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It wasn't a map to where Luke Skywalker was, not exactly.
General Organa had told Rey, "On this map are the locations of all the known Jedi Temples that had ever been built. All except the first, which location had never been known. Luke believed that if he went to each of these temples in turn, the Force would guide him to the site of the first temple. The sacred birthplace of the Jedi."
So, map in hand, with Chewbacca and BB-8 as companions, Rey had set off on her pilgrimage.
The first set of coordinates had led to the old Jedi Temple in Coruscant, once the heart and soul of the Jedi before it was converted into the Imperial Palace, now just an abandoned framework of durasteel and ghosts. In the ruins of the old Jedi Temple, Rey knelt and closed her eyes, and breathed. Calm descended upon her, and in the periphery of her senses she could hear the faint echoes of long-gone voices. You have begun your journey, Rey, they told her. We will be with you every step of the way.
The map led them to Ilum next. It was cold and freezing, a complete contrast to the planet she had grown up in. The Force called to her from the caves, and she entered to find them glowing with innumerable crystals wedged into every corner and crevice within. There, she meditated again, and felt the individuality of each and every crystal inside the cave. For just one moment, it was almost as though she could intuit the destiny each crystal will have in the hands of future Jedi.
When she opened her eyes, a crystal hovered in front of her. Rey closed her hand around it, and the crystal was warm, and resonated in her palm.
It was time to continue on her journey.
They next went to Lothal. It was a beautiful planet full of life and welcoming locals, and Chewbacca set himself to replenish their supplies as Rey meditated outside the ancient Jedi Temple there, puzzling over the mechanisms that would unlock the entrance and allow access to the temple.
She spent many fruitless days meditating outside the temple entrance, until she was distracted by a scream, one day. Getting to her feet, she raced in the direction of the scream, and found one of the local fauna – a primate-like species, caught within some tree vines. She hurriedly set it free, using the Force to calm the creature down so that she could free it without injuring it.
Task done, she sent more soothing energy to the creature, patting its head, and gradually it calmed down, arching into her touch. Smiling slightly to herself, she stood up, heading back to the temple, and the creature followed behind.
Sinking back to her knees, she went back to her meditation, though she felt no closer to figuring out the riddle of the entrance. Suddenly though, she felt the presence of another Force presence. Opening her eyes, she looked down at the creature who had climbed to her lap, clinging on to her, radiating the Force. Rey focused on the entrance again, together with the creature, and the mechanism of the entrance came to life.
The Force existed in every one of us.
They entered the ancient Temple together, and as the creature waited in the front hall, Rey continued on alone. As she entered the first hall, she was struck by a vision and fell to her knees, caught within the vision. She and Ren were battling again at the Starkiller Base, only this time, it was Rey who held a red lightsaber, and Ren was kneeling defeated before her, awaiting the execution blow.
“I will not turn to the Dark side,” she whispered, then repeated it again, louder this time, repeating the mantra until the vision retreated away.
In the second hall, she saw the parents who had abandoned her at Jakku long ago. They beckoned her to follow them, and when she hesitated, their faces morphed, turning malevolent and inviting in turn. “No,” she whispered, stepping back and away from them. “You are not my future.”
In the final hall, she was confronted by the ghostly image of Han Solo, and she gasped, rooted in place, frozen by the sight of the man who had so quickly become a father figure to her. She steeled herself for cruel words, but the ghostly Han never said a word, only hovering around her as she knelt in the center of the great hall, ancient sculptures brimming with the Force surrounding her. She meditated, lost within the Force, until she felt the faintest imprint of a hand on her hair, as though offering benediction, and when she opened her eyes, Han Solo was gone, leaving forgiveness and peace behind.
They went to each planet and Jedi Temple in turn, following the series of coordinates that Luke Skywalker left behind. At last, in a lush green planet overrun with vegetation and life, Rey closed her eyes and sunk deep into the life of the planet around her.
They whispered to her all their secrets, and once again, long-gone voices whispered words of encouragement and destiny to her.
Rey opened her eyes, and knew, at long last, where her pilgrimage will end.