Chapter 7
I Love You My Dearest
Beads of sweat poured from his brow as Sam's eyes darted open and he quickly sat up in his bed. His heart raced and pounded in his chest. He looked through the window at the morning sky. "It was only a bad dream," he said to himself. He tried to force the imagines from his mind of his mother floating just under the surface of the pond yesterday where Frodo pulled him out. In his dream he tried over and over again to save his mother from the water, but every time he went into the water her body would float further away. Sam screamed and cried in frustration at trying to save his mother, but he couldn't. "I'm safe in my bed and mother is in the kitchen," he told himself trying to force those horrible thoughts away.
Sam leaped out of his bed and he rushed from his bedroom into the kitchen to finally prove to himself all was well.
Mrs. Gamgee slowly turned around when Sam entered the kitchen and she forces a smile since she was not feeling very well. Her head pounded and her leg had gotten much worse during the night. Even her jaw and neck seemed tighter and harder to move. Every muscle seemed to be in knots. As soon as the Gaffer got the wagon hitched up she would tell him to take her into the healer for treatment. Mrs. Gamgee did not want to wake up her children and she wanted to make sure they had breakfast waiting for them. She also needed to keep busy while she waited for the Gaffer. Seeing Sam up so early, she put on a strong front for him. She did not want to upset him from her illness. She knew the healer would give her a potion to help her get well.
"Sam you've forgotten yourself this morning. Shouldn't you dress before coming to breakfast?" she told him weakly.
"Yes em, I should," Sam said as he reached his arms open for his mother to give him a hug.
She warmly circled her arms around him and kissed him on top of his head. She placed her hands to the sides of his cheeks and looked directly into his eyes as she asked, "What is this all about, Sam?"
"I just wanted to give you a hug, is all. I love you Mama," was all he said.
"I love you with all my heart, my dearest son. Now be off with you and get yourself dressed," said Mrs. Gamgee as she cast a weak smile at her Sam.
Sam almost skipped all the way to his dressing closet with a bright smile on his face. Today was going to be a fine day in deed.
Mrs. Gamgee turned back to her pancakes that sizzled in the fry pan. Slowly her vision began to blur and the pancakes appeared as if they were falling out of the side of the pan. She stretched out her hand to grab them, but she felt herself falling backwards and into a deep darkness as she hit the floor.
Sam called out to his mother as he pulled his shirt over his head and pulling his arms threw the sleeves. "Mother, did you hear me? Mother?" Sam kept calling, but no one answered him. He walked into the kitchen but saw no one there. He thought she must have went out side for a moment and he ran to the door opening it. He looked around the porch, but again he saw no one there. The Gaffer walked out of the barn guiding two of his ponies to the wagon so he could hitch them.
"That is odd, where could she be?" Sam said to himself out loud. He walked around the house to the see if maybe she was feeding Henry. But she was not there. Sam opened the cage and picked up Henry. He began petting his rabbit. "Henry, today is going to be the finest day. I have a friend now and he is going to teach me things like reading and writing. Your Sam is going be smart. Maybe smart as Mr. Frodo someday. Rabbit starts with "R" and Henry starts with "H". See Henry I am almost there. When your Sam is reading right Proper, I am going to write your name here on your cage. So you can see your name. What do you think of that?" Sam said proudly.
"The cakes must be done by now, my stomach is about as empty as yours. I'll be bringing your breakfast straight away as soon as I get mine," Sam said as he placed Henry back into his cage and took his time tying the knot. Sam smiled as he turned to walk back to the kitchen.
When Sam entered the kitchen heavy smoke was filling the room. The harsh smell of chard food reeked as Sam rushed to the counter to grab a towel so he could pull the pan from the stove. But he tripped and fell flat on top of something. Sam looked directly into his mother's face. Sam screamed in horror as he scrambled to his knees and picked his mother up in his arms. Cradling her, he screamed louder and louder, "Help Me! Someone please help me!"
The pan on top of the stove burst into flames and the black smoke billowed from the pan. Sam planted his feet firmly on the floor and pushing with all of his strength. He scooted both himself and his mother a short distance away from the stove. Sam tried over and over again to move his mother, but he did not have the strength. Sam screamed louder as he saw the flames suddenly burst higher when the nearby container with lard caught fire. Daisy and May came running into the kitchen and screamed thinking their house was on fire. They looked down at Sam cradling their mother as he cried for them to help him.
The Gaffer looked up from the wagon after hearing constant faint screams coming from the house. He spotted the smoke that billowed from the doorway and he ran as fast as his legs would let him. Entering the doorway, he saw Sam holding Bell in his arms and then the fire burning on the stove.
He raced over to Bell and pulled her out of Sam's arms and carried her out of the house. Placing her gently on the ground. They all followed the Gaffer behind him and gathered around her. The Gaffer raced back into the kitchen to put the fire out..
"Sam is Momma alright?" questioned Daisy as her fear mounted with each second.
"I don't know, she will not wake up!" said Sam.
"She had burnt her leg, Sam. It is all red and swollen," said May.
Halfred looked closely at his mother's face and then placed his hand over her heart. Fear seized him as he knew she had died. "Sam, mother is dead. You can not wake her up!" Halfred told him as he watched Sam trying to shake her shoulders to awaken her.
Sam looked directly into his mother's eyes, but they did not move. The pain hit Sam's heart like lighting bolts as one tear after another poured from his eyes. His did not want to believe that his mother had died. It could not be!
When the fire was out, the Gaffer ran to see how Bell was doing. There on the ground his three children knelt around their mother sobbing as the grief over took them.
The Gaffer knelt down by his wife and checked to see if her heart beat, but it was silent. Her eyes were wide open and blankly stared. The Gaffer gently closed her eyes with his fingertips and gathered her into his arms as he hugged her one last time. He buried his face onto her chest as the tears poured from his eyes. A slow sounding moan escaped from his lips as he began to grieve.
Sam stood up, staring frozen in time, unable to move or even breathe. He took one step and fainted next to his mother. Daisy ran to Sam and laid his head into her lap sobbing for Sam to wake up. May clutched Sam's hand crying and calling out his name, "Sam, please wake up! Sam!"
Halfred stood watching his father sob holding his mother as if this could not be happening. Tears poured from his eyes and he slowly walked away to find a place to be alone.
Sam's face was ghostly pale and sweat poured down his brow. Slowly his eyes opened and he turned his head to see his mother who lay dead in his father's arms.
May saw Halfred walking away and she followed him. Halfred leaned against the tree and his sobbing raked through his entire body. May could hear the pain pouring from his heart. She ran to him and clutched him tightly.
I Love You My Dearest
Beads of sweat poured from his brow as Sam's eyes darted open and he quickly sat up in his bed. His heart raced and pounded in his chest. He looked through the window at the morning sky. "It was only a bad dream," he said to himself. He tried to force the imagines from his mind of his mother floating just under the surface of the pond yesterday where Frodo pulled him out. In his dream he tried over and over again to save his mother from the water, but every time he went into the water her body would float further away. Sam screamed and cried in frustration at trying to save his mother, but he couldn't. "I'm safe in my bed and mother is in the kitchen," he told himself trying to force those horrible thoughts away.
Sam leaped out of his bed and he rushed from his bedroom into the kitchen to finally prove to himself all was well.
Mrs. Gamgee slowly turned around when Sam entered the kitchen and she forces a smile since she was not feeling very well. Her head pounded and her leg had gotten much worse during the night. Even her jaw and neck seemed tighter and harder to move. Every muscle seemed to be in knots. As soon as the Gaffer got the wagon hitched up she would tell him to take her into the healer for treatment. Mrs. Gamgee did not want to wake up her children and she wanted to make sure they had breakfast waiting for them. She also needed to keep busy while she waited for the Gaffer. Seeing Sam up so early, she put on a strong front for him. She did not want to upset him from her illness. She knew the healer would give her a potion to help her get well.
"Sam you've forgotten yourself this morning. Shouldn't you dress before coming to breakfast?" she told him weakly.
"Yes em, I should," Sam said as he reached his arms open for his mother to give him a hug.
She warmly circled her arms around him and kissed him on top of his head. She placed her hands to the sides of his cheeks and looked directly into his eyes as she asked, "What is this all about, Sam?"
"I just wanted to give you a hug, is all. I love you Mama," was all he said.
"I love you with all my heart, my dearest son. Now be off with you and get yourself dressed," said Mrs. Gamgee as she cast a weak smile at her Sam.
Sam almost skipped all the way to his dressing closet with a bright smile on his face. Today was going to be a fine day in deed.
Mrs. Gamgee turned back to her pancakes that sizzled in the fry pan. Slowly her vision began to blur and the pancakes appeared as if they were falling out of the side of the pan. She stretched out her hand to grab them, but she felt herself falling backwards and into a deep darkness as she hit the floor.
Sam called out to his mother as he pulled his shirt over his head and pulling his arms threw the sleeves. "Mother, did you hear me? Mother?" Sam kept calling, but no one answered him. He walked into the kitchen but saw no one there. He thought she must have went out side for a moment and he ran to the door opening it. He looked around the porch, but again he saw no one there. The Gaffer walked out of the barn guiding two of his ponies to the wagon so he could hitch them.
"That is odd, where could she be?" Sam said to himself out loud. He walked around the house to the see if maybe she was feeding Henry. But she was not there. Sam opened the cage and picked up Henry. He began petting his rabbit. "Henry, today is going to be the finest day. I have a friend now and he is going to teach me things like reading and writing. Your Sam is going be smart. Maybe smart as Mr. Frodo someday. Rabbit starts with "R" and Henry starts with "H". See Henry I am almost there. When your Sam is reading right Proper, I am going to write your name here on your cage. So you can see your name. What do you think of that?" Sam said proudly.
"The cakes must be done by now, my stomach is about as empty as yours. I'll be bringing your breakfast straight away as soon as I get mine," Sam said as he placed Henry back into his cage and took his time tying the knot. Sam smiled as he turned to walk back to the kitchen.
When Sam entered the kitchen heavy smoke was filling the room. The harsh smell of chard food reeked as Sam rushed to the counter to grab a towel so he could pull the pan from the stove. But he tripped and fell flat on top of something. Sam looked directly into his mother's face. Sam screamed in horror as he scrambled to his knees and picked his mother up in his arms. Cradling her, he screamed louder and louder, "Help Me! Someone please help me!"
The pan on top of the stove burst into flames and the black smoke billowed from the pan. Sam planted his feet firmly on the floor and pushing with all of his strength. He scooted both himself and his mother a short distance away from the stove. Sam tried over and over again to move his mother, but he did not have the strength. Sam screamed louder as he saw the flames suddenly burst higher when the nearby container with lard caught fire. Daisy and May came running into the kitchen and screamed thinking their house was on fire. They looked down at Sam cradling their mother as he cried for them to help him.
The Gaffer looked up from the wagon after hearing constant faint screams coming from the house. He spotted the smoke that billowed from the doorway and he ran as fast as his legs would let him. Entering the doorway, he saw Sam holding Bell in his arms and then the fire burning on the stove.
He raced over to Bell and pulled her out of Sam's arms and carried her out of the house. Placing her gently on the ground. They all followed the Gaffer behind him and gathered around her. The Gaffer raced back into the kitchen to put the fire out..
"Sam is Momma alright?" questioned Daisy as her fear mounted with each second.
"I don't know, she will not wake up!" said Sam.
"She had burnt her leg, Sam. It is all red and swollen," said May.
Halfred looked closely at his mother's face and then placed his hand over her heart. Fear seized him as he knew she had died. "Sam, mother is dead. You can not wake her up!" Halfred told him as he watched Sam trying to shake her shoulders to awaken her.
Sam looked directly into his mother's eyes, but they did not move. The pain hit Sam's heart like lighting bolts as one tear after another poured from his eyes. His did not want to believe that his mother had died. It could not be!
When the fire was out, the Gaffer ran to see how Bell was doing. There on the ground his three children knelt around their mother sobbing as the grief over took them.
The Gaffer knelt down by his wife and checked to see if her heart beat, but it was silent. Her eyes were wide open and blankly stared. The Gaffer gently closed her eyes with his fingertips and gathered her into his arms as he hugged her one last time. He buried his face onto her chest as the tears poured from his eyes. A slow sounding moan escaped from his lips as he began to grieve.
Sam stood up, staring frozen in time, unable to move or even breathe. He took one step and fainted next to his mother. Daisy ran to Sam and laid his head into her lap sobbing for Sam to wake up. May clutched Sam's hand crying and calling out his name, "Sam, please wake up! Sam!"
Halfred stood watching his father sob holding his mother as if this could not be happening. Tears poured from his eyes and he slowly walked away to find a place to be alone.
Sam's face was ghostly pale and sweat poured down his brow. Slowly his eyes opened and he turned his head to see his mother who lay dead in his father's arms.
May saw Halfred walking away and she followed him. Halfred leaned against the tree and his sobbing raked through his entire body. May could hear the pain pouring from his heart. She ran to him and clutched him tightly.