He awoke in the darkness because he was shivering. It was freezing cold. Had one of the other kids opened the window and forgotten to close it again?

But then he realised that he was not in his bed in the boys' dormitory anymore – there was no pillow, no cover, no bed at all. He was lying on bare ground.

When he reached out and touched it, it ran through his fingers like water: it was sand. Fine, dry, ice-cold sand.

*This can't be! I was lying in bed, and now suddenly I'm waking up outside, in the open? I must be dreaming! Where are all the others? How did I get here? And how can I get away from here?*

Not that he was eager to go back to the orphanage – that place being living hell for him – but he couldn't stay wherever he was right now, he needed warmth and shelter. Somewhere.

Being numb from the coldness, he stood up with some difficulty and started groping his way around in the darkness, stumbling again and again, more than once falling down because he didn't see where he was putting his feet.

* * *

*Uh, that feels good...*

His first impression was a gentle touch to his forehead, then to his cheeks. It reminded him of his father's hand caressing him in those rare moments when nobody disturbed them. When he had his Pop all to himself, without having to share him with all the other monks and students and their never-ending problems.

Unknowingly, he followed the stroking hand, 'leaning' into the caress. That was something he had desperately missed for years. Even if, on rare occasions, he still did experience gentleness and real kindness – not the typical half-guilty sympathy for a 'poor orphan boy' – there were no more caresses for him. These things had died with his father in the fire of the temple more than two years ago.

A gentle, deep voice said: "He's waking up. Please get a bowl of the broth for him, Luke, will you? – Good morning, my boy, how are you feeling?"

The voice was very quiet, yet resonant, promising comfort and help for those in need.

Slowly, Peter opened his eyes. He saw an old man's bearded face smiling benignly down upon him. He looked very familiar, and Peter was sure he had already met this man before, although he had no idea how and where.

"Who... who are you? Where am I, and how did I get here?"

The old man chuckled. "Now, my young friend, that's three questions all in the same breath... My name is Ben. I live out here in the desert, and a friend of mine found you lying unconscious just outside my hut. In fact, he almost stumbled over you and then carried you here. Apart from a certain hypothermia and a lump on your forehead, you seem quite ok, so we decided to simply tuck you in bed and feed you a bit of hot soup to warm you up, once you'd wake up."

"Thank you", Peter whispered. He felt relief and gratitude towards the old man. At the same time, however, something in the very back of his mind was troubling him. Something was odd here. It was a fleeting sensation, nothing he could really name, so he decided to let it rest for the time being.

"And may I ask now who you are?" Ben's question interrupted his musings, bringing him back to his present situation.

"Oh, I'm sorry... I'm Peter. Peter Caine. I'm fourteen, and I live in the Sloanville orphanage. I've got no idea how I got out of there..." He hesitated, not knowing how to explain what he himself didn't understand at all. "...I mean, one minute I'm lying in bed and then I wake up outside in the cold... Dunno how this can be... all I know is that I got up and started looking for shelter. I must have fallen 'cause I didn't see a thing..."

Embarrassed, he averted his eyes. "I know that sounds crazy, and you probably don't believe me. I wouldn't if I were you... But then again, for the other kids I'm a weirdo anyway, so ..." He fell silent because his words sounded so pathetic that he didn't know how to go on.

Yet Ben just smiled reassuringly and patted Peter's arm. "I believe you, Peter. I've heard and lived crazier stories in my life. The ways of the Force sometimes appear very strange... Besides, there are quite a few people who call me crazy and a fool."

He stood up. "Let me have a look whether your soup is ready. I'll be back right away."

Peter was left alone to think about what he had learnt.

*The Force? The Force? Where have I heard that before?* Suddenly, he remembered. The Jedi.

Yes, that was it! Luke Skywalker and his fight against the Empire. Learning the ways of the Force... the destruction of the Death Star... Obi Wan Kenobi, princess Leia Organa, Han Solo. And the droids. Ever since the previous weekend when Captain Blaisdell had taken him to the cinema to watch 'Star Wars', he kept thinking of Luke Skywalker, longing for a similar possibility to find his destiny far away from the orphanage.

Come to think of it – this old man looked exactly like Obi Wan Kenobi. But had he not died on the Death Star, sacrificing himself so that the others would escape?

The door opened and old Ben came back, a bowl in his hand, followed by a slender blond youth with incredibly blue eyes whom Peter recognised at once. "Luke Skywalker! You're Luke Skywalker!", he blurted out, so impressed with meeting the admired rebel against the Empire that he simply blocked out the question how this could be possible.

His hero shot him a questioning look: "You know me?"

"Yes, of course, who doesn't? I mean... you rescued the princess and destroyed the Death Star and... and saved the Rebellion and... and all that..."

Noticing that Luke obviously didn't have a clue what Peter was talking about, Peter's enthusiasm gradually gave way to embarrassment until he finally became silent.

Luke laughed out loud. "You must take me for somebody else, kid. What gave you the idea that I could do such things?"

He added, somewhat bitterly: " Hey, we're here on Tatooine, nothing exiting ever happens here. As long as my uncle needs me I'm not going anywhere or doing anything remotely interesting. Let alone the Rebellion. And what's more, I'm just an uneducated farm boy from the boondocks – how could I ever meet princesses or rebels or this horrid Death Star?"

Peter was confused. "But I watched..." he corrected himself hastily "… er, heard people tell about the droids landing on Tatooine with a message to Obi Wan Kenobi. This message was sent by a rebel princess who was held captive by the Empire, and you and Ben helped rescue her."

Ben shook his head. "I'm getting too old for this sort of thing. With Luke, it's different. The Force is strong in him, he could achieve great things if he tried. If he had enough self-confidence."

Luke protested. "Not me. I'm just an insignificant orphan, a moisture farmer's hand living in the middle of nowhere. I wouldn't even know how to contact the Rebelion let alone save a rebel princess. – It's not that I like the Empire, I hate it. But there's nothing I can do about it right now. It's such a long way from here."

Understanding began to dawn on Peter. "Are you telling me that in reality you didn't do all the great things I heard and read about? Simply because you lack self-confidence? Because you think you're not the right person, you're not good enough?"

A sharp intake of breath proved that his assumption had hit the mark. Encouraged, he continued: "Hey, your origin or your education may make some things more difficult for you than for others, but don't ever think you're not good enough to go for your goals. I know you can do such things as rescue princesses. And my father used to say 'A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step'. So, if you doubt you can do the whole task start with a tiny part of it, then go on. And suddenly you'll realise that you've completed everything."

Luke and Ben looked at one another, then back at Peter, smiling broadly. They looked extremely pleased and proud of something.

Peter didn't have a clue what was going on. He could only stare at them, at a loss with their sudden change in behaviour.

Finally, Ben began to speak. "So, let me ask you one thing, Peter. You are right in telling Luke not to be discouraged by his being an orphan and alone. But why do you let that very thing happen to you?"

Completely bewildered, Peter gaped at him, speechless.

Luke continued: "If I could achieve great things, why shouldn't you do the same? What makes me so special? Nothing. I'm an orphan, just like you. I don't have many friends, and most people here on Tatooine think I'm nuts. Before getting to know Leia and the rebellion, I led a very lonesome life. Sound familiar?"

Ben added: "Don't listen if other people tell you that you're stupid or insignificant. If they laugh at you and give you names don't let them get you down. They just ignore everything beyond their limited capacity – you, on the other hand, know two different ways of life. That puts you ahead of them. Don't think so lowly of yourself, you don't deserve that.

You're going through a hard time – but, believe me, better times will follow even if, right now, you can't imagine that it's possible. You may even find that you mean a great deal to other people."

Suddenly, Ben's and Luke's faces became blurred and the whole room began to disintegrate. Abruptly, Peter understood that he was about to wake up to a new day in the orphanage. Another day of taunts and hurts. But today, it would be different. His dream would give him the strength to endure it more calmly than before.

And maybe – maybe he could also dare to trust Captain Blaisdell's promise to keep in touch and invite him over the weekend?

The End

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