The next morning she rose early. She filled a canteen with water and took a quarter portion of food that she had found still sitting by the stove where she had left it. She took her staff and the repaired lightsaber and began walking through the sands of Jakku. She knew where a graveyard of ships was it was well hidden and she was among the few scavengers who knew where it was. It would be a long walk, but she hoped to find something there that would make it worth it.

She had been walking for many hours when she turned to look behind her. There was nothing within her view, no one for miles but her. A familiar feeling of loneliness washed over her.

"So lonely." His words echoed in her thoughts.

She looked out at the ocean of sand that surrounded her, imaging that it had been replaced by water. "You imagine an ocean." She heard the words he had spoken to her as clear as if he were standing next to her.

The thought of water made her thirsty and she took a small sip of her water, no more than a drop. Her years on Jakku had taught her to conserve water. Then she continued to walk in the direction that she was headed.

Soon the sun began to fall near the horizon, but there was still at least an hour of light left, so she pressed on. She knew this desert well, it had been her prison for most of her life.

With each step she felt loneliness swallow her, pulling her deeper and deeper. Like a stone sinking in the deep sands of the desert.

Finally the sun began to sink beneath the horizon, so she set up camp with what little supplies she had. She built a fire to keep her warm. The fire would have been cheery, if her friends were here to share it. But they weren't and she was forced to spend more lonely days and nights on Jakku.

She stared into the embers of the fire, not able to think of anything but the day her parents had abandoned her. She could still see their ship flying away, so clear that she wanted to cry out to them: "Don't go! Don't go! Please don't go!" But she was silent, she knew that no one would hear her. And even if her parents had heard her, they wouldn't have come back for her, because they didn't love her. Tears stung her eyes.

"Rey." She heard a voice in front of her. His voice. She looked up to see him sitting across from her on the other side of the fire. She knew that he wasn't here, this was just a Force connection. But it seemed as if he was really there, it seemed as if she could reach out and actually touch him as she had in the hut.

She did not want to face him after what had happened. But she knew that she had to one day, and she was surprised when she actually felt relieved at the sight of him. She didn't want to see him, but in her deep loneliness she longed for company...anyone's company.

"Ben?" she said softly.

His deep brown eyes stared into her own. "Rey, are you alright?" he asked, noticing the tears in the corners of her eyes and sensing the pain that had caused them.

"I just feel lonely," she answered after a moment.

"Rey, remember what I told you, you're not alone," he said.

"I know," she answered. "I just feel alone. And I can't seem to stop thinking about the day that my parents left me."

"I know how you feel," he answered.

"I never got to thank you for saving me from Snoke," she said. "Thank you Ben."

"I couldn't let him kill you, not after we touched hands and I saw your past. I saw who you really are Rey..."

"No one," she interrupted.

"You are no one, but you're also everything. I was born with title and a legacy to live up to. I was born as someone, but I am nothing. You were born with no name, no legacy to live up to. You were born as nothing, but you are everything. And I couldn't let you die," he said.

"Ben you're not nothing, not to me," she said.

"But I am a monster," he replied.

"Kylo Ren is a monster, but you're not Ben. A monster wouldn't risk his life to save me," she said.

"So, you don't think that I'm a monster?" he asked surprised.

She shook her head.

"Well, you would be the first," he said.

"You said that you saw who I really am, when we touched hands. Well, I saw who you really are. And I didn't see a monster. I saw the good in you, I know there's still good in you," she said. "Ben please come back."

"Rey, I wish I could come back, ...for you. But I can't. I'm lost Rey, it's too late for me," he said then he disappeared.

Tears began to spill from her eyes, she wanted Ben to come back. She knew that it was never too late. One day, she hoped that he would see that too.

If there was anything she was good at it was waiting. She had waited many years for her parents to come back, when she knew that they never would. How much longer would she be willing to wait for Ben to come back, when she knew in her heart that one day he would. She would wait a thousand years for him to come back if necessary.