I
The view of Bag End was glamorous from the bottom of the hill, young Faramir Took's fingers entwined with those of Goldilocks Gardner. They had met when they were but little hobbits, she with her lovely golden locks and he a plump, handsome little hobbit with a taste for love and marriage. She was a bold young woman, the apple of her father's eyes, and of course, Faramir's own. That was the night that should have been the happiest of their lives-the news should have echoed far and wide all over Hobbiton, to the plains of Rohan, and to the woodlands of Murkwood: "behold, the wedding of the fellowship's brood, the son of Peregrin Took and the daughter of Samwise Gamjee, married in wedded bliss!"
He shifted uncomfortably at the thought and looked to her pretty face. His hand wandered deep into his pocket, running over the black velvet box that contained his future-their future. She was unknowing, staring at the stars and listening to his ramblings of what he had heard about the fellowship, years and years ago, and of that hero Frodo Baggins, the second hobbit to venture out and defeat evil-the greatest evil of the world, they said, yet neither of them knew of that danger for neither of them had yet been born. He had passed over, they said. And there were rumors that another hobbit was going to pass over, too.
"Faramir," said she; "you act so distant tonight! And without any word you go off to your daydreams."
"But it is night, Goldie."
"It is all the same, Far-love, friend's son! You know well that you hide something from me, and even in confrontation you will not tell me what it is you hide."
"I hide nothing from you, Goldie!"
"Exactly," she pouted, folding her arms over her chest. "Always is your head in the clouds, as if you're miles away from the time we spend together! Your father would not be proud."
"I'm sorry, Goldie, but I've had a lot on my mind lately!"
"As if I don't have a lot on my mind! I do not believe it is your mother who has passed into the new life."
He fell silent then, his feelings dulled at the reminder of the unfortunate passing of Rosie Cotton. It had not been pleasant to see his lady hobbit shedding tears over her dear mother, and so they had gone to look to the stars to talk more than they had when they were children. He loved Goldilocks Gardner with every ounce of heart he had, though he was unsure if she felt the same. Perhaps she wanted to marry too, before both of them were too old and stricken with age to enjoy a marriage. He knew that Rosie Cotton and Samwise had waited long enough for marriage, too long, in fact-and he did not want the same to happen to either of them. He dug a hand into his pocket.
"Goldie-love, friend's daughter, I'm sure I look like a bit of a fool to you here, just done with a few too many merrymaking pints of good ale and a sloppy grin on my face, but I swear to all that's true from the Shire east to west that I love you with all my heart! Now I know it might sound a bit silly to be coming from a slob, petty little hobbit like me, but I want to marry you, Goldilocks Gardner! I want all of the other hobbit men to say, 'who is that fair lady with those beautiful babies?' and I want to say, 'that's my wife, Goldilocks Gardner, and don't you be thinking twice about her fairness!' And I want to have you with me for all the rest of my days."
She cupped her hands to her face, gave a nervous giggle, and then squealed as she dragged him into her overpowering embrace, kissing his cheeks.
"Oh, Faramir Took, I thought you would never ask me! Truth be told, I was about to give you my own ring.and I was going to say, 'Faramir Took, I can't stand this madness any longer! I want to bear my children with you, and I want to be your wife.so you can sit by the hearth, make the meals, and tend the garden like any dutiful hobbit husband!' And then I would say to all of my neighbor hobbit ladies, 'shame on your husbands who don't tend to their lady's chores, too! And pity on you that you do not rest as well as I!' And then I was going to say, 'Faramir Took, I would like it very much if you would be my husband.'"
He arose and then looked over the Shire. Excitedly, he turned his gaze back to her.
"Hurry, hurry, we must tell Samwise, and Elanor, and Frodo, and Rose, and Merry, and Pippin, and Hamfast, and Daisy, and Primrose, and Bilbo, and Ruby, and Robin, and Tolman, my father Peregrine, and all my brothers and sisters!"
"They'll be delighted," she said, and she took his hand. They meandered over the sloping hills of the Shire in giggles, the families of hobbits gathering on their porches to hear the decree of the two lovers as they went. By the time they came to a slope in the Shire where Samwise Gamjee lived, the aging old man was already standing on his porch by himself, a saddened glaze in his eyes.
"So it is true."
"Faramir and I are to wed-what you have heard is the truth, father Gamjee."
The withered old hobbit sank into his rocking chair, a soft sigh escaping his lips. "It is the same for you as it was for me and Rosie Cotton! Oh, she was the fairest lady of all the Shire, and when I married her it was like marrying an angel! And then when your mother was leaving us forever, she says to me, 'Samwise Gamjee, don't you leave these kids till they're all grown up,' and she says, 'those little hobbits, all thirteen of them, they'll need you forever and ever, Samwise'!
"And then I looked at all my memories, and how all my boys had moved off to other parts of the Shire and all my girls but little Goldilocks Gardner, and I says to myself, 'Goldilocks will always be your little girl, Samwise!' I told myself the same thing about Frodo Baggins, and I remember when he kissed my forehead and gave me that book, that book his uncle had started all that long time ago! And I never thought that Frodo Baggins would sail away.
"I never thought that Goldilocks Gardner would leave me."
Sam's eyes wandered to Faramir, that shy, plump little hobbit whose dull eyes kept to the ground all the while. Sam forced a smile.
"Thain Faramir Took! I remember all those years ago when your father was making trouble, getting kidnapped by orcs with his friend Merry.I remember once upon a dream when I was taller than them! And you, I see you've got a bit of your fair father's height from those Ents! You will be a proud man.and you will make my daughter very, very happy. I shall be glad to hear of such merry tidings."
He arose and turned away. Faramir took a few steps after him.
"And father's friend, you will come to see the tidings, yes?"
The haggard hobbit turned to him.
"It is a pleasant thing my daughter should be married to such an admirable hobbit.but my life here in the Shire has come to an end. I shall not be present for merry tidings, or to see your love solidified forever through marriage. It is my time also to pass into the darkness, to walk the straight line of life and death to teeter into what lies similar to death. I will board the ship of the fair sea, and never again shall I spot the lands of Middle Earth there in the distance, but in my paradise over the sea where the elves dwell, I shall think to myself of my thirteen hobbits, and especially of Goldilocks and her admirable man hobbit, Faramir Took!"
"It is not so!" Goldilocks had wept, and she clung to her father like a child would. "Why do you wish to pass over?"
"You are no longer a little hobbit, Goldilocks! I see you have come of age to be the wife of my dear friend's son. You are a bold little hobbit lady, and you will have no trouble living here in the Shire. When darkness falls upon you and death claims you, again we shall meet."
The plump hobbit vanished into his house and emerged with a small pack. He looked somberly to his daughter.
"And when your mother was about to leave, I says to her, 'just you wait, Rosie Cotton, and one of these days I will to pass into the after existence, and it'll be back at those old days, those old days when me and Frodo Baggins were sitting their at the birthday celebration of Bilbo, and you, so graceful a lady you were-you were dancing and I joined you. And I joined you and made you mine from that day forth! And forever and always, Rosie Cotton, I will never be away from you. Someday we will see one another face-to-face once more.' And look now! My hobbits are all grown up, and it is certainly my time to see fields other than those of the Shire-my bones grow old and I am weak."
"Daddy!"
"It is for the better, little Rosie. I long to go there, to finally find peace in these old bones! To see the face of my brotherhood once more, whose face I last saw from that Elfin ship, young and youthful, and with a knowing that he was about to enter eternal peace. I too want that, Goldilocks. And now I must go.now I must have it."
The view of Bag End was glamorous from the bottom of the hill, young Faramir Took's fingers entwined with those of Goldilocks Gardner. They had met when they were but little hobbits, she with her lovely golden locks and he a plump, handsome little hobbit with a taste for love and marriage. She was a bold young woman, the apple of her father's eyes, and of course, Faramir's own. That was the night that should have been the happiest of their lives-the news should have echoed far and wide all over Hobbiton, to the plains of Rohan, and to the woodlands of Murkwood: "behold, the wedding of the fellowship's brood, the son of Peregrin Took and the daughter of Samwise Gamjee, married in wedded bliss!"
He shifted uncomfortably at the thought and looked to her pretty face. His hand wandered deep into his pocket, running over the black velvet box that contained his future-their future. She was unknowing, staring at the stars and listening to his ramblings of what he had heard about the fellowship, years and years ago, and of that hero Frodo Baggins, the second hobbit to venture out and defeat evil-the greatest evil of the world, they said, yet neither of them knew of that danger for neither of them had yet been born. He had passed over, they said. And there were rumors that another hobbit was going to pass over, too.
"Faramir," said she; "you act so distant tonight! And without any word you go off to your daydreams."
"But it is night, Goldie."
"It is all the same, Far-love, friend's son! You know well that you hide something from me, and even in confrontation you will not tell me what it is you hide."
"I hide nothing from you, Goldie!"
"Exactly," she pouted, folding her arms over her chest. "Always is your head in the clouds, as if you're miles away from the time we spend together! Your father would not be proud."
"I'm sorry, Goldie, but I've had a lot on my mind lately!"
"As if I don't have a lot on my mind! I do not believe it is your mother who has passed into the new life."
He fell silent then, his feelings dulled at the reminder of the unfortunate passing of Rosie Cotton. It had not been pleasant to see his lady hobbit shedding tears over her dear mother, and so they had gone to look to the stars to talk more than they had when they were children. He loved Goldilocks Gardner with every ounce of heart he had, though he was unsure if she felt the same. Perhaps she wanted to marry too, before both of them were too old and stricken with age to enjoy a marriage. He knew that Rosie Cotton and Samwise had waited long enough for marriage, too long, in fact-and he did not want the same to happen to either of them. He dug a hand into his pocket.
"Goldie-love, friend's daughter, I'm sure I look like a bit of a fool to you here, just done with a few too many merrymaking pints of good ale and a sloppy grin on my face, but I swear to all that's true from the Shire east to west that I love you with all my heart! Now I know it might sound a bit silly to be coming from a slob, petty little hobbit like me, but I want to marry you, Goldilocks Gardner! I want all of the other hobbit men to say, 'who is that fair lady with those beautiful babies?' and I want to say, 'that's my wife, Goldilocks Gardner, and don't you be thinking twice about her fairness!' And I want to have you with me for all the rest of my days."
She cupped her hands to her face, gave a nervous giggle, and then squealed as she dragged him into her overpowering embrace, kissing his cheeks.
"Oh, Faramir Took, I thought you would never ask me! Truth be told, I was about to give you my own ring.and I was going to say, 'Faramir Took, I can't stand this madness any longer! I want to bear my children with you, and I want to be your wife.so you can sit by the hearth, make the meals, and tend the garden like any dutiful hobbit husband!' And then I would say to all of my neighbor hobbit ladies, 'shame on your husbands who don't tend to their lady's chores, too! And pity on you that you do not rest as well as I!' And then I was going to say, 'Faramir Took, I would like it very much if you would be my husband.'"
He arose and then looked over the Shire. Excitedly, he turned his gaze back to her.
"Hurry, hurry, we must tell Samwise, and Elanor, and Frodo, and Rose, and Merry, and Pippin, and Hamfast, and Daisy, and Primrose, and Bilbo, and Ruby, and Robin, and Tolman, my father Peregrine, and all my brothers and sisters!"
"They'll be delighted," she said, and she took his hand. They meandered over the sloping hills of the Shire in giggles, the families of hobbits gathering on their porches to hear the decree of the two lovers as they went. By the time they came to a slope in the Shire where Samwise Gamjee lived, the aging old man was already standing on his porch by himself, a saddened glaze in his eyes.
"So it is true."
"Faramir and I are to wed-what you have heard is the truth, father Gamjee."
The withered old hobbit sank into his rocking chair, a soft sigh escaping his lips. "It is the same for you as it was for me and Rosie Cotton! Oh, she was the fairest lady of all the Shire, and when I married her it was like marrying an angel! And then when your mother was leaving us forever, she says to me, 'Samwise Gamjee, don't you leave these kids till they're all grown up,' and she says, 'those little hobbits, all thirteen of them, they'll need you forever and ever, Samwise'!
"And then I looked at all my memories, and how all my boys had moved off to other parts of the Shire and all my girls but little Goldilocks Gardner, and I says to myself, 'Goldilocks will always be your little girl, Samwise!' I told myself the same thing about Frodo Baggins, and I remember when he kissed my forehead and gave me that book, that book his uncle had started all that long time ago! And I never thought that Frodo Baggins would sail away.
"I never thought that Goldilocks Gardner would leave me."
Sam's eyes wandered to Faramir, that shy, plump little hobbit whose dull eyes kept to the ground all the while. Sam forced a smile.
"Thain Faramir Took! I remember all those years ago when your father was making trouble, getting kidnapped by orcs with his friend Merry.I remember once upon a dream when I was taller than them! And you, I see you've got a bit of your fair father's height from those Ents! You will be a proud man.and you will make my daughter very, very happy. I shall be glad to hear of such merry tidings."
He arose and turned away. Faramir took a few steps after him.
"And father's friend, you will come to see the tidings, yes?"
The haggard hobbit turned to him.
"It is a pleasant thing my daughter should be married to such an admirable hobbit.but my life here in the Shire has come to an end. I shall not be present for merry tidings, or to see your love solidified forever through marriage. It is my time also to pass into the darkness, to walk the straight line of life and death to teeter into what lies similar to death. I will board the ship of the fair sea, and never again shall I spot the lands of Middle Earth there in the distance, but in my paradise over the sea where the elves dwell, I shall think to myself of my thirteen hobbits, and especially of Goldilocks and her admirable man hobbit, Faramir Took!"
"It is not so!" Goldilocks had wept, and she clung to her father like a child would. "Why do you wish to pass over?"
"You are no longer a little hobbit, Goldilocks! I see you have come of age to be the wife of my dear friend's son. You are a bold little hobbit lady, and you will have no trouble living here in the Shire. When darkness falls upon you and death claims you, again we shall meet."
The plump hobbit vanished into his house and emerged with a small pack. He looked somberly to his daughter.
"And when your mother was about to leave, I says to her, 'just you wait, Rosie Cotton, and one of these days I will to pass into the after existence, and it'll be back at those old days, those old days when me and Frodo Baggins were sitting their at the birthday celebration of Bilbo, and you, so graceful a lady you were-you were dancing and I joined you. And I joined you and made you mine from that day forth! And forever and always, Rosie Cotton, I will never be away from you. Someday we will see one another face-to-face once more.' And look now! My hobbits are all grown up, and it is certainly my time to see fields other than those of the Shire-my bones grow old and I am weak."
"Daddy!"
"It is for the better, little Rosie. I long to go there, to finally find peace in these old bones! To see the face of my brotherhood once more, whose face I last saw from that Elfin ship, young and youthful, and with a knowing that he was about to enter eternal peace. I too want that, Goldilocks. And now I must go.now I must have it."