Ch. 14
True to prediction, the days in Lothlórien seemed to pass in a blur. Galadriel and Amy spent a lot of time together. A couple days after they'd arrived, the two Elven women were sitting on a high talan, overlooking the forest.
"Almare, it has been many years, even for us. Tell me of your experiences, for I am curious about the other world."
"It's hard to know where to start. I was there about three thousand years by their reckoning. When I left Middle Earth, one of the gifts I received was the ability to travel around their world apart from their transportation. Not frequently, or easily, but it let me explore the various land masses. Their world is very much divided by oceans, and travel across those oceans was difficult, especially for a woman alone.
"What can I say? They are a violent people. Their entire history is one of war. Often one people group conquers another, simply because they can—much like the Nümenoreans when they used the lesser men before their downfall. When I arrived, the Romans were conquering their known world. Then later on, various people groups conquered a land they call America and all of its native people. They took other men as slaves, and even after they freed them, they treated them as inferior. Most recently, they developed weapons that could kill thousands and even millions without effort. Perhaps what strikes me the most, though, is their capacity to harm each other even when not at war. Their crimes don't even have motives many times. They kill and steal and maim seemingly without cause or motivation.
"It wasn't all evil, though. It seems when events were at their darkest, individuals also demonstrated their capacity for good. During what was called World War II, many middle class families rescued those considered 'undesirable' from genocide at great risk to their own safety. When the American leader President Kennedy was assassinated, the American people pulled together like was rarely seen, and when thousands died when the World Trade Center was attacked, they rallied again.
"They have amazing capabilities for medicine and technology, but they obsess over the technology itself rather than what they can do to help each other, and the medicine is so expensive that it is difficult for the poor to afford treatment. Their power to heal is strange. They treat symptoms and diseases, but they rarely treat the person. Much of what they have to treat is inflicted by other humans, and there are even some who try, and often succeed, to kill themselves. Their spans are short enough already. I don't understand why they would end it early. When they do die, it is rarely gracefully. Like the Nümenoreans near the end of their days, they seek to extend their days until they are senile and incapable of caring for themselves. In many parts of the world, children will not care for their parents, so they pay others to take care of many elderly in places they call retirement homes, where they spend their last years in boredom. They do the same thing with their children. They pay others to care for them and teach them, and then spend all their time working away from their families.
"I think the most amusing thing about them must be their tendency to accept something simply because their parents believed it, and not to listen to anything else. For many years, they believed that insects sprang from rotting meat simply because nobody bothered to test the theory. On the other hand, young ones will often reject what their parents tell them, only to listen to others who are even more confused than they. They often fear what they don't understand, or else they demand everyone else tolerate whatever they say is right for them. There were several times I had to escape before I was killed as a witch.
"Toward the end of my time there, I lived in the United States and taught history in a university. It amazes me how ignorant they are of their own past. It's not beyond their understanding, but they usually don't care. I was becoming more and more aware of this, and also lonely. I could never stay in one place for long. I was pretending to be human, but they age so quickly. I had to leave before anyone realized I was different. When this group of humans started to suspect something, I just let it happen. I couldn't isolate myself again. When they asked to come with me, I didn't know what to do. I probably shouldn't have brought them, but they were as much alone as I was. None of them has close family in the other world. They will be a family for each other here, away from their past hurts."
"You say you didn't bring the young ones here to play matchmaker, yet that seems to have been the outcome." Galadriel's voice was even, but her eyes twinkled with amusement. Amy smiled at Galadriel, grateful for the change of subject.
"Yes. Mark and Mattie were romantically involved even before we reached Middle Earth, and Beth and Pete started seeing each other shortly after we arrived in Rivendell. I think Randy and Kim would be happy together, but I have to figure out a way to get them to realize that."
"Perhaps I can help with that." The two of them grinned conspiratorially, but Galadriel continued. "And what of yourself?"
Amy looked down at her hands. "You know some of it already."
"I know what has happened between you and Elrond, but what is in your heart? Do you love him?"
"I think so."
"You think so? You know your heart better than that, Almare."
"You're right. Yes, I do love him. I wish it were that simple, but he's so far above my station…"
Galadriel fixed her with a piercing glare. "That is an excuse. He doesn't care, and neither do you. The question remains—do you love him? Enough to spend eternity with him?"
Amy sighed. Galadriel was not going to let her off the hook. "I think so. It is strange. I only spent a couple weeks with him, at least since I've been back, and yet I feel as if I do love him that much."
"The heart is a strange thing. Do not distrust it simply because its message unnerves you, and do not deny yourself the opportunity for love because you fear to hurt me or Celeborn." Galadriel fixed her with a piercing stare.
Amy looked down at her hands again, but Galadriel reached over and lifted her chin. "We still mourn my daughter, but recovery must come, and it has been too long in coming for Elrond. He remained in Middle Earth, but he has never fully released his grief, and I fear for him when Arwen too leaves to be joined to Aragorn. I hope he realizes what you offer. He would be a fool if he does not, but I fear the grief he holds so tightly may blind him to your love. And why did you flee so quickly here? Yes, he needed time apart from you, but you wished for the time apart, too. Why do you fear relationship with him?"
"I'm not sure I understand myself. I didn't think I would be as overwhelmed as I was. It was almost a tangible fear. Perhaps it is because I've spent so long alone. The thought of depending so much on another is frightening."
"I know how it is. I felt the same thing when Celeborn and I married. It was not so much that I relinquished freedom in loving him, but rather that I depended on someone else for my happiness. I nearly turned him away because I was intimidated by it, but I am glad that I did not. The years would have been very heavy, indeed, had I worn them alone. Do not fear to love. Its rewards are far greater than the risks. I only hope Elrond will see the same thing." With that, Galadriel stood and the two of them walked slowly down from their vantage point.
True to prediction, the days in Lothlórien seemed to pass in a blur. Galadriel and Amy spent a lot of time together. A couple days after they'd arrived, the two Elven women were sitting on a high talan, overlooking the forest.
"Almare, it has been many years, even for us. Tell me of your experiences, for I am curious about the other world."
"It's hard to know where to start. I was there about three thousand years by their reckoning. When I left Middle Earth, one of the gifts I received was the ability to travel around their world apart from their transportation. Not frequently, or easily, but it let me explore the various land masses. Their world is very much divided by oceans, and travel across those oceans was difficult, especially for a woman alone.
"What can I say? They are a violent people. Their entire history is one of war. Often one people group conquers another, simply because they can—much like the Nümenoreans when they used the lesser men before their downfall. When I arrived, the Romans were conquering their known world. Then later on, various people groups conquered a land they call America and all of its native people. They took other men as slaves, and even after they freed them, they treated them as inferior. Most recently, they developed weapons that could kill thousands and even millions without effort. Perhaps what strikes me the most, though, is their capacity to harm each other even when not at war. Their crimes don't even have motives many times. They kill and steal and maim seemingly without cause or motivation.
"It wasn't all evil, though. It seems when events were at their darkest, individuals also demonstrated their capacity for good. During what was called World War II, many middle class families rescued those considered 'undesirable' from genocide at great risk to their own safety. When the American leader President Kennedy was assassinated, the American people pulled together like was rarely seen, and when thousands died when the World Trade Center was attacked, they rallied again.
"They have amazing capabilities for medicine and technology, but they obsess over the technology itself rather than what they can do to help each other, and the medicine is so expensive that it is difficult for the poor to afford treatment. Their power to heal is strange. They treat symptoms and diseases, but they rarely treat the person. Much of what they have to treat is inflicted by other humans, and there are even some who try, and often succeed, to kill themselves. Their spans are short enough already. I don't understand why they would end it early. When they do die, it is rarely gracefully. Like the Nümenoreans near the end of their days, they seek to extend their days until they are senile and incapable of caring for themselves. In many parts of the world, children will not care for their parents, so they pay others to take care of many elderly in places they call retirement homes, where they spend their last years in boredom. They do the same thing with their children. They pay others to care for them and teach them, and then spend all their time working away from their families.
"I think the most amusing thing about them must be their tendency to accept something simply because their parents believed it, and not to listen to anything else. For many years, they believed that insects sprang from rotting meat simply because nobody bothered to test the theory. On the other hand, young ones will often reject what their parents tell them, only to listen to others who are even more confused than they. They often fear what they don't understand, or else they demand everyone else tolerate whatever they say is right for them. There were several times I had to escape before I was killed as a witch.
"Toward the end of my time there, I lived in the United States and taught history in a university. It amazes me how ignorant they are of their own past. It's not beyond their understanding, but they usually don't care. I was becoming more and more aware of this, and also lonely. I could never stay in one place for long. I was pretending to be human, but they age so quickly. I had to leave before anyone realized I was different. When this group of humans started to suspect something, I just let it happen. I couldn't isolate myself again. When they asked to come with me, I didn't know what to do. I probably shouldn't have brought them, but they were as much alone as I was. None of them has close family in the other world. They will be a family for each other here, away from their past hurts."
"You say you didn't bring the young ones here to play matchmaker, yet that seems to have been the outcome." Galadriel's voice was even, but her eyes twinkled with amusement. Amy smiled at Galadriel, grateful for the change of subject.
"Yes. Mark and Mattie were romantically involved even before we reached Middle Earth, and Beth and Pete started seeing each other shortly after we arrived in Rivendell. I think Randy and Kim would be happy together, but I have to figure out a way to get them to realize that."
"Perhaps I can help with that." The two of them grinned conspiratorially, but Galadriel continued. "And what of yourself?"
Amy looked down at her hands. "You know some of it already."
"I know what has happened between you and Elrond, but what is in your heart? Do you love him?"
"I think so."
"You think so? You know your heart better than that, Almare."
"You're right. Yes, I do love him. I wish it were that simple, but he's so far above my station…"
Galadriel fixed her with a piercing glare. "That is an excuse. He doesn't care, and neither do you. The question remains—do you love him? Enough to spend eternity with him?"
Amy sighed. Galadriel was not going to let her off the hook. "I think so. It is strange. I only spent a couple weeks with him, at least since I've been back, and yet I feel as if I do love him that much."
"The heart is a strange thing. Do not distrust it simply because its message unnerves you, and do not deny yourself the opportunity for love because you fear to hurt me or Celeborn." Galadriel fixed her with a piercing stare.
Amy looked down at her hands again, but Galadriel reached over and lifted her chin. "We still mourn my daughter, but recovery must come, and it has been too long in coming for Elrond. He remained in Middle Earth, but he has never fully released his grief, and I fear for him when Arwen too leaves to be joined to Aragorn. I hope he realizes what you offer. He would be a fool if he does not, but I fear the grief he holds so tightly may blind him to your love. And why did you flee so quickly here? Yes, he needed time apart from you, but you wished for the time apart, too. Why do you fear relationship with him?"
"I'm not sure I understand myself. I didn't think I would be as overwhelmed as I was. It was almost a tangible fear. Perhaps it is because I've spent so long alone. The thought of depending so much on another is frightening."
"I know how it is. I felt the same thing when Celeborn and I married. It was not so much that I relinquished freedom in loving him, but rather that I depended on someone else for my happiness. I nearly turned him away because I was intimidated by it, but I am glad that I did not. The years would have been very heavy, indeed, had I worn them alone. Do not fear to love. Its rewards are far greater than the risks. I only hope Elrond will see the same thing." With that, Galadriel stood and the two of them walked slowly down from their vantage point.