I walk around the small hut, looking at all the remnants of Luke's belongings, used for his daily living as a hermit; a small stone table and crudely assembled wooden chair, a clay bowl with fish bones left in it and a cloak, hung to dry. Luke's presence is strong here.I rest my hand on the flat stones, stacked on top of each other to make the walls of the hut.

There's something sacred about these walls, about the endless ocean surrounding this small island. They're like a cloaking shield, a barrier hiding my location from Kylo Ren. Even when he was communicating with me here, through the Force, he didn't know where I was. Is this why Luke hid here? Because he knew Kylo wouldn't be able to find him here?

As long as I remain hidden and don't turn to the Dark Side, there will always be balance. I am the other half of that balance. The more contact I have with Kylo Ren, the more I run the risk of turning. I came so close to accepting his invitation. I shudder at the thought.

"You can't hide away here."

I turn to see Rose in the doorway. How long was she standing there?

"I thought you and Finn went back to the Millennium Falcon for the night," I say.

"We did." Rose glances out the back window, at the sunset rising on the horizon. Is it morning already? I didn't even sleep a wink, seeking answers from this place where I last felt a true connection to the Force, answers as to what I need to do next.

"If you're waiting for me to leave Ahch-To with the rest of you, then it's in vain. I've decided to stay."

Rose frowns. "You're going to live here, like Master Luke did?"

"He was a wise man."

"But Kylo Ren will keep destroying innocent lives. His reign needs to come to an end."

"I believe it will," I say. How do I tell this girl that it's too dangerous for me to be near Kylo Ren again? He knows my weakness, my inability to face the truth that I should no longer wait for my parents. They never cared about me and sold me to traders. If anyone knows the depths of my loneliness it is Kylo. But I won't let him take advantage of my weakness again. I was foolish enough, for a moment, to think that he would turn to the light, if we joined forces. That some small light in him would grow. But he only wanted to use me to make him a stronger force with the Dark Side.

"No, Master Rey," Rose says.

Master Rey? I frown. "I am not deserving of such a title."

"He will keep killing," Rose continues. "You're not the one who should be locked away, to preserve this balance you talked about. He is." Rose stops. Her eyes go wide as thought she's afraid she's overstepped her bounds by saying what she has.

The sudden urge to read her mind hits me and I step back. Am I so easily tempted to use my powers that I would violate Rose's privacy, just to get information on what she might be thinking? Maybe Luke was right all along. The powers that come with being strong in the Force will eventually turn a person to evil, one way or another. Even he tried to kill his own nephew. Now he's gone and I'm left here, the last Padawan who hasn't turned to evil yet, not fully a Jedi, yet with no master and therefore susceptible to falling into the temptations of this Force power.

"I'm sorry," Rose says, holding out her hands. "I shouldn't have said that."

"No, you're right." I take a seat on the small wooden chair by the table. Luke's table. He was afraid of what his powers could do, what they had already done. But what good did his hiding away do? He believed Kylo Ren turned on him. But Kylo believed Luke had turned on him. So who was right? Are they both right? Both to blame?

A sudden flutter of wings startles me and a little Porg lands on the window sill, watching me with wide eyes. I can't help but smile. Outside the window, the waters surrounding the island sparkle with the golds of the sunrise. The silhouette of the large sea creature with spiky scales blocks the sun for a moment as it rises above the waters. Then it lowers back down again.

"The First Order would have won if Master Luke hadn't distracted Kylo Ren long enough for us to escape," Rose says behind me. "Master Luke died for the effort it took him to create that illusion. He used his powers to save the lives of those who are now the last hope of the Galaxy."

"We are so few," I whisper, thinking of General Leiah and Poe, the fighter plane pilot.

"Master Luke's death was not in vain," Rose says. "It only takes a few, to spark the flame of rebellion."