I was lying in the overgrown grass when a shadow passed between myself and the sun. I was too tired from spending all day working to open eyes. I knew who it had to be, who it always was. He'd been away for months. I hadn't seen him since early autumn, and it was now late spring. It was the longest I could ever remember having gone without seeing his smiling eyes. But as they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder…
"Being lazy while everyone else is working so hard, dear cousin?" His voice was like laughter itself.
"Ah, you know me too well, little one."
"I'm not so little! I'll bet I'm as tall as you are now! I'm much taller than even Pimpernel now." He'd always been a runt, and I knew without looking that, while he may indeed be taller than his sisters, he was bluffing in his comparison to me.
"Well, before you know it you will be the tallest hobbit ever to grace the Shire."
The shadow went away, and I felt him lie down beside me. It was comforting, having him so close. "Don't tease, Merry."
"I wouldn't dream of it, Pippin."
For a long time we lay there, enjoying the feeling of the grass beneath us, the sun above us, and the nearness of one another. No words were exchanged, no looks shared. Simply enjoying the other's company.
The sun was low in the sky when he sat up, shaking my shoulder. I hadn't been asleep, and he'd known that. It was just a gesture. "Merry?"
I finally opened my eyes to behold him. He had grown, I could tell even as he sat. His face was fuller, and yet it lacked the round, baby-ish quality it had still attained when I had last seen him. "Yes Pippin?"
"Do you ever feel like we're in story?"
"A story?"
"Yes like one of Cousin Bilbo's?"
"Hmm…I doubt that we'd ever be in one of Bilbo's. Unless we're at the beginning of the tale yet."
"Hmm…no, this doesn't feel like a beginning to me. Does it feel like a beginning to you?" He looked over at me, his green-gold eyes eager for an answer.
"I couldn't really say."
He didn't seem disappointed by my answer. "It feels like a conclusion to me."
"A conclusion? To what?"
"A meeting. Our meeting."
"Pippin, we met when you're born. Not today."
"I know that. But…it feels as though, today, we've finally known one another."
I was quiet for a moment before I nodded. "I know what you mean."
"I thought it would be terribly awkward, seeing you again after so many months apart. But, it wasn't. It has always has been before. But now…I don't need you to fill me in on how you have been, and you have been doing. I feel like…I already know."
"Well," I gave a cheeky grin, "I have been sending you regular letters with all the latest news from the Hall."
"That's not what I mean," he gave a forced frown and threw and handful of grass at me. I gave an indignant holler and proceeded to tackle him to the ground, where we wrestled about until coming once more to rest on our backs, panting for breath this time.
"This has all the feelings of an ending. Of wrapping-up loose ends."
"…will there ever be another tale?"
"I should think so. 'The road goes ever on' after all."
"We will be in it? Or is this the end of our part in it?"
"Well, that's a silly question, dear hobbit!" He sprang up from the ground, pulling me with him. "We've had no adventures to speak of! Of course we will be in the next tale. We shall be the heroes in a great epic. I can feel it!" He was grinning from ear to ear. "Now, race to you river!" In a spiel of laughter he began running at full speed. I held back, smiling at his shrinking form, allowing him a head start. My legs were, after all, much longer than his. Before he was completely out of sight, I tore off after him, allowing my own laughter to follow his. It was good to see him again.
Perhaps this is the end of our tale, perhaps it is the beginning. Whatever it is, there will be many more after it. His and mine together. Though miles may separate us, or mountains, or seas, or any other obstacle, I will always find him. If the years keep us apart for so long his face is unknown to mine, I will still know him, deep down, somehow. He is my best friend.
He is my Pippin. Always.
