Padme sat sipping her drink, wondering where Obi-Wan had gone to. Suddenly a small boy caught her attention. He looked to be a little younger than Leia, dressed in dusty white, short sandy hair mussed. He also looked lost. She watched him as he came closer to her. He had blue eyes. This made her look closer. She decided he wasn't that young, just small for his age. It might not be Luke, after all, but he still looked like he needed her help.

"Excuse me," she said softly. "You look like you've lost your way."

He looked up at her, with blue eyes as familiar to her as dreaming and her breath nearly stopped. "My Aunt Beru told me not to talk to strangers."

Aunt Beru? My Luke, my precious Luke. She had to will her heart to start beating again and her lips to form words. "Your Aunt Beru is very wise to tell you that. But I don't think she'd mind if you took a seat with me for a few moments until my friend returns to give you directions."

"You don't live here?" Luke asked, his youthful curiosity getting the best of Beru's careful teachings.

"No, I'm just here visiting a friend. He knows the place; he can help you get back to your home. Do you live in Anchorhead?"

"No, we live on a moisture farm. We were shopping."

"I'm surprised she let you wander off." Padme's voice had a slight edge to it; wasn't Beru supposed to be keeping him safe?

Luke hung his head. "That was my fault. Aunt Beru told me to stay put, but I had to look at the new speeder. I climbed inside and the owner got really mad and yelled at me so I ran away."

"She must be worried sick by now," Padme said.

"Oh." Luke's eyes got wide. He hadn't thought about that.

"Well, we'll just sit here and when my friend gets back, we'll try to find your aunt. By the way, my name is Anja."

"Mine's Luke."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Luke," Padme said, trying to keep the emotion out of her voice as she shook the hand of the child she hadn't seen since his infancy.

Suddenly a man came around the corner. "Pa. . . Anja, I have. . . ."

His voice trailed off as Padme shot him a warning look and nodded toward the boy sitting next to her. "Hello, Ben. Meet my new friend, Luke. He seems to be lost. Perhaps you can direct him to his Aunt Beru?"

Luke looked at him and slid closer to Padme in fright.

"What is it, Luke?" Padme asked in concern.

"He's a crazy man, my uncle says so. I'm not supposed to talk to him."

Ben sighed; Owen's grudge had taken a new form. He could see Padme bristling and shook his head in warning.

"Don't be afraid, Luke," Padme said quietly, "Ben means you no harm. Sometimes when people are a little different, others think they're crazy."

"But Uncle Owen . . ."

"I know your uncle, Luke and your aunt too. They would not mind if I took you back safely to them. They'll understand that you were just in need of help. You do not have to talk to me if you do not want to."

Luke nodded. Somehow Owen's words had sunken in more when it came to Ben than had Beru's warnings about strangers.

Beru was frantic. Luke could not be found anywhere. She had looked all over the speeder lot, near the shipyards, and even in the mechanics' huts. She then looked in the toy stall, but still no Luke anywhere. She should never have let him out of her sight, even for a moment. Owen would be so upset with her. And she was upset with herself; she loved Luke with all of her heart. Could the Empire have come here and found him? No, she shook her head, it was a silly thought. The Empire had very little use for this colonial backwater.

Luke clung to Anja's hand as the man Uncle Owen called a "crazy old hermit" led them through the streets of Anchorhead looking for Aunt Beru. He felt safe with Anja; she was so beautiful and kind. She didn't say much, but she seemed to be quite fond of him and almost looked sad. She also looked so familiar to him, but he couldn't quite place it. He puzzled over it as he followed Ben along.

"I know!" he said suddenly, causing Anja and Ben to stop dead.

"Did you remember where your aunt is?" Anja asked.

"No." He shook his head, wondering why she didn't know what he was talking about. "Biggs' mother has this picture in her house of an angel and you look just like that."

Anja's face grew pale, but she stooped down and kissed him. "That's sweet, Luke." But he wondered why it looked like she was crying when she did so.

Beru wandered aimlessly, asking people if they had seen Luke. A café owner said he'd seen a boy matching Luke's description heading toward the market with a beautiful woman and a man who he thought looked like that "crazy old hermit who lives in the wastelands but what would he be doing with a girl that beautiful?"

She had quickly hurried back toward the market when she saw three people exiting one of the stalls. As they came closer, she recognized Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke and someone whose face she thought she'd never see again.

"Padme." she whispered. But Padme was dead- how could this be?

"Oh Luke," she cried out loud, and the boy came running to her. "Oh, Luke." She clutched him to her chest and hugged him tightly. "Don't ever scare me like that again."

"I'm sorry, Aunt Beru. Anja and Ben helped me find you. Uncle Owen says he's crazy, but he was really nice."

"Thank you, thank you both," Beru said gratefully but she eyed Padme suspiciously.

"Can I have a word with you, Beru?" asked Ben. "I'm sure Anja would be happy to keep an eye on young Luke for a moment."

Beru nodded and motioned for a quiet alleyway.

"Why is she here?" She whispered. "I thought she was dead."

"In a sense, she is."

"Obi-Wan, don't start with that with me. Is she here for Luke?"

"Padme has started a new life with a new name. Padme Amidala is dead. She came here to see him, only see him, not to tell him who she is. We were only intending to see him from afar; running into him was the Force's work. She knows he's better off here. Have mercy on her."

Beru nodded. "Fine, but Owen . . . ."

"Perhaps just this once we could not tell Owen?"

Beru nodded. She didn't want to face Owen's anger if he found out. "All right, just this once. But she's to never talk to him again. Luke is very smart."

"Yes, I know."

"Poor Padme." Beru shook her head. "The things that poor woman has gone through. I don't blame her at all. I wouldn't be able to live on if I were her. I only hope that Luke is more like her than his father."

"We all hope that, Beru, we all hope that."

"Anja!" Obi-Wan's voice called.

"It's time for me to go, Luke. It was nice meeting you," Padme said softly.

"Will I ever see you again?" Luke asked, looking up at her with those eyes, reminding her so much of the young boy she had met on this very planet so long ago. The boy who had called her an angel.

She leaned down and kissed his cheek. "Think of me as your guardian angel, Luke. You may not see me, but I'll always be there. Goodbye, my sweet Luke."

Beru walked over and took Luke's hand. Obi-Wan offered Padme his arm and they walked away. She didn't look back.

The End