[Jedi Apprentice] - Special Edition - 01(40)

“Then life has given you a gift,” Obi-Wan said. “You get to begin again.”

“I hear you have arranged transport back to Coruscant,” Kad said. “Will you come and say good-bye to Andra and Den? They’re waiting for you.”

“Of course,” Obi-Wan said.”Anakin?”

“I’ll be right behind you,” Anakin said. He did not want to leave the loading platform just yet. His mind still teemed with questions and lessons. He longed to ask Obi-Wan, but he didn’t think he would. Whatever was in Obi-Wan’s past was a wound that went deep. He understood that. He had his own wounds. Maybe someday he would stand as a man, just like Obi-Wan, and feel the burden lift.

He thought again of Kad, cradling his father as he died, tears falling from his eyes. There were levels to compassion he still did not understand. How did a being go about transforming anger into mercy? Frustration bit inside him. Obi-Wan tried to understand him. He loved his Master for that. But no one could understand. Not his fellow students at theTemple, not his teachers, not even Yoda, who seemed to understand so much. Would he always feel apart from the others because of his background? And would that feeling of separation mean that he would never become as great a Knight as Qui-Gon or Obi-Wan? It was his greatest fear.

Anakin turned back toward the shelter of the spaceport, toward friends, warmth, light, and his Master. The future would come, he told himself.

At that moment, all he felt was grateful that he had Obi-Wan to show him the way.