It was a desert planet and no one would
expect such a thing as snow to touch down on its sandy surface. All
desert planets were close enough to their respectable stars that snow
seemed like a complete impossibility. The town of Mos Espa wasn't
geographically positioned to receive snow either. But, for the first time
in the recorded history of Tatooine, a thin layer of snow decorated the
plain streets of the city.
When Anakin awoke, he felt cold. As a matter of fact, that was, in all
likelihood, the reason he woke up. The sun hadn't risen from behind the
dunes in the east and sparse stars still looked down upon Tatooine from
the blackened sky. It was particularily dark for even this early in the
day, and Anakin noticed this. For being only six years of age, he noticed
a lot of things like this.
The cot he slept in hung right near a window where he was able to look
out and see nothing but the sky. And that sky was noticeably darker than
usual. Even heavy, dark clouds towered over the planet. This was also an
unusual site. There was barely any moisture to form tiny clouds of
moisture in the skies, no less these monstrous pillows of vapour.
Anakin slid out of his bed and grabbed a small robe that hung from a
sandstone protrusion at the exit to his bedroom. He wiped his eyes and
yawned as he navigated through the hallways in his home. When he found
the kitchen, he began digging through drawers and cupboards, looking for
something to either wake him up, or put him back to sleep. His mother was
planning on getting him up early anyway, so he didn't see much point in
finding something to put him back to sleep.
Anakin fished a narrow sheet of paper out from one of the cupboards and
sat at the kitchen table. He was shivering, and that didn't seem right at
all. It was cold inside his home on this desert planet. Anakin began
folding the sheet of paper into different shapes. Once, he folded it into
the shape of a miniature hydrospanner tool, then unfolded it and tried to
make a ball of paper out of it. It was almost effective. He had nearly
turned it into sphere, but was left with a paper oval. He didn't see it
for long, though, when a gust of wind seemed to emerge out of nowhere and
suck the ball of paper out of the window above the kitchen counters.
Someone had left the window open.
Anakin wasn't impressed. Now he had to retrieve that sheet of paper, even
if the retrieval process wasn't worth being able to fold it artistically
again. He thought that perhaps his mother needed it for something later.
He ambled over to the front exit of his room and opened the door with a
small button mounted off to the side of the door. The panel flashed and
the door slid open rapidly. The brightness nearly made Anakin fall over.
It wasn't dark, or at least it didn't seem dark, something was wrong.
What were normally a dark, brown dirt floor in the streets at this hour
had been transformed into a lighter value.
It was even colder outside and he clutched his own elbows with his hands,
trying to warm up again. He was still in awe from seeing the white
blanket that was laid over the ground. Even on top of the other houses,
it was everywhere. When he stepped in it and looked for the paper, he
realized where the cold was coming from. The snow melted beneath his feet
and seemed to freeze his toes. Anakin hopped back inside for a second at
the shock, but then felt comfortable. He liked the snow.
He had obviously been tired of the excruciatingly hot weather that
Tatooine usually experienced, and he welcomed the snow. He was laughing
when he jumped into the street and started cartwheeling all over the
place. He hadn't had this much fun in a long time. Not even any of his
friends were around, either, and he was still enjoying himself. The paper
that had flown out the window was the least of his concerns. He was happy
to be feeling this cold. It was unlike anything he had ever experienced
before.
Anakin Skywalker continued playing in what little snow there was until
the sun rose. Then more of his friends came out and saw how much fun it
seemed to be. Everyone was so happy that day. Shmi Skywalker watched her
son enjoy himself in the snowy streets until it all melted away and the
fun for the day was over. Anakin came in very cold. He needed a blanket
to warm up and when he became warm again, a regular day's activities
began.
And Anakin Skywalker never felt the cold until he left that planet, and
never again in his life did he appreciate it so very, very much.
