ANY REGRETS?
I can read your mind And I know your story I see what you're going through It's an uphill climb And I'm feeling sorry But I know it will come to you
Don't surrender 'Cause you will win In this thing called love -Celine Dion
"Any regrets?" I asked. My arms rested on the side of the rocking ship and I looked at the figure beside me. He looked down at the waves lapping below, deep in thought.
"I don't know," he said eventually, "Perhaps. I try not to let my mind prey on it. Sam, Merry and Pippin. I feel like I abandoned them." I put a comforting hand over his.
"I know. But, Frodo, I swear to you, you did not abandon them. This was the place you were fated to come in the end. Destiny has to unravel in the end. And you aren't alone."
"Then why do I feel so lonely?" the hobbit sighed. He stared out through a haze of salty spray to the horizon. It was bitterly cold. Gandalf claimed it was the youth of Spring but it was hard to believe.
"You've got Gandalf and Bilbo. They're always there for you," I told him. But Frodo only hung his head lower.
"Yes but there's nobody that I can be there for," he whispered, "I can't be there for anyone. Tell me something, Ailsa," and he fixed me with a steady gaze, "Am I running away? Did I just run from all my pains?" I opened my mouth to reply but found no words ready. I had never really thought about it before. Frodo had decided it was right. That was that. It never occurred to me that he was still unsure.
"Do you think you have?" I asked.
"No," came the sharp answer, "I needed to get away. This wound will never heal and I could never bear making myself a nuisance. And anyhow, this was the one place left. The one place I had never been. Oh, but I do miss Sam."
"Then go back. You don't have to spend your whole life out here. Go back- if only for a short while. Pay Sam and all of them a visit. You need not fear the Ring or any of the Dark Powers. That wound does not rule you. Your heart does." And with that I turned away back into wakefulness. Morning surrounded my camp and sat up with a start. My head hurt and my neck was crooked from cold and damp. All my thoughts were crushed together. My crumpled Lord of the Rings book lay nearby, the binding broken in the middle of At the Grey Havens chapter. I picked it up and laid it on my lap, blinking away the haze of sleep. I had hoped to find magic out in these woods. I snorted. "Yeah right. All I've got is heartfelt dreams."
Sam looked up from his breakfast dishes. There was another knock at the door.
"Coming!" he called, wiping his hands on a cloth. He moved across the study of Bag End and reached the hall. Sam reached up and undid the latch. "I'm here now." Outside, standing on the steps, Sam found all his wishes had come true. And come home.
I can read your mind And I know your story I see what you're going through It's an uphill climb And I'm feeling sorry But I know it will come to you
Don't surrender 'Cause you will win In this thing called love -Celine Dion
"Any regrets?" I asked. My arms rested on the side of the rocking ship and I looked at the figure beside me. He looked down at the waves lapping below, deep in thought.
"I don't know," he said eventually, "Perhaps. I try not to let my mind prey on it. Sam, Merry and Pippin. I feel like I abandoned them." I put a comforting hand over his.
"I know. But, Frodo, I swear to you, you did not abandon them. This was the place you were fated to come in the end. Destiny has to unravel in the end. And you aren't alone."
"Then why do I feel so lonely?" the hobbit sighed. He stared out through a haze of salty spray to the horizon. It was bitterly cold. Gandalf claimed it was the youth of Spring but it was hard to believe.
"You've got Gandalf and Bilbo. They're always there for you," I told him. But Frodo only hung his head lower.
"Yes but there's nobody that I can be there for," he whispered, "I can't be there for anyone. Tell me something, Ailsa," and he fixed me with a steady gaze, "Am I running away? Did I just run from all my pains?" I opened my mouth to reply but found no words ready. I had never really thought about it before. Frodo had decided it was right. That was that. It never occurred to me that he was still unsure.
"Do you think you have?" I asked.
"No," came the sharp answer, "I needed to get away. This wound will never heal and I could never bear making myself a nuisance. And anyhow, this was the one place left. The one place I had never been. Oh, but I do miss Sam."
"Then go back. You don't have to spend your whole life out here. Go back- if only for a short while. Pay Sam and all of them a visit. You need not fear the Ring or any of the Dark Powers. That wound does not rule you. Your heart does." And with that I turned away back into wakefulness. Morning surrounded my camp and sat up with a start. My head hurt and my neck was crooked from cold and damp. All my thoughts were crushed together. My crumpled Lord of the Rings book lay nearby, the binding broken in the middle of At the Grey Havens chapter. I picked it up and laid it on my lap, blinking away the haze of sleep. I had hoped to find magic out in these woods. I snorted. "Yeah right. All I've got is heartfelt dreams."
Sam looked up from his breakfast dishes. There was another knock at the door.
"Coming!" he called, wiping his hands on a cloth. He moved across the study of Bag End and reached the hall. Sam reached up and undid the latch. "I'm here now." Outside, standing on the steps, Sam found all his wishes had come true. And come home.