I guess you could call this Alternate Universe since I know the Solo kids (at least in the Expanded Universe books) grew up in a very different circumstance than the picture this paints. George Lucas felt differently though in his MTV interview, I hear. But I kind of just got to wondering one day what this situation might have played out like. I don't own any of these people, by the way.

"Anniversary"
Star Wars
Amos Whirly

Prologue

The funny man was very tall. He was probably taller than Papa. But he was different than Papa. I could touch Papa, and I couldn't touch the funny man. Every time I tried, my hand fell right through him.

Jaina thinks he's a ghost.

Maybe he is, but I don't really care. He tells us funny stories. He smiles at us a lot, but he smiles like Uncle Luke. When my papa smiles, his eyes sparkle. It's like his eyes are smiling too.

When my Uncle Luke smiles, his eyes stay quiet. Kind of like he doesn't really feel like smiling. And that's how the funny man smiles.

It's like he smiles to make us feel better.

Jaina says she wants him to smile because he wants to smile. She wants him to smile like he means it.

I want to know where he learned to tell stories. His stories are always fun and full of adventures with space ships and daring races and alien enemies. In his stories, he goes on wild treks across the universe, fighting for peace and saving his friend from certain death.

His friend always seems to get into trouble.

So we sit and listen to his stories, Anakin and Jaina and me. We love to listen to him talk. I know Winter thinks we're talking to each other with the Force. We do that sometimes too. But most of the time, we're listening to the funny man.

Whenever he comes, he tells us stories, but he always leaves before Mama gets home.

I want him to see Mama because we told him how pretty she is. We told him all about Papa and Chewbacca and Uncle Luke and Threepio and Artoo. He seemed really interested in Threepio and Artoo.

But no matter how much we ask him to stay, he always leaves before she gets home.

Jaina says he's scared of Mama.

I can understand that. Mama can be scary.

But the funny man doesn't seem like he gets scared very often.

Maybe someday he'll stay. I think he'll like my Mama.