The Wind That Bends the Reeds

[Esther Hadrana]

The transport left the city in late afternoon. Esther watched the ground fall away, before turning back to her grandfather, who was staring at a datapad.

"Where are we going, again?" she asked, sliding a bit closer to him and peeking at the datapad. Denton glanced at her, wary; she'd been very much against leaving this time.

"I am taking you to stay with an old friend of mine. His name is Moranin," Denton answered, fixing his glasses and peering at the screen intently. Esther was looking herself at the screen, reading what she could.

...hologram was given to Cassio Mall, one of the producers. He moved around the galaxy, holding viewings for Alderaani around the galaxy.

"Why can't I go with you?"

"Because," Denton fixed her with a short look over the rims of his eyeglasses. "I've told you how many times, girl? It's dangerous where I'm going. No place for a girl of your age. Perhaps in a year or so I'll begin taking you on some expeditions, but no sooner than that now. Understood?"

She pouted, but nodded.

"This is your pilot speaking. Please strap in and remain seated, we are now beginning hyperspace jump countdown."

Esther strapped herself in and watched her grandfather do likewise, though absently.

"What's Moranin like?" she asked after a moment. Denton sighed quietly, but set the datapad down. As he began to describe the man, she could feel the ship make the jump into hyperspace.

"He's an old friend of mine, as I've said before. He and I had some rough times when we were younger. He lost his eye in a showdown with some pirates, after the same treasure we both were. He was a bit rougher than I. He preferred raising cattle on the plains and rhythms of the seasons much more than I did."

Esther remained quiet, thinking about what her grandfather was saying. She actually disliked it when a person was only physically described. You could never tell a person by what they looked like alone; she wanted to know what their laughter sounded like, how long they would go without shaving, and whether or not they would hug and then cry when they wanted to comfort someone, or start crying and then hug. It was all information that told her what kind of person they were.

"He can read, but doesn't enjoy it much. He doesn't much like the holobroadcasts either. He's never been very patient."

Esther leaned against Denton and listened to his voice until she fell asleep.

[Esther Hadrana]

"...Esther, wake up, little one."

She shot up, suddenly awake and alert, looking about herself quickly and regaining her bearings.

"Are we...?" she asked, hiding her expression of disappointment. She suspected that her grandfather still saw it, though.

"Yes," he said, grabbing his baggage and standing. She grabbed her own bag and stood as well, following him as he exited the transport, into the loudest and dirtiest city she'd ever seen in her life.

Denton himself had a look of half-hidden nostalgia on his face.

"What is this place?"

"This is Duvlain," Denton said with a slight grin.

Esther wrinkled her nose.

"This place is fairly isolated; almost as much as Tatooine," the old archaeologist said. "You will be safe here."

Denton led her out into the city, which quieted down as they got farther away from the landing pads and the spaceport. Denton began to narrate another story for her of the places they were walking through. She didn't really listen to anything except the tone and pitch of his voice.

Her attention returned as they drew closer to a plaza which was filled with carts hitched to strange creatures with four legs and long faces.

"What are those?" she asked.

"Those are called capall," he said. "Most of this planet remains undeveloped, mostly to raise cattle and animals for making fabrics. The people use these to travel from place to place. It can be both cheaper and more expensive than a speeder."

Esther remained quiet, staring at the creature while Denton spoke with the capall driver.

"Brodin? Oh yes, I know him," the driver said, looking at her and then back to Denton. "It'll cost ye fifty creds."

Esther remained quiet until they left the city behind, a dot on the horizon; Denton was also quiet, reading his datapad intently.

"What's so important that you have to go get?" she asked, fiddling with her braids. "That I can't go with you?"

Denton looked at her for a moment.

"I'm going to find a very important piece of history, Esther," he said seriously. "One that we need if we want stay Alderaani instead of losing our identity. We lost the most important piece of our lives, and everything else is slowly disintegrating away."

Esther listened, though her pout remained.

"If I can find this, Esther, we may lose our sense of our planet, but we will not lose the past, what had brought us to this moment."

Esther nodded, finally seeing that he couldn't be made to stay, and that she couldn't go. Blinking away tears, she silenced, and watched as the ground became green and lush, tall grass swaying gently in the breeze.

It was pretty, but it was hard for her to enjoy the beauty of the place her guardian was leaving her at. She blinked away tears and curled her arms around her knees.