Saga Just a Little While Longer - A Shmi vignette- AOTC missing scene

Title: Just a Little Longer
Author: VaderLVR64
Characters: Shmi Skywalker-Lars
Time: AOTC
Genre: Angst, vignette
Summary: Shmi fights despair in the Tusken camp.




Just a Little While Longer



Just a little while longer.

That is what she tells herself when she feels her body surrendering to the pain and the fear. It is the shield that protects her when she thinks her heart won?t beat another moment or her lungs take another breath.

Just a while longer and your waiting will be rewarded.

She does not know why she is so certain that he will come. He is a galaxy away and has no idea that she is here, slowly dying.

But her heart, foolish as it may be, says his name with every beat and the flesh stubbornly listens. So she waits for him. She sends him her love, a mere whisper on winds that might never reach him.

She has always hoped that they would be reunited. Her arms have ached for the little boy she had given to his destiny. Her heart has remembered the son who had gone so far away. Never does a mother forget.

She holds on to a slim hope which grows dimmer with every labored breath. His name is her talisman, holding death at bay.

Just a little while longer.

Time passes in a haze that every now and then brings her to a gasping halt, struggling to break through the churning waters of her suffering. She strives to comprehend what is happening to her.

Her mind drifts back to the day her son was born. That had been the first day of her new life, a better life.

Small and indignant, he had wailed when he was thrust out into the galaxy that awaited him. His miniature arms flailing, he had screamed his fear until he was placed in her arms.

Quietly, he had gazed up at her, utter trust and contentment on his face. He slept peacefully in her embrace, barely twitching as the hours passed. In those hours she had known complete acceptance for the first time in her life.

From that moment on, she had been completely his.

The garbled sound of voices outside the tent brought her back to this time, this place. She mourns the loss of those magical moments. That had been the golden pinnacle of her years; those hours spent holding her newborn son. He was hers then, only hers. He did not belong to the Jedi or Watto, but only to her. For just a moment, he had been hers alone.

A sharp jab to her already shattered ribs pulls a choked sob from her. The weakness of her own voice frightens her. Too frail to scream any longer and unwilling to give them the satisfaction, she silently endurs as she had always done.

To live is to endure.

Perhaps, she thinks, there will be no last reunion.

Then she buries that treacherous thought as far down as she can, hiding it from view. It exists no longer, so deeply is it buried.

If ever a miracle will occur, it would be her Anakin who created it. Always he has known the deepest secrets of her heart. He would hear her cry; somehow he would feel her reaching out to him.

Just a little while longer.

It is her mantra now. The litany of hope and release that keeps her spirit chained to her flesh. It will not be long now, for she cannot bear it. And he will never let her endure more than she is able. He will be coming to her now. His love guiding him as truly as the stars guided the navigators.

Despite the pain of her swollen and battered lips, she smiles. It seems natural to think of Anakin and flying in the same heart beat. She has always known that he was meant to roam the stars. She had recognized it almost as soon as he could walk. His feet were simply not made to be mired in the mud and sand.

But as the hours and the days and the weeks passed, hopelessness begin to find fertile ground within her. Perhaps she has deluded herself. Hope unfulfilled is a cruel mistress.

And then a wisp of that warmth that she can only think of as her son wafts by her.

That elusive hope strengthens her and against all logic she is sure. He will come; somehow he will find a way. And she wil

 

Wonderfully done. I loved the repetition of a little while longer and the hope that it gave Shmi. Really made her pain and her love for her son very real. Great job.

 

Oh, that last part was especially wonderful, about wanting to take away his pain. And before that, the moment when he belonged only to her.

Loved it!

 

Awwwww....this was wonderful! You captured Shmi's thoughts beautifully. "Just a little while longer" fits perfectly, because I think that's what she was doing...waited until she reunited with her son....after that she can finally let go.

 

Oh dear VaderLVR that was so wonderfully done. You've captured Shmi's thoughts and emotions during that scene so wonderfully well. So sad!

 

Ahhh man that was so heartfelt, warm and loving! Man tears misted my own eyes! That was so sad and awesome! Excellent job! You did awesome with Shmi!

 

Beautiful and heartbreaking! Lovely as always.

 

And she is not that in that filthy tent any more. Her mind takes her where her body cannot. She is not dying in her son?s arms. Instead, he is in hers and they are just beginning their journey together, not ending it.

Lovely and incredibly sad!

 

That about sums it up.

 

dianethx Thank you. Actually, I sort of got the idea from something totally unrelated. I remembered that when I was in labor I would tell myself "just one more contraction and then I'll quit!" Which of course was nonsense, but it worked, LOL

JadeSolo Thank you! I love Shmi and don't get a chance to write her too often.

BrownEyes_Blue I'm so glad you liked it. Shmi is one special lady and I think she DID hold on just in case there was any hope of seeing her son one last time.

Layren I've always wondered how terrible those days would be, all alone and knowing that eventually she would die without anyone there to comfort her. Thank you for reading.

Kynstar Awww, shucks! And thanks!

AnakinsHeir Thank you, as always!

LukesTheMan I'm so glad you liked it.

VadersMistress Once again, you've expressed yourself perfectly! But you always do it with a lot more words at home, LOL!

 

You won't believe this, but I watched AOTC just the other day and when it got to that scene I thought, "I wonder what Shmi was thinking all that time? Did she somehow know he would come back for her?"

And then I saw this vig and it was perfect!

Beautiful job, VaderLVR.

 

i'm still around

man, this was good.

He would be coming to her now. His love guiding him as truly as the stars guided the navigators.
it was so nice to think of his motivation as love...for some reason, i've only imagined the fear & anger that he felt during his desparate search for her...tho i knew it was b/c of love, still this line really seemed to drive home that fact.

great job, VL!

 

You know how much I love this viggie. The way Shmi wanted to see him one last time, and how at the end, her fear wasn't for herself but wanting to live so that she could take away Anakin's pain. *sob*

Touching his face, she longed to say so many things. But his pain stole away the thoughts that fought to tumble past her lips. Her heart swelled with fear for him. He hurt, oh gods, he hurt too much.

Wishing she could live if only to take away his pain, she felt her spirit surrender at last.

And she is not that in that filthy tent any more. Her mind takes her where her body cannot. She is not dying in her son?s arms. Instead, he is in hers and they are just beginning their journey together, not ending it.

She will hold her baby, letting him know that the galaxy is a wondrous place to be.

She will hold him.

Just a little while longer.

 

Fantastic-- great job depicting her pain and the little hope she has left to see Anakin. It personalizes Anakin and makes it seem incredible that he ever goes astray.

 

Awwwww, so sad, VaderLVR! Aw, poor Shmi, yeah I can imagine her holding on for Anakin to come. Her faith that he would come is like his that she was still alive. Just like a mother to think all those things about him. Really good story. I always feel sorry for Shmi and wish Qui-Gon could have gotten her freed too. Ah well, wouldn't be the same story if that happened. At least she got to see Anakin.

 

Beautiful fic. The pattern was very lyrical in a heart wrenching sort of way.

 

Jedi Trace I feel a special attachment to Shmi, she's one of my favorite SW characters.

SarkaVrae My poor baby! He was so scared!

Gina Thank you for reading! You're always so sweet!

Shmi02 His mother should be around to give him a hard smack on his fanny! Or I'd volunteer!

AthenaLeigh I would love to have seen more of Shmi in the movies.

Neo-Paladin Thank you.

 

That was heartbreaking and beautiful



I liked how Shmi desperately held on to the hope she would see Anakin again.

Bravo!

 

You imbued that single sentence with a lot of power; it says so much without saying much at all. That's one of the essences of great writing, very well done Vader!

 

wow. the introspective was wonderful...


I nearly cried.

 

And she is not that in that filthy tent any more. Her mind takes her where her body cannot. She is not dying in her son?s arms. Instead, he is in hers and they are just beginning their journey together, not ending it.


Beautifully done!