I can hear him in the garden. The sound of the clippers against the thrush of leaves and weeds. He loves that garden. The Gaffer says he loves that garden more than anything... more than me. I do not believe it. I do not want to believe it.
Being in his garden gives him joy, yes. It gives him time to think. He can lose himself in memories of the War. He can think of what life was like before he, Frodo, Merry, and Pippin left, so long ago. So long ago...it does seem like it was a long time ago. Sam and I have just been married. We have yet to have a child. We live in Bag End with Frodo Baggins.
I do not mind. Others wonder why I like my life so much. How I do not cry. I do not need to cry. Sam loves me... I know it!
I lean over the ledge, peeking my head out the window, smiling at the sun on my face. I hear a sigh. Sam is sitting on the ground, looking at me. He looks happy...a dreamy look on his face.
"What is it, Sam?" I ask.
He looked at me for a minute, saying, "You look so beautiful right now, Rosie. The sun on you, it makes you look..."
"Burned?" I asked, giggling.
He shook his head. "Golden. You look absolutely radiant."
I rolled my eyes, unable to keep a blush from my face. "Golden? Radiant? Where did you learn those kinds of words?"
He slowly walked over to me, resting his arms against mine, running his hands through my hair.
"In Lothlorien, I met the Lady Galadriel. There was something perfectly enchanting about her. Everything about her was full of light, enchantment...with the way she made us feel, I could only imagine how she made her husband feel. Now I realize. She was an elf, an elf queen. She had that natural grace."
"And I do not, as I am only a Hobbit."
"You are not an elf, this is true. You have a different magic. You are radiant to me. It is not just the light against your face or the wind in your hair... it's your inner strength. You have so much joy and love inside, that it gives you a power that cannot be named. Your smile, your eyes, they all show me what I have... they show me how much you love me. I never realized how someone could have a certain power over others."
"Sam, that is not me... you describe a dream." I looked down, saddened.
He lifted my head up, looking into my eyes. "Rose, you are my dream. That is what amazes me. My dream is real, yet, you enchant me still."
And then, he kissed me.