A Brand New Day

1382 S.R.

Frodo-14, Merry-newborn

Frodo had always been a serious and solemn child. Those who spent time with him felt he was much older than he really was. Frodo had always been one to sit and read books instead of play with his cousins and friends. He loved having conversations with his aunts and uncles about life and other important topics.

His solitude had grown since after the death of his parents two years before. Frodo had fallen into depression immediately afterwards, and had yet to come out of it. He didn't eat, couldn't sleep, and walked around in a cloud most of the time. He had no siblings to take comfort in and began to slowly wither away. It wasn't until Old Rory, his uncle, took him under his wing, that Frodo began to show signs of improvement. Frodo had moved in with Old Rory and Aunt Menegilda and they gave to him the stable home life he needed instead of being farmed out between all of his relatives in Brandy Hall.

Now, two years later, Frodo was still not completely over the loss of his parents and was still prone to bouts of melancholia, though not as often as before. It was during one such bout that Frodo overheard a conversation that caught his attention. His other aunts, Amarantha and Asphodel, were sitting at the kitchen table with Menegilda, gossiping over tea and biscuits. They were so loud that Frodo could be in the room with them without being noticed. They were talking about Menegilda's son, Saradoc, and how he was to become a father for the first time very soon. Menegilda was very excited at the thought of being a grandmother for the second time, for her other child, Merimac, had had Berilac, her first grandchild, a couple of years ago.

Frodo was much younger than his cousin Saradoc, but he had always seemed like a lot of fun. He and his wife, Esmeralda, were the life of every party they ever went to, loved to throw their own parties, and they were known throughout the clan to give both the best and most parties. He wondered how a baby would change all of that. He wondered if they would give up their parties and social outings in order to take care of a child. If they didn't, Frodo knew this child would need somebody to look after him.

Frodo also heard them say that the baby would be arriving in just a few weeks' time. A room had been set up for it, and Menegilda was already making it toys and clothes.

Frodo lost interest in the conversation when it changed to childbirth stories, as it always seemed to do when a group of women talked about babies. He didn't see what the big deal was. Babies are born every day in the world; and is one really any more special than another? Babies smell and were loud. And then they grew up and had babies of their own and abandoned them...

Frodo made his way back to his bedroom. He shut the curtain to block out the cheerful sunshine, lay down on his bed and slept through the rest of the afternoon.

The weeks passed with many festivities to celebrate the coming of the new child. The child might belong to Saradoc and Esmeralda, but the joy was felt by all. Esmeralda was so large she could barely walk. She waddled short distances from one guest to the next at the last big family gathering before the baby would be born. Finally, Old Rory came over to her and made her sit down to rest.

Frodo's family was very large and very loud. They all stood around in a small, huddled circle, talking to one another. In the middle of conversations, they would interrupt and begin to join in other's discussions. This continued until everybody knew what everyone else was talking about. It never ceased to amaze him. They could have spoken to each other all day and they would still do this. But Frodo didn't feel like joining in, so he sat on a stool in a dark corner, watching everybody else have a good time.

A couple of people trickled over to the food tables that were heavily laden with delicious food. That signaled the beginning of the meal. Grown-ups were allowed to go through the line first, children having to wait patiently at the end of the line.

Frodo sat back and watched as his family ate, talked, ate, and talked some more. They were so loud they made his ears roar and his head ache.

After the meal, the room divided naturally in half with males on one side and females on the other. Everybody had brought presents for the baby, which Esmeralda opened for all who wanted to see. All the girls and women cooed and squealed with each new item. Frodo felt his eyes glaze over in disgust. The men and boys were sitting around drinking ale and telling stories. Frodo wandered to their side of the room, poured himself a draught of ale and drank it down quickly. After a couple more, he didn't seem to mind the loud women so much anymore. He sat down with the men and listened to the story telling with a little more interest.

Finally the party ended and he could go to sleep. He slept well into the next day and awoke with a terrible headache. Old Rory didn't like the idea of his melancholia and getting drunk as a way to escape. Old Rory had decided Frodo had gone far enough. If he put him to work, that would help put Frodo back on track. He hadn't been doing too much since his parents' death and it was up to Old Rory to fix Frodo. Frodo thought that Old Rory was being cruel to him: he made him go outside and work. Didn't he see that he was in no condition to do anything, especially work? But, oddly enough, as the days went on, the harder Frodo worked, and the more he sweated, the more uplifted his spirits became. Old Rory made him work everyday after that and soon Frodo was able to lose himself in the repetition of movement. The energy he spent working was that much less he had to feel sorry for himself.

Then one day, came news that Saradoc's son, Meriadoc, had been born the night before. The whole family would get a chance to see him in turn over the next few days. Frodo, Old Rory, and Menegilda, of course would get to see him first. That evening they made their way to Saradoc's home and met the latest edition to the family. Old Rory and Menegilda were enraptured by the child. They were bursting with pride because he was perfect in every possible way.

Finally, it was Frodo's turn to hold Meriadoc. He was certain he would drop him on the floor and break him, but somehow he managed not to. Frodo looked at the baby. He had large blue eyes that were wide-awake and looking curiously up at him. Meriadoc furrowed his brow as he tried to figure out who this person was. All of a sudden, he sneezed right in Frodo's face. The family sat back in silence, nervous over how Frodo would react. Frodo began to laugh, and relieved, so did the rest of the family. It was the first time in a couple of months that Frodo had sounded so happy. He beamed as he held this child. Only a day old and Meriadoc already held considerable sway over him. This baby had some future ahead of him. Frodo volunteered to baby-sit him if his parents needed some time away for a while.

Esmeralda and Saradoc did take Frodo up on his offer several times over the next few months. Every time Frodo baby-sat Meriadoc, he felt better and happier than he ever had before. The baby was just so merry to be around that he couldn't help but feel good again. In fact, Frodo began to call him "Merry" for short because of the way he improved his mood.

As Merry grew up, Frodo was always with him. The two were quite inseparable. Even though Merry was much younger than he was, Frodo enjoyed his company and all the trouble they got into together.

It was not until many, many years later that Frodo would feel the bitterness that life can offer again. For, as long as Merry was around, nobody could feel sad.