The Redemption of Fate ~ A Reylo Story

1

The arid, desolate sand dunes of Tatooine surrounded Rey. The sun blared and the dry breeze blew. It whipped around at her hair and garments. Clouds of minuscule sand particles gusted past her and BB-8 who sat observing it all in silence.  Sandy bits collected on her sticky skin. A sand storm was coming, as BB-8 had chirped, and it was coming fast. 
Normally, if Rey had a clear conscience, she would have taken shelter long before the wind gusts picked up, but her musing was too consumptive--too demanding. She was perplexed. 

Only six days had passed since Rey buried Luke and Leia's lightsabers in the coarse sand of the lonesome Tatooine desert. And she hadn't returned back to Ajan Kloss, the new Resistance Base, yet. Unwillingness engulfed her. The desert had always been a safe haven--the only place she had ever known comfort in. So Rey stayed put. The gracious elderly woman, Carida,--who, by the looks of it, never had a single visitor in her entire life--was more than obliged to lend Rey a place of safety in her Tatooine cave home. There Rey slept, ate what she could, and meditated. Everyday, every opportunity Rey had, she connected with the force, probing it, trying to connect to it in a way she never had before. She was searching for the ghost of Ben Solo. 

Rey sighed heavily. She scooped up a pile of sand in her hand, watching it as it slipped through her fingers like a waterfall of beige dust. She had tried, for three days now, to connect with Ben Solo through the force. Countless, innumerable times. All of which had failed. Not his ghost, his presence, or even a whisper of reply in her head reciprocated her effort to reach him. Nothing. She had come up as dry as the desert she sat in. And her raging emotions inside whipped around at her heart like the battering winds she fought against in the desert.
"At least I have you, BeBe-Eight." Rey said, looking wistfully at the droid that sat nestled against her. BB-8 chirped out mechanical beeps and buzzes in his binary droidspeak. 

Rey nodded, inwardly chuckling at the droid's response. "Yes, you are a great friend."
But Ben, Rey thought, he was--
"You coming inside yet? All this wind might blow up a nasty sand storm." Carida barked, waving her frail arms all about the barren desert in warning.
"Yes, you're right." Rey sucked in a breath, pushed herself up, and threw aside her miserable thoughts. BB-8 followed her into Carida's impoverished home. 

The terrain grew impossible just moments after Rey settled down on the lumpy mattress in the dusty, but quaint spare room of Carida's home. It was bleak, but it was homey, and Rey found comfort inside. There were no windows, but she could only image the sandy rage that pounded onto the walls. The sound of nanoscopic dust particles pummeling and eroding the shelter was audible. BB-8 rolled up to Rey's side on the ground-level bed. "It'll be over soon, BeBe-Eight." Rey consoled, staring into his spherical, dark eye. A smile grew onto her dirtied face. She straightened out the droid's antenna as it beeped out a response.  
"Thank you, BeBe-Eight. I'll be alright."

                                                                                                    ***

Peace at Tatooine was restored the next morning when Rey awoke. The damage was more minimal than expected; just a couple trading posts that were eroded. The Jawas were none too pleased. 
"Morning, Carida." Rey greeted. Today was a new day. A new chance to connect with Ben, and there was nothing stopping Rey. 
Carida acknowledged her visitor, pouring blue milk into two clay cylindrical cups. "Here, have some Bantha milk."   
"Thank you." Rey took the cup in her hands, downing the sweet, nutrient-packed milk.
"What are your plans for today, Rey?" Carida asked, her fragile body shaking as she sat down on the stool beside her small kitchen. 

"More meditating." Rey replied, then gestured to her small companion. "With BeBe-Eight, of course."
"Well, afterwards I need help bathing my eopies."
Rey involuntarily wrinkled her nose. Eopies were stinky, stubborn quadrupeds. Filthy, especially from the sand storm. Not that Rey was in the position to judge the animals--she was probably no filthier than them. 
She nodded in agreement. "Alright. Just give me a moment, I need to--"
"Oh, I know," Carida cut her off, a sly smile creeping onto her overly-wrinkled mouth, "go do your Jedi tricks, or whatever you kids call it, then you and me will clean."

Rey nodded, satisfied with the plan. "Great. Come on BeBe-Eight." With a quick swivel of her feet, Rey took off for the door. She sucked in a deep breath of the hot, stale air. Ambition pumped through her. "This is it, Ben." Rey exhaled. "This is it."