A Letter From Frodo
A/N: I found this on my hard drive while I was browsing through the files on my computer. This is actually the first LOTR fanfic I ever wrote, and I had completely forgotten about it! I must have written this shortly after the first movie came out, when I was starting to get re-hooked on the book. The story is set two weeks after the ending of ROTK. This is a letter from Frodo that he left at Bag End for Sam to find it. All Tolkien fanatics welcome, but be warned: This is extremely sentimental! As always - please send reviews, and tell me about any possible grammar/spelling/syntax/vocabulary mistakes. Hope you like this!
Two weeks after his return home, Master Samwise Gamgee finally found the courage to go to Bag End again. For a long time he only stood in the doorway and looked at the empty house that bore so many traces of the life his dear friend Frodo Baggins had left behind. Tears welled up in his eyes when he remembered that Frodo was no longer there. No matter how often he told himself that Frodo was happy where he was now, the grief about their parting remained.
"Here at last, dear friends, on the shores of the Sea comes the end of our fellowship in Middle-earth," Gandalf had said. "Go in peace! I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil."
Indeed, thought Sam, I am glad that I did not promise that I would not weep. I would have broken this promise many times.
After a while he stepped into the house and took time to wander around. And so it took a while until he noticed the letter on the kitchen table, leaning against a dusty teapot. It must have been there for quite a while, for the envelope was also covered in dust.
Sam came closer and immediately recognized Frodo's handwriting. It read "To my friends."
"Bless you, Mr. Frodo!" Sam exclaimed. "You left a letter for us! Now we will at last be able to hear your true parting words!"
He took the envelope and sat down at the table. Then he opened it and reached inside. One second later, Sam was holding Frodo's letter in his trembling hands. He took a deep breath and began to read:
My dear friends!
When you read this, I will no longer be with you.
I have felt for quite a long time that my time in the Shire is over. Please understand that I cannot stay forever. I have seen and done more than any hobbit could ever have dreamed of, and I feel deeply grateful and blessed. Everything I had wished for has come true. We have ridded the world of Sauron's evil presence and we have destroyed the One Ring; Gondor and Rohan have once again come to new glory under two great and merciful kings, King Éomer and King Elessar, who is one of the dearest friends I have ever known. And I have lived to see my beloved Shire again. But now the time has come for me to say goodbye.
But before I sail into the West, I want to give thanks to a number of people without whom I would never have completed this perilous journey, and without whose help I would have died long ago. There is so much to be said, and yet I feel that I could never express what I really feel for you. Please do not mock me if I struggle to find the right words; words are not nearly enough. And still I feel I should give it a try. Some of you have already passed away, but I hope and pray that my words can somehow reach you, wherever you may be.
I want to thank you.
SAM - for your true and unbreakable friendship and faith. You are the best friend anyone could wish for, and I feel truly honoured to have received this wonderful gift from you. You stood by me in the darkest hour of my life, and you remained at my side at the end of all things. Words could never express what you mean to me. It takes a true friend to be as faithful as you are, and I am happy that I was given the chance to have such a friend. My dear Sam, I wish you only the best, and may you live long and prosperous. Who knows where life will take you, but I know deep in my heart that you will find your way, and that at the end of this way you and I will meet again. I shall not bid you farewell, for we will see each other again - unlikely as it may seem right now. Send my love to your wife Rose and your children, and may they be the light in your life.
GANDALF - for your neverending wisdom and power. The Fellowship of the Ring would not have lasted a week if it had not been for you. You were the one who was watching over us, even when we thought we had lost you forever. You found a way back, stronger and wiser than ever. Throughout the years you have been a friend and a patron to me, and when we now go together on our last journey, I know that you are still there to guard me and to guide me. Middle-earth will mourn the loss of the greatest of the Istari, but your memory shall never fade from their minds.
ARAGORN - for your courage and faith, for the many times you fought for me and for those I held dear, and for being a friend and a guardian throughout this perilous journey we went on together. You have so many faces; sometimes I wonder if I ever really knew you at all. But whatever your real name is, names have little importance. I do not care if I should call you Aragorn, Strider, Estel or Dúnadan, as long as I can call you a friend, King Elessar. May you lead the old kingdom of Gondor to new glory, and may there be no more dark and dangerous times ahead - as long as you may live, and beyond.
MERRY and PIPPIN - for your complete and unconditional love and trust. You never stopped believing in me, even though I was far away and you were fighting battles in this war, the War of the Ring, the most horrendous war Middle-earth has ever seen. No one would have thought that two hobbits like you, addicted to food and pipeweed and always eager to pull pranks on everyone, would contribute to the completion of our mission as much as you have. May you make all your wishes come true, and may we all meet again beyond all fear and doubt.
BILBO - for accompanying me through my life, for taking me in to live with you when I had no one else in the world, and for granting me the happiest childhood and youth anyone could wish for. Now when I go on this last journey, I am happy to know that you are again my companion.
GIMLI - for your fighting spirit and faith, for your robust good-naturedness shining through your rough-and-ready behaviour, and for never faltering in your belief in our mission. And for reminding us all from time to time that the noblest mission is doomed to failure without a good sense of humour.
LEGOLAS - for the sharpness of your Elven eye and the swiftness of your bow, for your friendliness and unselfishness, and for forgetting your noble ancestry and the grandeur of your race for the sake of the friendship and fellowship of eight people most different from yourself.
BOROMIR - for joining the Fellowship against your own convictions, and for giving all you could give. You died as a hero, defending those you had sworn to protect. Deep in my heart I know that you would have followed us into battle and destruction. In just one moment of weakness you tried to take the Ring from me, but I want you to know that I do not hold it against you. Whatever forgiveness you still want to seek, I shall grant it to you. May you rest in peace, my friend.
FARAMIR - for your wisdom and foresight, for your strong principles and high quality, and for offering me your help when I did not know where to go. Your father and your brother, may they rest in peace, are looking down on you with pride and affection. Prince of Ithilien, may you live a long and happy life with the woman you love. If anyone ever really deserves this, then it has to be you.
LADY GALADRIEL - for helping me find my way when I was in shadow and doubt, for giving me consolation, for resisting the temptation of the One Ring, and for giving the light of Earendil to me. Whatever fear and intimidation I ever felt in your presence is now forgotten. To me you are powerful and beautiful like a queen. May you find your peace in the West.
LORD ELROND - for taking me in and helping me get well, for showing me the beauty of Rivendell, and for your wisdom, your advice and your justice. The Fellowship of the Ring would never have come into existence if it had not been for you, so I thank you for helping me find true friends and companions through darkness and danger. May you find your peace in the West.
GLORFINDEL - for saving my life down at the Ford of Bruinen and taking me to Rivendell.
QUEEN ARWEN - for being the inspiration of my dear friend Strider, for brightening up the life of King Elessar, and for showing me the meaning of true beauty and grace. Long may the light of Evenstar shine upon Middle-earth.
LADY ÉOWYN - for going to battle when no one wanted to believe in you, for slaying the Witch King of Angmar regardless of your own safety, for saving the life of my dear friend Merry, and for being now the companion of Faramir, one of the most honourable and noble men i have ever met. May the two of you have a long and prosperous life.
KING ÉOMER - for your courage and strength, for offering your help to my friends, who entered your country as strangers, and for showing your true quality when battle already seemed to be lost. You are a man of strong principles, and you were right in distrusting the spy Saruman sent to your king. May you keep your quick thinking, your honour and your power, and may you lead your country to new glory, keeping the memory of your uncle and reigning with grace and wisdom.
KING THÉODEN - for standing up for your country and for your neighbours, for giving shelter to my friends, and for being there in the time of need. Even though I have never met you, I feel only the greatest respect and gratitude for you. I regret that you passed away before I got the chance to tell you everything I am now writing down. But I believe that you will somehow know. May you rest in peace.
TOM BOMBADIL - for saving my friends from Old Man Willow, for taking us in with you and giving us shelter, for the many stories you know and the love you feel for every living creature on the earth. You are truly the Master of wood, water and hill. Long may the merry song of Tom Bombadil resound through the Old Forest.
GOLDBERRY - for your good heart and your friendliness, and for receiving us with the utmost hospitality. Daughter of the River, long may you sing and dance and laugh in the House of Tom Bombadil.
TREEBEARD - for overcoming traditions and customs in favour of our mission, and for guarding and guiding my friends when they did not know where to go.
So many others have helped us along the way, and I cannot even remember their names. I am ill and my memory is failing me. May the Shire bloom and prosper, and may there be peace and joy in all the countries of Middle-earth. The overthrow of the Dark Lord has brought us all relief, and the destruction of the One Ring has ridded us of so much evil. Now I am going into the West with the last of the ring-bearers.
Do not cry for me, my friends. We shall not part forever. I will keep the memory of you all in my heart, and if you remember me, a part of me also remains with you. Never forget that all the love I have I leave with you. Live your lives and dream your dreams, and when you have some time to spare, think of your old friend
Frodo Baggins
Sam looked up, his eyes blind with tears. Quickly, he wiped his eyes with his sleeve and blinked.
"Oh, Mr. Frodo," he whispered, and his voice was hoarse and husky. "No one in the Shire will ever forget you, and least of all will your Sam. If you say that someday we will meet again, then I shall believe you. I always believed in you, and you never disappointed me."
He kept sitting there with the letter in his hands for quite a long time. Then, when it was already beginning to get dark, he stood up and tucked the letter neatly away in his pocket. He left Bag End and returned to his own house and his family.
He would have to meet a number of people in the next few days.