"Who are you?" The young boy looked up wearily at the dark figure looming above him. The figure was blurry around the edges, wavering in and out of focus. The boy wasn't sure if it was his eyes playing tricks on him or not. The hazy figure then leant down, his face level with the boy's. The boy couldn't even muster up enough energy to be scared, despite how intimidating the figure was. He was so tired. He wanted to sleep but he couldn’t. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get to sleep.

"It's alright kid." The low voice of the cloaked man rang through the room, startling the boy into a more alert state. He shifted in his bed, pushing himself up into a sitting position and peering curiously at the strange person.

"No kid! Lie back down, don't exhaust yourself." The shrouded figure gently pushed the boy back down onto the bed and fixed the sheets around the boy so that they were fully covering the little boy once again. The veiled figure brushed his arm as he did so and the boy shivered. The figure was cold to the touch. Finished fussing with the bed sheets, the concealed man sank down into the chair by the boy’s bed, setting down what looked to be a long stick with a curvy part sticking out of the top. It rattled as it rolled away from the person, but they grabbed it deftly and rearranged it so it was resting against the side of the bed.

“Wow, is that a lightsaber?!” The boy exclaimed, with a glint in his eyes that hadn’t been sighted for many weeks. He made grabby hands at the pointy stick, not quite strong enough to bring himself to move towards it. The person in the seat next to him chuckled.

“Yeah, bud. It’s my lightsaber. You want a go?” A faint smile could be made out under the mask the person wore.

“Yes please, Mister!” The blurry man stood up from the chair, the seat squeaking in relief from the weight. The man grabbed his lightsaber and placed it along the boy’s legs, supporting the weight so it didn’t crush him.

“Woah…” The boy whispered. “So cool.” He ran a hand up the length and admired the shiny black colour. “Does it light up?” He asked.

“Only in special circumstances, and only for worthy people.” The blurry man replied. In a softer voice, perhaps thinking the little boy wouldn’t hear, he muttered “You’ll be one of them. You’re a good kid.”

Ignoring the man’s comment, partly because he was too sleepy to truly unpack it, the boy tried to swing the lightsaber like he was a Jedi that he’d seen in his favourite T.V show. The man lurched to steady the stick, caught off guard. The boy let out a delighted laugh and after a few moments, the blurry man joined in, his deep voice reverberating about the small room.

Tiring quickly, the boy tried to keep playing with the lightsaber. Seeing this, the shrouded figure slowly peeled the lightsaber away from the boy telling him it was time to sleep.

“Thank you…” The boy breathed, his tiny hand outstretched towards the man. He wriggled his fingers and the blurry man took the hint, gently holding his hand and squeezing it to comfort the boy. His presence was soft and warm, and the boy felt safe and at ease. He could finally go to sleep.

“You’re welcome, bud.” The blurry man hesitated, but spoke quickly before the boy slipped completely into sleep's tender embrace.

“Don’t worry, kid. I’m here. I’ll watch over you. You’ll always be safe with me.” The boy’s face smoothed out, all traces of anxiety wiped from his face. A slight smile grew on his tiny features and he gripped the blurry man’s hand a bit harder before his hand went slack.