Originally written for comment_fic, theme: delusion, prompt: "Tolkien, any elf, there is no death" by mangacrack.
Disclaimer: The Silmarillion belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien. For purposes of other fanfiction, plots not recognized to be canon belong to me.
We don't die. We are the Firstborn Children. The Undying Children. We never die. Death comes not for us.
I have seen olvar and kelvar die. I remember a bird that used to sing under my window when I was a child. I gave it seeds and it gave me songs, simpler yet somehow more pleasant than glorious hymns to Star-Kindler. Then one day, it was lying under my window and it sang no more. The next day it began to give off an unpleasant smell and many bugs gathered upon it. Slowly, it became less and less until only bones were left. I put the bones in the first box I ever made.
But Mother is not becoming less. She does not smell of rot. There are no bugs and worms upon her body. See? She is still there, as I remember her. She has not changed for years. She is only sleeping. Why can't you see it?
Are you lying to me? Do you think I can't see it? Mother is sleeping, she is not dead, yet another is taking her place as if she was nothing but bones in a box. Is this because of her? Because she is of Vanyar, most beloved of Valar, she is allowed to take the place of the living one, to call her dead even though she is of the Undying Ones? Did she cause this sleep? Did Vanyarin witch plan to ensnare my poor deluded father for so long? Did she use magic on him as well, to make him go against all Laws and Customs? She had to have; there is no other explanation. But she hasn't gotten me in her thrall and she never will. You cannot tame fire: you can cage it, you can use it, but never can you truly master it. I shall remain masterless too.
Wake up, Mother. Then they will be able to lie no more, to claim that the Undying Children can die. Then they shall have to admit there is no death. Only sleep. But one can wake up from the sleep, no matter how long it is. Please wake up, Mother, before it's too late. I beg you. Wake up.
AN: It's possible that "Undying" stands for all of the creatures in "Undying Lands". But I understand that olvar and kelvar were not thought of as beings with soul (barring a few, like Eagles and Huan, that were inhabited by spirits), and soul is considered quite an important thing in Ea. Also, it was implied that Bilbo, Frodo and Gimli did die eventually. So I've decided to go with the theory that animals and plants in Aman live as usual, maybe a bit longer than their Arda counterparts.