Disclaimers: All canon material from The Lord of the Rings trilogy belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien, New Line Cinema, Warner Brothers and Turbine. All other canon material belongs to their respected owners. All original material belongs to me, the authoress of this fanfiction story.

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Frodo Baggins was twelve years old when all this began. Even now, he wondered how these events took shape. And yet, they happened nonetheless…

It was a fair morning in Buckland. Bright and sunny. Perfect weather for a young hobbit to be out and about. Frodo wandered away from his Uncle Saradoc and Aunt Esmeralda. He just wanted to play among the trees… oh look! There was a tall tree. Just right for him. He was nearly up to the first branch until… oh no! He was losing his grip on the tree.

"AAHHH!" Frodo screamed.

The lights went out on him. Everything was dark and spooky. He could feel his body leaving him. No. He wasn't supposed to die. What sort of story was this? All he could see was fog and white mist amidst the darkness. It was so looming. He brushed himself off for good measure… wait. Good measure? No. He was better than this.

"Get up!" That husky voice sounded familiar. "Frodo Baggins, if you do not leave this spot, I shall find you myself."

Frodo scrambled to his feet. He couldn't let the husky voice get to him.

"Now move along." The husky voice continued. "You have friends to meet."

Time moved much quicker here. Frodo saw slashes in the air. They were his aunt and uncle. Did they know he was present with them? Maybe he could…

"They can't see you or hear you, Frodo Baggins," the husky voice continued to speak.

"I have to see them," Frodo squirmed.

"Now, now. We'll have none of that," the husky voice continued to speak.

"But why won't they… I mean, I can't…"

"You are a spirit, Frodo Baggins. Nothing more or less," the husky voice said.

"Who are you? Are you Gandalf?" Frodo spoke to the hooded figure.

"I am neither," the husky voice told him. "I am your guide only. Come now. There's more to see."

Frodo didn't understand. He needed to get out of this void and fast. His body called him. Wait… he was still alive? How could that be?

"I have to go back," Frodo said. "I can't spend my life as a ghost."

"You are a spirit, Frodo Baggins. Surely you can see that…"

"Will you stop saying that?" Frodo advanced inside his bedroom. There he was, asleep but his head was being bandaged. Maybe he could help them… "Hey. Wait…"

A skeletal hand perched on his shoulders. "Come now. Leave them."

"Get off me!" Frodo said.

"You cannot cheat death," the husky voice told him.

"At first I thought you would use my full name," Frodo said. Wait… did he make the wrong choice?

"Come now." The husky voice told him. "Frodo, come on!"

"Let me go!" Frodo said, pushing the skeletal hand off of him. To his surprise, he flew… back to his body. The darkness was great again, but not so much. Life returned to him. He gasped aloud. He sat up, unsure what had happened. But there were his aunt and uncle.

"Frodo, you're back," Esmeralda said.

Frodo embraced her, fondly. He didn't want to let go. "I almost…"

"I know. But you're back now," Esmeralda said, kindly. "We won't lose you now. You're safe. You're home."

Frodo breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes. Yes, I am."

The End.

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Thanks for reading. :)