After our little adventure in the library, I went out of my way to avoid Sana Starros. Because every time I thought of her, those dark eyes and that whiskey voice, I got… mushy. I thought I had grown past such things, especially since my mother’s mushiness was her downfall.

And it’s not like things got easier for me after Mom died in that backwater ditch. See, with her dying breath, she called in the Imps, and they shipped me back to my dad—who was still obsessed with Jedi artifacts and his own greatness.

There may have been a…small incident wherein I tried to burn down his house with all of his research in it.

Maybe it’s weird that I decided to become an archaeologist, since my dad’s obsession with his work is kind of what destroyed my family. I think I saw it as something I could make exciting. It would take me all over the galaxy, away from boring places like Arbiflux.

I never factored mushiness into the equation. Like I said, I was really, really trying not to be like Mom.

But I remember the day the mushiness got the better of me.

I was standing at the base of the university’s outdoor climbing formation, a massive wall of jagged rock. It was between classes, and I was all by myself. Students usually opted to scale this perilous structure with a safety harness and cable tethered to their waist—in fact, they were required to.

But I hated that harness. I wanted to feel free. And I’d been waiting for this moment: when I’d be able to sneak out here by myself and finally scale the wall untethered.

My eyes wandered upward to gaze at every harsh angle, every place someone could fall…

I felt that thrill gather deep in my bones. My heart beat faster as I stepped forward, my gloved hands clamping against the sunbaked rocks.

And I started to climb. My hands grabbed the rocks carefully, methodically. At this point, I practically had the whole formation memorized.

I was nearly at the top—my shirt sticking to my sweaty back, the calluses on my hands pulsating through my protective gloves…

And then I heard a voice— that voice. Soft, smoky, a little deep…

SANA STARROS:

What is that insane woman doing?

APHRA (narration):

My head whipped around—and I saw her. She was standing on the ground below, hands on her hips, head cocked to the side. Looking thoroughly perturbed.

SANA STARROS:

Aphra? Is that you? Do you have a death wish or are you just a complete fool?

APHRA (narration):

I… Void, this next part is so humiliating.

I let go. I fell. And I crashed right into Sana Starros, who broke my fall and probably saved me from breaking my neck.

SANA STARROS:

Oof.

APHRA (narration):

“But Chelli,” you’re saying. “Why did you let go?”