At first, Luke doesn’t recognise the woman made of light he can just about catch in the corners of his eyes. Her arms are wrapped around Vader’s shoulders, and she smiles at the most terrifying man in the galaxy as if he had hung every star in the night sky. But as she lays a kiss on his father’s forehead, Luke is reminded of the day he lost his aunt and uncle, the journey to Yavin IV after he lost Ben, that long night alone in the Falcon after Bespin, after everything changed. After all of those terrible moments, he had felt a presence by his side. Invisible arms clinging to his shoulders and a voice whispering in his ear that he could survive this. He would move on. Every time he touched the Force he felt it, that love that surrounded him, giving him the strength he needed to carry on the fight.
He’d once spent cool evenings at his grandmother’s grave, sharing with her his dreams of flying away from the desert and finding his place in the stars. His uncle had told him it was a waste of time, that the dead could never hear him. Luke had always known Shmi Skywalker was listening.
So as Anakin Skywalker breathes his last, and the lady’s warm arms move to comfort his son instead, Luke realises exactly who she is.
Thanks to @soupstuff for the prompt!
