“It was given to me by the leader of my tribe,” Tahiri offered softly. She held the pendant up for Anakin to see. “There are two thumbprints in its center. Sliven told me years ago that they are my parents’ prints.”
“He knew your parents?” Anakin asked in surprise.
Tahiri had told him she knew nothing of her family before the Tusken Raiders.
“I can only guess that he did,” Tahiri replied. “But other than the pendant and those few words telling me who the thumbprints belonged to, he’s never given me another clue as to who my parents were.”
“But why not?” Anakin asked.
“I don’t know,” Tahiri answered. “I used to beg Sliven, really beg him to tell me about my mother and father. He would never answer, although I felt pain in his silence. After a few years, I stopped asking….” Tahiri trailed off.
Anakin sensed his friend’s torment, and her fear.
“Tahiri, what are you afraid of?” he asked. “You don’t have to go.”
“I don’t know,” Tahiri said softly. “But it’s more complicated than that. Sliven knew it would be, and so did Master Luke. Anakin, don’t you see - I’m not like you. I don’t have a brother and sister, or a mother and father who were heroes of the Rebellion. I don’t know who my parents were, or how I ended up with my tribe. All I know is that the Tusken Raiders are the only family I’ve ever known. The only family I have. If I choose to remain at the academy, I’ll lose them forever. I’ll truly be an orphan.” Tahiri turned to look out the shuttle window, her unseeing eyes filled with tears.
“There’s more, isn’t there,” Anakin asked softly.
“Yes,” Tahiri admitted. “I feel so mixed-up right now. I’m about to return to the only home I know. It’s a place I hate and love, both at the same time. Just as I hate and love the Tusken Raiders. My life is as confusing to me as the golden globe. Except, unlike with the globe, I don’t have any clue about who I really am. I don’t even know if Tahiri is my real name, or just a name given to me by Sliven.”
Tahiri paused and gulped for air.
“Anakin, you have a family, a history. Even though being the grandson of Darth Vader frightens you, at least you know where you came from, who you came from. All I have are these two thumbprints. I’m afraid that if I don’t return to the Raiders for good, I may never have the chance to find out who I really am. But if I do, I’m afraid I’ll discover I’m meant to be something other than a Jedi Knight.”
Anakin recognized the look on Tahiri’s face. It was the same desperate cry for help he’d seen when, after being tossed from their silver raft, she’d thrashed in the river’s water, struggling to survive. The same look she’d worn on Yavin 8 when a reel-a giant violet-colored snake-had wrapped her in its coils and tried to crush her. The look reminded Anakin of how much they’d been through together. How much they’d learned about themselves, and their strengths in the Force. He’d used the Force to keep Tahiri from drowning in the river, and he’d actually probed within the body of the reel with his mind, to force the creature to release its hold on her. Together they’d even toppled a purella, the giant red-bristled spider with glowing orange eyes that had been poised to devour them, slowly.
And then they’d learned from an elder Melodie on Yavin 8 the information that they’d needed to read the Massassi symbols in the palace and break the curse. But to do that, they had to work together, as a team. Anakin was certain that neither of them was strong enough in the Force to wage the war alone.
“You once told me that no matter who my grandfather was, I was meant to become a Jedi Knight and use the Force for good,” Anakin said softly. “The same goes for you. I understand that you want to know your history, but is it as important as the lives of the children trapped inside the golden globe? Only you can know which is more important. But whatever you decide, I’ll always be your friend…. Okay?” Anakin said gently.
“Okay,” Tahiri said with a nod. Anakin didn’t tell Tahiri that even if she chose to remain on Tatooine, he’d still attempt to break the curse. To fight the good battle, even though he knew in his heart that without Tahiri’s strength he would never leave the depths of the Palace of the Woolamander alive.
“Five minutes to landing,” old Peckhum transmitted back to Anakin and Tahiri.
The Jedi instructor Tionne glanced back to make sure her two charges were seated. Luke Skywalker had sent her to watch over Anakin and Tahiri on Tatooine-to make sure that nothing harmed them. And that Tahiri returned to the Jedi academy, if she wished. Anakin strapped himself in and readied himself to meet Tahiri’s people. But nothing could have prepared him for what lay minutes away, beyond the safety of the shuttle’s cool silver hatch.