Kenobi wasted no time. As the Falcon hummed through hyperspace, he took Luke and me to the small hold where he had decided was suitable to train. He gestured for me to sit opposite Luke, and as I lowered myself to the floor, I felt the weight of my father's necklace against my chest.
"Close your eyes," Kenobi instructed. "Feel the Force around you. It flows through all living things. Through you."
I inhaled slowly, trying to focus. At first, there was nothing—just the distant hum of the ship's engines. Then, something flickered in the darkness behind my closed eyes, like the first spark of a fire. It was faint, but it was there.
"Good," Kenobi said softly. "Reach out with your senses. Let the Force guide you."
The spark grew, shifting into something warmer, something familiar. A presence, watching over me. My fingers tightened around the crystal on my necklace.
And then, for the first time in my life, I truly felt the Force.
A deep breath filled my lungs, and an unseen current seemed to flow through me. My awareness expanded—I could feel Luke across from me, his own presence in the Force, uncertain yet eager. The hum of the Falcon's engines became more than sound; I felt them as part of a greater whole.
"Do not fight it," Kenobi urged. "Let the Force speak to you."
For a moment, it felt as if the very air around me was alive, pulsing with something ancient and powerful. And then, like a whisper on the wind, I heard it—a voice, distant yet familiar. A memory not my own. I gasped, my eyes flying open.
Kenobi nodded knowingly. "Good. You have taken your first step into a larger world."
I blinked rapidly, my mind racing. The voice. It had been... a whisper, yet I knew it. It was familiar, like the echo of a memory long forgotten but never truly gone. But how?
"Who... who was that?" I asked, my voice coming out shaky, unsure of what I had just experienced.
Kenobi's eyes softened, and he gave a slow nod. "That was the Force speaking to you. It connects us all. What you felt was a fragment of something much older, something that you may not even fully understand yet."
I glanced over at Luke, who was sitting cross-legged beside me, eyes wide with curiosity, but there was a quiet hesitation in his gaze. He wasn't yet sure how to embrace the Force the way Kenobi had instructed us, but I could sense his own pull to it—though not as clear, not as strong as mine.
Kenobi seemed to notice the unspoken question in my eyes. "Do not concern yourself with what you heard, not yet. The Force can guide you in strange ways. Sometimes, it gives us glimpses of things we might not be ready for. Trust in it, but be cautious."
The weight of his words settled around me like a cloud, and I found myself glancing down at the crystal that hung from my neck again. The necklace felt warm against my skin, almost as if it were pulsing with the same energy I had just sensed. Was it the crystal, or the Force itself that had allowed me to hear that voice? My hand instinctively brushed over it, trying to make sense of what I had just felt.
Luke seemed to catch the motion, his brow furrowing. "What is that?" he asked, pointing at the necklace. His voice was laced with genuine curiosity, though a bit of wariness still clung to his words.
"This?" I whispered, holding up the crystal in the soft light of the hold. "It's my father's. I don't know why I have it, or even how it came to be mine. It's all I have left of him."
Kenobi turned his gaze toward the necklace, a deep, almost imperceptible sadness flickering in his eyes. "A powerful relic," he murmured, almost to himself. "Some objects in the galaxy are imbued with memories, emotions, or even the essence of those who have come before. The Force sometimes ties itself to such things. Be careful with it."
I nodded, but I couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to my father's legacy than just a simple heirloom. The crystal felt significant, and the voice I had heard—it had to be his. But why?
Kenobi leaned forward, his tone changing to one of quiet wisdom. "The Force will guide you, but it is your journey to walk. Luke and you will need time to understand it, to harness it. But remember—patience and balance are key."
I took a slow breath, trying to ground myself in the present moment. "What happens now?"
"Now," Kenobi said with a slight smile, "we begin."
He stood, motioning for both of us to rise. "Luke, you will focus on your connection with the Force. Do not rush. Feel it, breathe with it. The lightsaber will come later. For now, you must learn to listen."
Luke nodded, a small frown on his face. He was still struggling, I could tell. I had felt that same uncertainty in myself only moments before. I glanced at him, then back at Kenobi.
"And me?" I asked.
Kenobi's smile faded, becoming more serious. "You, young one, have a unique path before you. The Force has already shown itself to you. But there is more that you must learn. The crystal you hold is a key—its significance is not yet clear, but it will become so in time. Until then, you will learn to control what you've just begun to sense. That is your task for now."
I nodded, though the weight of his words lingered. The crystal is a key. I didn't know exactly what it meant, but the certainty in Kenobi's voice made me believe it. Somehow, this necklace was part of something bigger—a mystery I had to unravel.
Kenobi turned his attention to Luke, who was still sitting cross-legged, eyes closed, his brow furrowed in concentration. "Luke, I want you to try something. Focus on the Force. This time, try to move something small, something simple."
Luke's eyes fluttered open, uncertainty clear in his expression. "You mean, like telekinesis?"
Kenobi nodded. "Exactly. The Force can move objects, shape the world around us. But before you can move anything, you must first understand your connection to it."
Luke looked at his hands, then at me, his brow furrowing in a mixture of doubt and determination. He closed his eyes again, and I watched as he focused. I could feel the tension in the air, a soft ripple of energy as he struggled to connect.
Kenobi's eyes glimmered with a quiet patience. He stood beside Luke for a moment, watching him, then spoke softly, guiding him. "The Force is not something you force yourself to control. It is something you align with. It is there, always, like the wind or the water. Feel it. Let it flow through you."
Luke inhaled deeply, and for a moment, the air around us seemed to hum with energy. I held my breath, watching. Slowly, a small object—a piece of debris that had been resting on the floor—began to tremble. It lifted, just a fraction, as if Luke's connection to the Force was barely grasped.
Then, with a sudden crackle of energy, the object dropped to the floor, and Luke opened his eyes, staring at it with wide surprise.
"It was moving," he whispered. "It... actually moved!"
Kenobi smiled, though it was a quiet, knowing expression. "It did. And so did you. It takes time, but you will get there. Now, take a moment to rest. Tomorrow, we continue."
As Kenobi turned to me, I felt a flicker of something inside me—something that called me forward. I wasn't sure where this journey would lead, but for the first time in my life, I felt like I was standing on the threshold of something vast, something greater than myself.
And with the crystal resting against my chest, I felt as if I were already one step closer to finding the answers I sought.