4 Chapter 2: Being both Cedric and Anakin?
-Via Lactea, Planet Earth, Greece, Athens, Vorsiliu Mansion
-November 1, 1981
On November 1, 1981, in the ancient and luxurious Vorsiliu Mansion in Athens, Greece, a tear-soaked child named Cedric Diggory was in one of the many rooms of the massive mansion.
Cedric Diggory, at just 4 years old, had experienced a magical and unique situation that would change the course of the entire future in the cosmos.
Suddenly, the boy who lay in a puddle of tears lifted his head and opened his gray eyes with a look of surprise, confusion, and reflection.
Today, Cedric Diggory opened his eyes like a new person.
All of this was because the look in the eyes of this child did not belong solely to the original owner of this body; it was now also partly the gaze of Anakin Skywalker.
That's right, on one hand, there was Cedric, who until a few hours ago had been crying and was now completely open-eyed in a state of shock and silence, trying to understand his situation... trying to understand who he was.
On the other hand, there was Anakin, who found himself waking up from his strange and very lucid "dream" only to find himself in the body of the child Cedric, whom he had been "dreaming" about and witnessing all the way from his infancy to his recent fourth birthday.
His gray eyes just stared confusedly at the brown ceiling before trying to analyze the situation and formulate a response to what was happening to him.
Yes, after waking up, he had no idea what the hell was happening to him.
All Anakin/Cedric knew was that in some way, he was now something like two people in one...
Impossible, one might think, but here he was.
This was no longer just a very vivid dream because he not only felt that this was real, but in the depths of his being, he knew that for some reason, he was both Cedric Diggory and Anakin Skywalker.
"How is this even possible...?" for him, this simply couldn't be logically possible. He wanted to think that it was just Anakin and that it had all been an overly vivid dream, but no, every fiber of his being was telling him that he couldn't lie to himself and believe that.
It was as if a part of him, like Anakin, was forcing him to ignore the fact that this was real, and then there was his other part, like Cedric, that reminded him that this was very real, that he was also present, scared and confused, just like his other part.
"This is absurd..." he thought frustrated, trying unsuccessfully to understand his situation. He wanted to believe that he was either Anakin or Cedric, but he still couldn't fully accept that he was two people.
"But here I am..." he muttered.
His part as Anakin had a greater presence in his mind and was screaming louder that he was just Anakin, but his part as Cedric didn't give up, and even though it had a lesser presence in his mind, it still managed to make its clear presence felt.
He simply didn't know what to do with the endless emotions, feelings, memories, and knowledge of his two lives...
"And now what?" he reflected aloud, frustrated.
What was he going to do? His entire situation was so damn bizarre now, but he calmed down; he couldn't go into denial now.
"What happened?" he asked himself, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't come to any logical conclusion.
Everything happened somehow, by some unknown means, and for some unknown reason...
Suddenly, he heard a voice speaking to him and immediately recognized that voice.
"How are you feeling, kid?" Qui-Gon Jinn asked lightly but with clear concern as he suddenly appeared in front of him.
"Th-this... M-Master Qui-Gon? Is... is it really you?" he asked, surprised, confused, and hopeful at the sight of the Jedi Master in what he supposed was a very strange hologram.
"That's right, Anakin, or rather, Cedric now," Qui-Gon Jinn responded calmly with a friendly smile.
"I... uh, I don't understand what happened, Master... I... I, as Anakin, was flying, and then I entered the ship that controlled the droids. An-and... w-well..., I started shooting from inside the ship to destroy it, and when I was leaving, the ship started to explode..." he began to say rapidly, a confused and desperate Anakin.
Qui-Gon Jinn was looking at the poor, confused boy in front of him, who was desperately trying to explain in some way everything he remembered happening to him.
"... I was about to get out, but then the fire surrounded the ship and... then... I... uh... then suddenly, I found myself in the body of a child named Cedric, I... don't know how..."
"... but as Cedric, I lived a whole new life, a-and now I have new parents on a new planet with magic called Earth with a 24-hour day, and in a galaxy different and distant from what I once knew as Anakin..."
"And I know that they are my parents and I know that I am Cedric, but it's strange because I am Anakin! A-and my mother is Shmi Skywalker... right?" he continued saying quickly while trying to explain and make sense of everything that was happening to him. He was completely stunned and lost in his many thoughts, memories, and experiences.
"I don't understand, Master... it's like I'm two different people..."
"How can I be both Cedric and Anakin?! It doesn't make sense," he asked desperately and frustrated, unable to understand what the hell was happening to him. He was sure he was Anakin Skywalker, the son of Shmi Skywalker, but he also felt like he was Cedric Diggory, the son of Amos and Barbara Diggory.
"I know, kid, believe me, I know," Qui-Gon nodded with a tired but very kind smile as he gently looked at the confused and worried young man in front of him.
"Listen, this may be difficult and very confusing for you right now, but you must understand that from now on, you are both Anakin and Cedric, and you must accept the feelings of both..." Qui-Gon Jinn began calmly, trying to reassure him and make him relax.
"... Both lives you lived are real and are you; they make up who you are..."
"... And it is also essential for you to be aware that we are currently on a pre-space industrial planet with rudimentary computer systems that lack any kind of network, program, or artificial intelligence, and you, kid, are now physically only Cedric Diggory. Your parents are Amos and Barbara Diggory, who love and appreciate you very much..."
...
Qui-Gon Jinn spent some time gradually explaining everything to the boy until he managed to calm down and understand what he was saying.
Qui-Gon couldn't allow him to go into denial now; the boy had to try to understand and accept that from now on, he was both Anakin and Cedric.
Of course, it wasn't all that easy because although the boy had calmed down after talking with Qui-Gon Jinn and understanding his situation, everything inside him was still a complete mess.
His emotions were a tangle of threads, and his mind was still sorting through the two lives he had lived. Clearly, the boy showed a slight preference for his personality as Anakin Skywalker, although he knew he was also Cedric Diggory. This was due to the stark difference in experiences between a 9-year-old and a 4-year-old.
Nevertheless, the feelings, emotions, and other aspects that made up both Cedric and Anakin were deeply ingrained in him now. From the deep love and affection he felt for his parents as Cedric to his fascination with flying broomsticks and Quidditch, as well as various other things that had marked the life of the 4-year-old.
But with his part as Anakin Skywalker being more predominant than Cedric Diggory, he couldn't help but think a lot about his mother on Tatooine and even about Padmé. He wanted to see them both again. His mother was his greatest support as Anakin; he loved her. On the other hand, Padmé was an angel who had taken over his mind and body, one who constantly appeared in his thoughts and made him feel that they had a special and unique connection. She had left a lasting, significant, and emotionally intense impression.
Qui-Gon Jinn wasted no time and taught the boy to meditate so that he could better manage his current emotional and mental development, which was essential.
All Jedi learning techniques involved meditation and mental organization. So, Qui-Gon first had the boy sit with his back straight and hands resting in his lap in a comfortable place in the room.
Then, he taught him to focus on his breath, having him inhale deeply through his nose, feeling the air fill his lungs, and then exhale slowly through his mouth.
After a while, Qui-Gon explained and helped him understand that thoughts were like clouds in the sky of his mind. He told him that they could be observed calmly without judgment, as a spectator, and that if many thoughts suddenly came together, it was okay. He just had to let them pass like the clouds floating in the sky.
He let him know that if he felt different emotions like sadness, anger, or anxiety, he could calmly label them in his mind as "sadness" or "anger." This simple act of recognition could help calm the emotions and relax his mind.
And in moments when doing this didn't help, and he felt overwhelmed by thoughts or emotions, he taught him to quickly refocus on his breath because breathing was an anchor that kept them in the present.
When the boy finally stopped feeling overwhelmed by everything, Qui-Gon asked him to gently open his eyes and return to the present.
