10. Breathe Again
All it takes is one breath, one tiny inhale, the slightest exhale; that's all life is, isn't it? A constant effort- or for the lucky, not- to fill one's lungs with air, then empty them again. It has never been as difficult for me as now.
Laying beside the boulder, beside my brother, at the feet of my uncle where we have always seemed to dwell, staring up past a hail of black-feathered arrows to admire the ashen sky, the dart embedded in my own breast tells me I shall soon be welcomed into the arms of Mahal*.
*Mahal= Dwarvish name for Aulë, their Valarin maker