𝐈𝐂𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐃 𝐆𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐕𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐑 held her in a seemingly never ending grip; always fighting for strength without ever daring to release her. That day on Exegol was so fresh on her mind as though it had been mere minutes --- treasured repeats of seconds --- and not the days or weeks that truly had passed. So much had been lost; countless lives shattered in one way or another. The words of Maz Kanata played on her mind like a haunting nightmare, like a shiver that went down her spine and relentlessly reminded her of the horrors that had come afterwards and mixed in with the good days. The belonging you seek is not behind you... it is ahead. Oh, she had been right. Maz had spoken with the wisdom of the ages. It had all made sense; with each step of her journey the young Jedi had become more herself, found a family in people that she could say she truly cared about and somehow... she had found Ben.
And just when she thought it was finally over, thought that they had finally won he’d slipped away from her. The pure joy that she had felt when he sat in front of her with that smile, the happiness of just being there and the knowledge that they were both fine; it had been the happiest moment. And then it had all ended, in the blink of an eye he’d fallen back. Before her hands could move and reach out for the man that had saved her, his body had vanished entirely. There’d been a weird feeling, as though this had a deeper meaning. Somewhere in the distance --- such a dark distance --- in the depths of time and space Rey could still feel him and yet a part of her felt as though he was gone. Was he dead? No, she refused to believe that. Perhaps that was the reason - the one thing that had given her the strength to go on as though he was just a step away.
Somehow Rey had made it back to the ship, had made her way to rejoin the resistance in the sky. Oh, there had been moments of joy then and there and there was no denying that seeing her new family most alive and well was something she was going to be forever grateful for. This was her chosen family; a group of people she’d have died for if she had to. In truth, wasn’t that what she had done? Her life had been lost, for that tiny moment her own eyes had seen it and then there’d been Ben. It is another second she allows herself before her mind wanders back to the resistance; to Poe and Finn, Chewie and all the other wonderful and brave people. They had won and no one could ever take that from them again.
Now, days and weeks had passed. It was not the first time and certainly not the last that she’d woken from a dream with tears coating her already sore cheeks. Rey couldn’t quite understand what was going on. Every night her eyes would fall upon Ben Solo in a place she’d never seen before; like a world between worlds --- so, so far away from her. Everytime she’d wake up, crying or screaming out for the man to come back to her. Over the weeks a feeling of sadness had sad in. The belief that Ben Solo truly had died and gone over the force had solidified in her mind almost against her will. However much she hoped that he was still there, the chances were close to non existent and perhaps he’d finally found peace; a peace that Rey herself hadn’t felt ever since the dreams began.
The young Jedi allowed herself to fall back, her back falling against a pillow that no longer seemed soft. Exhaustion was pulling on her, drowning out the darkness around her to fill it with light. There it was; the place she’d never seen before. There he was; Ben Solo, looking exactly like the day she’d last seen him. ❝ --- Why can’t you just be real? ❝ It was the desperate plea of a semi dreaming mind; one last plea before she fully drifted off.