All characters, etc. belong to the wonderful J.R.R. Tolkien,
and no copy write infringement is intended.
A/N: One of the
beauties of Tolkien's writing is that it leaves quite a bit to the reader's
imagination. Although the ending of
LOTR was appropriately bittersweet, it left me depressed because I never wanted
Frodo and Sam to be separated from each other!
So here is my own personal version of what I believe happened when Sam
sailed West, many years later…
Together Forever
Samwise Gamgee stood on the bow of
the Elvin ship, his eyes turned toward the West. As the salty spray of the Sea stung his face, his thoughts
drifted back to his last visit to the Grey Havens, over sixty years before. Though his heart had almost broken, he had
known that it was not his time to cross over.
"Not yet.", he had been told then.
"You have so much to enjoy and to be, and to do." Sam had enjoyed a long, good life in his
beloved Shire. Though sometimes, in the twilight moments just before night
settled on the world, in his heart Sam
seemed to hear the Sea beckoning, and his thoughts traveled to the friend who
had left the Havens to pass over Sea so many years ago. Now, finally, his time had come. Samwise Gamgee, last of the Ring-bearers,
sailed toward his final destiny.
Night came, and a slow peaceful
rain began to fall. In the distance,
Sam could hear the sweet voices of the elves singing. Presently, a grey veil lifted, and Sam beheld a land of tall
green trees and rolling hills, gardens filled with every flower imaginable, and
a white sandy shore sloping down to the sea.
A long wooden pier jutted out from the beach, and as the ship slipped
along side it, Sam noticed that at the end of the pier, a small lone figure waited.
Sam's heart
gave a lurch of recognition, and tears filled his eyes. When the ship had docked, Sam walked slowly
down the length of the pier, his eyes never leaving the other hobbit's face,
which seemed to glow from within with a clear pure light. Then Sam
reached him, and for an endless time they gazed at each other, too
overcome with emotion to speak. Then
the hobbit on the shore smiled warmly, and his eyes shown bright with
tears. "Hullo, Sam.", he said.
"Mr.
Frodo.", sobbed Sam, as he flung his arms around his dearest friend in the
world. They held each other tightly, as
though they would never let go. Frodo
rubbed his friend's back, his own tears mingling with Sam's. "I've missed you so", he whispered, "but I
knew you would come some day."
They held
each other, and Sam continued to sob into Frodo's shoulder. Finally, his crying quieted, and Sam sighed
deeply, a feeling of deep contentment and peace rising in his chest. As they released their embrace, Sam took
Frodo's hand in his own. "Yes, Mr.
Frodo, dear Master", he said, "at last, I've come home." And together they walked into the gardens of Tol Eressea.
