mother thought she was just imagining his reluctance and hidden curiosity.
Then she saw his ever blue eyes that reminded her of everything she could have had and all she had lost in a single day a long time ago, only slightly older than him. His eyes, always so blue and so interested in everything, searching for novelty and understanding of the galaxy. So blue that Shmi was almost capable of touching the oceans, the seas, the rivers, the water of Herdessa. If she didn’t know better, she would have tried to feel the water while putting her fingertips on Anakin’s soft and tender eyelids. She almost heard the waves of the ocean in his childish voice.
She was missing, always missing something, someone. It was impossible to recuperate, to regain something that maybe wasn’t even there. The only things that remained hers were her memories and the stories she heard.
Once, when she was almost too little to remember, her grandfather took her to the sea and told her a story of how they were born. Once, after she grew a bit, he took her again near the ocean and showed her all the stars of the universe, all the constellations that would always show her way back home. The third time it happened, before anything bad occurred, her grandpa made her promise that she won’t forget that as the body cannot survive without water, the soul will wither and burn itself to ashes in the absence of kindness, love and stories. Everyone will end up losing themselves if they forget their legends.
It was so beautiful, it was so intense and breathtaking that it was now hurting that she won’t be able to see it once again in her lifetime. The ocean, so raw and savage that it could have drowned her without hesitation, so cold against her skin… It was almost as if she had drunk magic and turned into some mystical creature of some kind. Light cobalt blue, that was the color of Herdessan’s oceans and seas, the same color of her son’s eyes. And as hers everytime she was missing home.
“Thrice. I saw it thrice on Herdessa.” she finally responded with such a raspy voice that she was surprised that her words were understandable.
Only now, while fighting the intense pain in her chest, she realized that the boy was caressing her face with his little warm fingers, drawing shapes that resembled the stars on her already wet cheeks.
“Sorry, mom”, he mumbled with his eyes lowered while biting his lips as guiltiness was carving a space for itself somewhere between his fragile ribs, eating his heart as it was a long awaited feast.
“Oh, Ani, my dear boy”, Shmi sighed painfully as she took the boy in her arms and hugged him tightly, her entire world, starting to hum a song of which words she was unable to remember. “You have nothing to be sorry for. I’m… It’s just… I’m homesick.” she whispered shamefully as she hid her face into his golden curls, breathing in his sweet scent as she was trying to force her mind to remember it forever, to never let it be so cruel so she’ll forgive the young face of her son.
“A home can be sick?” the blond asked confused while trying to get out of his mother’s strong hold, whimpering dissatisfied by the lack of free movement. “Mooom”, he cried her name out while struggling to lose her grip while Shmi was chuckling amused by his attempts, holding him even more tightly to his grievances.
“I’m not letting you go! I’m not letting you go!” she repeated amused while rubbing his hair and kissing the top of his head. “You are mine, only mine” she added with a slightly, almost unnoticeable, hint of possessiveness as she was placing little kisses on his cheeks in order to ameliorate her sons’ aggravated expression. “I’m your mother and you’ll be safe in my arms”, Shmi let the promise flew through her lips without thinking twice while placing twin kisses on her son's little hands.
“A sick house?” he raised his eyebrows, certainly suspicious while his gaze darkened, analyzing her face with a serious stance and a puzzled look.
“It means missing your home, my dear”, she forced herself to not sigh exhausted, forcing a smile even if the darkness was concealing her face.
“But, mama-”
“No, no more questions tonight, Anakin. It’s already late and we, both you and me, need to wake up early tomorrow. So now let’s sleep”, Shmi harshly cut him off while rearranging the pillow underneath their head, closing her eyes as a statement when she let her body sink into the tough mattress.
“But, mama, you promise you’ll tell me a story!” the boy revolved with such fierceness and bitterness in his voice despite the fact he was trembling from both frustration and sadness. Even so he was able to half-pull, half-drag away the pillow from his mother’s head, looking at her with a grieving stance as waiting for his nighttime story. “You promised” he insisted while trying to hold the pillow that was bigger than his body, only his face being visible. With his lower lip forming a pout and his brows furrowed, he held such an intense gaze that Shmi could feel her skin itching from the burning effect of it.
Suspiring, the woman rubbed her weary eyes before she gently offered her son one of her callous hands. Timidly, a smile bloomed on her face as she gently approached the boy, unclenching his fingers from the pillow. Only after she successfully obtained the object back and was able to properly meet Anakin’s gaze, she touched his soft cheek before she spoke:
“You are right, Anakin. I have indeed promised you a story”, she whispered in front of him as she arranged his already grown locks of hair, mourning the fact that she will probably need to cut them.
If they would have been on Herdessa, this kind of worry wouldn’t have troubled her at all. She would have encouraged him to keep his hair as long as he pleased. But there, on Tatooine, every aspect of their life was controlled by someone else – well, almost.
If there was something nobody could restrict, then for sure it was the stories, the myths and the legends one could listen, remember and tell.
And her son was for sure more than interested in listening to the stories she held tight in her arms like jewelries, carving a special, unique place for them somewhere behind her ribs, in the space between them and her heart, alongside the space she made for only Anakin.
“What would you like your story to be about, my dear? Dragons, adventures, Jedi, witches?” she murmured her question as her fingers ran through his soft, blond hair, unconsciously playing with his locks while analyzing his tanned cheeks on which faded freckles started to appear once again.
“Angels! The angels of the galaxy, mama! Aren’t they the most beautiful?” Ani responded while chuckling enthusiastically, a wide smile blooming on his lips as he cuddled with Shmi, making himself comfortable in his mother’s embrace. “Do angels also live on the moon of Herdessa, mom?” his voice reverberated both in the room and in Shmi’s mind as he’s expression grew intrigued, head lifted to see her and eyes fixated on her face as he was ready to register her awaited answer.
‘Of course he wants a story about angels… That’s all he knows since those pilots told him about the moon of Iego…’ the woman thought while retaining her amused sigh, choosing to kiss his forehead instead while trying to recall one of the old legends her grandpa used to tell her. Angels and Herdessa, a story about both… One, she only remembered one and she knew Anakin would simply get her words out of her mouth one way or another so there was no reason to keep it only to her.
“Well, Ani, Herdessias don’t have angels” her voice modulated the tone of the story in a more informal way while playfully booping the kid’s nose.
“They don’t?” he glanced at her both disappointed and discouraged, both his brows arched in a reverse arch as his eyes grew bigger and bigger.
“If you’ll listen and you’ll let me tell the story, you’ll understand why the angels don’t live with Herdessias, not anymore” gently, she corrected his behavior as her voice transformed into a whisper. A hidden grin emerged on Shmi’s lips as Anakin’s attention intensified and now only focused on her.
“Are the angels upset on Herdesias as you are when I go too far away from you in the market”, timidly, he asked, rubbing his hands together as if he was cold, hesitating to make eye contact with her. Anxiously, he reached for his stuffed bunny, gripping the toy and pulling it to his chest, clearly imitating the way Shmi was holding him everytime she had the occasion.
“That’s not the chase here, my boy.”
“Then what is it? Do they hate each other, mom?”
“Still negative, my boy. You see, there is a legend that the old wise men and women used to tell their grandchildren at every family gathering on the Festival of the Two Spirits.”
“A festival to angels?”
“A festival to both angels and humans”, she softly laughed while seeing her son’s amazed expression. “We, on Herdessa, celebrate everybody, but especially the angels and humans. That’s why The Two Spirit Festival is so important for us. Usually, all family members gather at one of their houses and they stay together for a whole week. Usually we dance, sing, cook and tell stories together, but the elders have priority when it comes to storytelling. And my grandfather had a favorite story that he completely adored to share with us, the kids.” inevitably, she suspired aggravated by the memories that started to fade from her memory.
Her only luck was that her son was constantly curious about everything and hadn't, yet, understood the meaning of personal time and space.
“A legend? Had he known legends? Do I also have a grandpa?” questions started to flow his lips as he reached his mother’s cheeks and covered them with his hands, fingers wide spread as he was playfully caressing her face. “Had he met any angels?” he added, the tips of his fingers brushing her eyelids as he seemed to grow interest in her eyebrows.
“I don’t think so. He was kinda secretive when I inquired about them. But you for sure are one of them. After all, you were born on the first day of the festival, the Day of the Raising Sun.” Shmi explained as soft chucklings made the room seem more cozy, pulling one of his hands to her cheek just to feel his still non callous, worn out skin.
“So I’m an angel, mom? When will I grow wings, mama?” little Ani started to inquire in a high pitched voice while his eyes started to glow blue in the darkness, lighting the atmosphere and his mother’s soul, an almost tickling sensation against the skin covering both her ribs and heart.
“You’ll always be my little angel, Anakin. Always. “ Shmi murmured in a low voice as she cupped her son’s hand, making him look at her. “Listen, my little sun, you already had wings. They are right here” her finger touched the space between his ribs, where she knew the heart was. “All you have to do is to chase your dreams, Ani, and you’ll see them grow bigger and bigger as you do everyday. You just need to listen to your heart. Can you promise me that, my dear? That you will not ignore its call even if sometimes it will be scary?” lifting his hands to her forehead, her gaze grew deeply serious as she patiently waited for his answer.
“Yes, mama, I promise” his voice, a whisper alike hers, articulated the oath, his pupils dilated as his confusion didn’t wear off when his mother just touched their intertwined hands firstly to her forehead, then his, eyes closed and murmuring something he hasn’t quite understood.
“Good”, her whispered voice reached the kid’s ears as she wasn’t able to stop herself from hugging her son tightly. “Very good”, the mother added as she wrapped herself around his body, listening to his pulse, the beating of his tiny hearts, as she was too terrified by the thought that they may be separated one day or by the little voice in her head that constantly reminded her that she may lose him one day.
“Mom?” the muffled, unarticulated question struggled to make itself audible as the boy remained still, astonished by unexpected and strange wetness on the top of his head. “Mama?” unsure about his voice, he inquired with reluctance as he stretched his arms in order to reach Shmi’s face. “Mama” he cried her name already in a distressed stress, his mood aggravating as he tiny fingers touched the tears, his voice transforming in indecipherable trembled mumblings.
“Shh, my dear. You have nothing to cry about.” her voice already echoed in the room when the kid had hid his face into her chest, the woman’s finger caressing his back. “Mama isn’t hurt, my dear, just a bit sad. Everything is fine. We are fine, Anakin.” she whispered into his ear as she wiped her face while soothing the boy. “See? Mama isn’t mad or sad at you, my sun” Shmi added as she uncovered the child’s face, placing two kisses on his cheeks. “It’s okay, Ani, my dear, really. Mama isn’t sad anymore”, she forced a smile as she occupied her hands with his hair, arranging his curls before she kissed his forehead. “Mama loves you. I love you, Anakin” confidently in her statement, she declared while hugging and lifting him in her arms, tickling him by showering his face in kisses.
Even only hearing his high pitched laughs made her sorrow easier to endure and her heart lighter, a genuine smile appearing on her face as the night started to seem brighter and friendlier, the sandstorm appearing as something distant in her mind.
“Is mama an angel?” with his eyes still watery, but dilated pupils, little Ani innocently asked as he finally succeeded in stopping his mother’s kissing attack.
“Hmm… Maybe I am, maybe I’m not.” she smiled enigmatically as she booped his nose, trying to stop herself from chuckling. “Let me tell you a secret, Ani. Everybody can be an angel if their heart is spreading kindness and love and their soul is reaching for justice and fairness.” whispering, she made both of them comfortable while she reached the little lamp and lightened it just enough to make the room more cozy and welcoming, setting the mood for a story as her grandpa once did for her.
“Everybody?” he inquired with big eyes, adorable looking as his head was knocked back just to look intrigued at his mom.
“Everybody”, she confirmed as she petted his head only to recall the legend from her memories. “A long time ago, before the universe had a name for itself or remembered it was aware of its existence, there existed a far, far away galaxy somewhere in one of its corners, a galaxy nobody was aware of back then.” Shmi narrated in a low tone while slightly rocking the kid in her arms as she smiled when her son asked her.
“Our galaxy?” his brows raised in a complicated expression as he gazed curiously at his mom, a little yawn escaping his lips before he was able to hide it from the woman. “It was our galaxy, mama?” he tried again with excitement in his voice as he reached her shoulder and used it to lift himself in her arms.
“You guessed just right, my dear. My intelligent sweet son”, her laughter grew only deeper as she started praising her child, affectionately kissing his cheek while mumbling some sweet words in Herdessan. “And so because nobody knew of its existence, only the ones that lived inside of it, the angels had a secure place where they were able to live without being forced to conceal their identities. Some even dare to say they were here even before humans, that they were sent by the force to protect the planets and make them more beautiful than they were initially. But this is something that cannot be totally proven or so they affirm, but Herdessans had known the truth about this mystery way before anyone else heard about the existence of angels.” she resumed the story in the same mysterious tone while using her fingers to point at the room’s ceiling, drawing his son’s attention to the constellations and planets that she had attempted to paint for him. “There, between Radnor and Mon Gazza, is our planet, Herdessa, in the Slice Section of the galaxy. It’s not that far from Tatooine, actually.”
“Are Herdessian angels too?” unable to control his own curiosity, the kid started to inquire for more information, already ready to ask her mother more of his curiosities.
“Patient, my child. You’ll learn more about them if you’ll pay attention and allow me to tell the story” the mother’s finger touched her son’s lips in order to stop him from talking, smiling benevolently while holding back her laugh at Anakin’s grumpy expression. “The angels greatly value patience as a personality trait, my dear,” she added in an attempt to gain the boy’s attention; her smile widening when Ani’s facial expression got warmer and his brows unfurrowed.
“Sorry, mama,” his tiny voice asked for forgiveness in a guilty tone as he hid face to Shmi’s chest, too ashamed to face her, obtaining a chuckle from her as she started stroking his hair.
“Where was I?”
“At Herdessans and angels, mama”, the boy whispered as he hugged the woman, his eyes already half closed as he mumbled something about being warm in his mother’s embrace. “I’ll listen, mama, I promise”, he added in the same sleepy voice as he rubbed his face against her blouse in an attempt to stay awake.
“Oh, yes, yes, the Herdessans and how they were the first to know the truth about the angels”, she confirmed in an energetic way while she lowered one of her hands, caressing his soft cheek while continuing. “You see, the eldest used to tell us, the kids, how we were truly blessed by the angels’ kindness,” she lowered her voice. “As an ancient legend that was spread and kept alive by the oldest and wisest Herdessans says, the Angels were once powerful sentients that held powers impossible for us to comprehend. Some believe they were able to even raise the dead from their grave and return their lives but those rumours weren’t exactly confirmed by anyone. But what’s certain is that they were, back in the first days of our planet, the residents of Herdessa. Powerful, mighty, unbothered by any other species, enjoying the paradise they crafted and perfectioned for themselves, you would ask what could have convinced them to leave.”
“Something went bad…” the son mumbled with half his voice as he rubbed his eyes, looking at his mother with a sleepy face.
“Something indeed went wrong”, she agreed with him before continuing her story. “At a first, superficial glance, everything was going in the favor of their odds, the galaxy seemed to be at their will and nothing nor nobody dared to directly threaten them. And this was true for incredibly many centuries as they were capable of great accomplishments and their abilities were varying from one sentient to another. But…” she stopped before she even started her idea, looking thoughtfully at the ceiling as her words were silenced by her thoughts, her facial expression impossible to interpret as the shadows were hiding her.
“But what, mama? But what?” the boy almost jumped from Shmi’s arms, pestering her with his questions as his curiosity skyrocketed, piqued by her unspoken idea.
“The Ancient Creatures of Light always kept a well-crafted appearance and impression about them when it came to strangers or simply other species. The High Beings tended to act as they couldn’t be touched by the mundane matters, always pristine and calculated in their manners and actions. Someone could have mistaken them for some majestic marble statues by only looking at them and their theory would have been almost confirmed if they also interacted with the angels. But this was only a shield, a way of keeping their sensitive core protected from the cruelty of the galaxy. You see, my dear, they were as emotional and fragile as us, humans, not more stable or rational than us, but more aware of their emotional nature than us. Hence why they were so wary of showing their true nature to the ones that weren’t like them. They were completely terrified of being hurt and that was their mistake, shielding their hearts even from the ones that could have understood them. The angels simply isolated themselves from everybody, hiding their feelings, constantly performing as sadness was something unusual to deal with”, she patiently explained to her son while instinctively rocking his body as he was once again a tiny baby she could hold in her arms.
“Why were they afraid to live?” Anakin inquired in a hushed voice as his eyes were struggling to stay open and make eye contact with his mother, his cheek pressed against Shmi’s chest as his hands reached for his plushie. When the woman gave it to him, he idly smiled at her while hugging the toy at his chest.
“I don’t know, Anakin. I can only guess they were afraid of being emotionally devastated or living the intensity of their emotions and their consequences.” she shrugged helplessly before she leaned forward to kiss his forehead. “So they lived as such for many years, forgetting that they once knew how to handle their sensitivity and be themselves around others. After a long time of acting as such, between them appeared an angel named Anryko that simply couldn’t hide their emotivity no matter how hard they tried. Therefore, it was natural that they felt in love with one of their friends, Nassara, the only one that wasn’t judging them for how they were handling themselves.” his mother muttered in a sweet, calm tone that was making his mind stop from racing, establishing the power of the night and its security over his body.
“She was like him, wasn’t she?” he inquired once again while patiently gazing into his mother’s blue eyes, almost convinced they were faintly glowing in the ocean’s colors as he once dreamed about the extended water that existed anywhere but not on Tatooine, not anymore.
“It wouldn’t be a story if they weren’t alike and made for each other, would it be?” her laugh was like a fluffy blanket wrapped around them, healing their wounds and keeping them both warm and safe from the ravages of the sandstorm.
“Mhh… It wouldn’t”, the boy agreed in a whisper as his eyes closed while still forcing himself to listen to his mother’s legend. “Always, they should love each other”, he murmured with half his voice as his body relaxed, almost losing the fight against sleep.
“They indeed loved each other more than any of their friends had been able to understand or accept. Anryko adored Nassara so deeply that they attracted the wrath of the other angels, bringing a war between their faction and the one that saw their intense emotion as a threat for their own nature and stability. They didn't care if this kind of bound worked for Anryko and Nassara, they were too terrified to even think about such an unspeakable possibility, scared that level of intensity could also affect each one of them.” the woman started once again with the story, her voice growing somber as she sighed deeply, knowing the end of this legend, how the humans were brought into this galaxy, the sacrifice that was made.
“Attack” the boy mumbled the words, only one of them being clear and intelligible to his mother as he changed his position in his arms.
“What have you said, Ani?” Shmi inquired, troubled by his statement, giving her son a worried look as she cupped his face, trying to determine the boy to make eye contact with her.
“They attacked,” the kid forced himself to speak while rubbing his eyes, yawning while looking at his mother with sleepy eyes, still clinging to both his plushie and her blouse.
“Who, my dear? Who had they attacked?”
“Anryko and Nassara. They attacked Anryko and Nassara,” he explained patiently as he leaned his head on the woman’s chest, too heavy for him to support it alone.
“Yeah, the angel factions eventually clashed after many tensions and arguments between them. This only sent the whole planet on a long, aggressive and intense war that turned the face of Herdessa crimson red, drowned in the blood of the angels and their fallen soldiers, family members and friends. And they did it only because they were terrified of the novelty and of the changing… Such silly entities, scared of both themselves and the ones that were alike them.” Shmi snorted both disappointed and ashamed by their action, rolling her eyes only half serious as she stared at the ceiling, analyzing the faint painted galaxy, her eyes caught only by Herdessa, her true home.
“Why?” with his head slightly raised and his eyes half opened, little Ani inquired, expectant for an explanation as he toyed with his little vulpex legs.
“Because it's in human nature to feel fear, to be reluctant when it comes to new things.” she started to explain it, stopping when a realization occurred to her, something that was hinted way before she heard the story. “Because they were alone, always isolated, in lack of connection and without any trusted confidants or friends. They had none who would listen to their grievances and with whom to celebrate their accomplishments. Even worse, they had no idea who they truly were. They lived their lives in a well-crafted lie and tried to convince anybody that this was how life should be.” Shmi concluded in a contemplative note, unable to stop her repeated sighing as she felt two identical stings in both of her eyes as her heart was shrinking from a strange pain with an unidentified source.
“What happened to them? After the war ended”, the kid tried to clarify his question when she met his mother’s troubled look and confused expression as she suddenly didn't understand him. “To Anryko and Nassara, I mean”, he added the names as he struggled with both his sleepiness and the clarification, continuously rubbing his eyes in order to prevent himself from falling asleep.
“They were… separated after the war ended, pulled apart by the chaos that succeeded the battles. Near the end of the conflict, Anryko went back to help some of their old friends even if they were fighting against Anryko’s cause and lover. Their heart was so big and forgiving that they couldn’t force themselves to forget about their friends and simply let them agonize until they would transform into nothing else than food for the earth. So Anryko went back and he never returned, leaving Nassara unsure of their lover’s fate. In vain, were they searching for Anryko, Nassara found nothing but one of their halos. Heartbroken and convinced the love of their life was dead, she gave Herdessa a last look, analyzing everything that had come after the battles erupted. Their once mesmerizing and beautiful planet, now it was drenched in the blood of the angels – the earth was red, the plants were red, the cites, their feed and hands both the same shade as the oceans that were bleeding along Nassara’s heart, the pain of losing and being left wounded for eternity.” Shmi tried to simplify the story, well-aware of the sleepy state her son was in, a sad smile appearing on her lips as she heard Anakin’s whispered question.
“Had she left?”
“Not before realizing that the only thing that wasn’t brutalized was the sky, the deep blue sky that was always Anryko’s no matter what. The skies that were both his eyes and his soul, a true representation of how they were as an angel, Now, left as they once were, seemingly refusing to acknowledge the seas that were Nassara’s, they were the only thing she had left of Anryko. Therefore, Nassara caught the skies in their fist and pulled until they exploded in a rainbow, uniting the angel’s tear and oceans to the blood of the fallen families and the single glimpse of their lost lover. So that’s how Herdessans were created, by sacrifice and grief, capable of both incredible acts of kindness but equally atrocious crimes, an image of both the grace and the misery of the angels, a balance to everything and in control of their fates.” the woman stopped only to catch her breath, reminding the last part of the story, the plea of the ancient angel even if she was checking if her son was still awake. “Before leaving Herdessa for eternity, isolated themselves on an unknown little moon located on the edge of the galaxy, Nassara begged her creations to never meet life with fear and their family and friends with aggression. The angel made them promise they’ll protect their communities with love and acceptance, that they’ll never initiate a war against their own out of fear or jealousy. If they would not respect their oath, Nassara promised the humans that they’ll hunt every instigator and make them pay for every droplet of blood they dropped and every soul they dared to shatter. Finally, granted that her children would listen to her teachings and stay together in a peaceful existence, she offered them some gifts among which was the ability of storytelling, singing, dancing and painting, making sure the Herdessans won’t ever forget from who they came.” she ended the story in a melancholic tone as she lowered her eyes to the child that was at her chest, gently rocking him despite her aching arms.
Lifting his head only enough to meet her mother’s gaze, Anakin remembers the way her blue eyes were certainly glowing in the dark, the ocean invading both the night and their small room, the intense taste of salt on the tip of his tongue as his ears were infatuated with the sound of the crashing waves. All of those and the pungent smell of the fresh, humid air, while he drifted to the realm of dreams, rocked in his Shmi’s arms, protected by all the evil of the world.
She had only wished she had been strong enough to bring her son to the sea, not only to replicate it in his dreams, a bare memory of it that she pulled from the depths of her soul. Helplessly, she had felt asleep with her son in her arms, hugging him to her chest, dreaming once again of her whole family reunited at the Festival of Two Spirits, but now with the addition of Anakin and her nephews and nieces, all of them feeling the sweet touch of the sun and the delicate breeze of the ocean, indulged by the clear sun and the luxuriant green nature of Herdessa, her dear lovely Herdessa, her and her son’s home.