Chapter 1
My name is Willow Took. Two days ago, while gardening behind the Great Smials, I had a superb idea. So, to fulfill my idea (and pass some time), I shall write this, for all to read. I am old, too old, to give a life story. Eleventy-seven years are much too much to write down all at once. Instead, I will share my most memorable time, right before I was Willow Took; when I was Willow Sweetgrass.
* * * I was thirty-two, at the end of tweenage and the beginning of being an adult. Not much had changed; throughout my tweenage years, you could find me sewing with the lasses, talking amongst ourselves of flowers, news, the lads. But what I looked forward to everyday was wrecking havoc all over the Shire with Peregrin Took and Meriadoc Brandybuck. Everyday, after afternoon tea, I would sneak out with Merry and Pippin to "borrow" crops from Farmer Maggot or roll down hills; switch things up in the market or stick things in Pearl's hair. Years went by and things stayed the same: in the morning I was sweet, innocent Willow, gossiping with the lasses and fluttering my eyelashes. But when the time came, I was just as infamous for causing trouble as Bilbo was for leaving the Shire so many years ago. Skipping over many years of inappropriate behavior from the three of us, things stayed the same. We grew to be the best of friends, even through all of the separations. When I was fifteen, very young, Merry and Pip had argued everyday for weeks over who deserved the last cake at a party. Being peacemaker between them is not easy. When I was twenty-five, I had started to date a lad Merry didn't like; and I disagreed more than once with some of the lasses they took home. Nothing ever lasted more than a few weeks though, and once apologies were made, everything was back to normal. After the War of the Ring, they had come back, taller and wiser, but Pippin smile still held mischief and Merry still had a spring in his step. Even with everything that happened while they were gone: the Shire being taken hostage by Saruman and the Big People, I smiled for the first time in a year when I saw the two of them walk forward. And so after that, everything was the same again. Now for the actual story. Merry and I were sitting at our favorite hill, waiting for a very late Pippin to come back from a date. He had been courting Diamond of Long Cleeve for many months and she had become a good friend of the group, although she was never one to join in the "festivities". They seemed to always enjoy each other's company, Pippin most of all. We saw him jogging closer with a wide grin on his face. "Willow, Merry, I have some great news! Diamond and I are getting married!" he announced clearly out of breath. Merry laughed happily, congratulating his younger cousin. As Pip came over, hugging me in turn, I found myself not happily surprised, but terribly shocked. Married? Did he just say married? My eyes watered but I held it back and smiled as a façade. Merry broke my silent thought. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go spread the good news!" He started down the hill, "Willow, come on!" "I'll be right there," I responded in a yell. He turned and I collapsed. Tears poured onto my dress as I tried to stop them. I couldn't understand why I was so upset. I should be happy for him. I should have reacted like Merry with a smile and a laugh. But I couldn't. And it was then that I realized why I was crying.
My name is Willow Took. Two days ago, while gardening behind the Great Smials, I had a superb idea. So, to fulfill my idea (and pass some time), I shall write this, for all to read. I am old, too old, to give a life story. Eleventy-seven years are much too much to write down all at once. Instead, I will share my most memorable time, right before I was Willow Took; when I was Willow Sweetgrass.
* * * I was thirty-two, at the end of tweenage and the beginning of being an adult. Not much had changed; throughout my tweenage years, you could find me sewing with the lasses, talking amongst ourselves of flowers, news, the lads. But what I looked forward to everyday was wrecking havoc all over the Shire with Peregrin Took and Meriadoc Brandybuck. Everyday, after afternoon tea, I would sneak out with Merry and Pippin to "borrow" crops from Farmer Maggot or roll down hills; switch things up in the market or stick things in Pearl's hair. Years went by and things stayed the same: in the morning I was sweet, innocent Willow, gossiping with the lasses and fluttering my eyelashes. But when the time came, I was just as infamous for causing trouble as Bilbo was for leaving the Shire so many years ago. Skipping over many years of inappropriate behavior from the three of us, things stayed the same. We grew to be the best of friends, even through all of the separations. When I was fifteen, very young, Merry and Pip had argued everyday for weeks over who deserved the last cake at a party. Being peacemaker between them is not easy. When I was twenty-five, I had started to date a lad Merry didn't like; and I disagreed more than once with some of the lasses they took home. Nothing ever lasted more than a few weeks though, and once apologies were made, everything was back to normal. After the War of the Ring, they had come back, taller and wiser, but Pippin smile still held mischief and Merry still had a spring in his step. Even with everything that happened while they were gone: the Shire being taken hostage by Saruman and the Big People, I smiled for the first time in a year when I saw the two of them walk forward. And so after that, everything was the same again. Now for the actual story. Merry and I were sitting at our favorite hill, waiting for a very late Pippin to come back from a date. He had been courting Diamond of Long Cleeve for many months and she had become a good friend of the group, although she was never one to join in the "festivities". They seemed to always enjoy each other's company, Pippin most of all. We saw him jogging closer with a wide grin on his face. "Willow, Merry, I have some great news! Diamond and I are getting married!" he announced clearly out of breath. Merry laughed happily, congratulating his younger cousin. As Pip came over, hugging me in turn, I found myself not happily surprised, but terribly shocked. Married? Did he just say married? My eyes watered but I held it back and smiled as a façade. Merry broke my silent thought. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go spread the good news!" He started down the hill, "Willow, come on!" "I'll be right there," I responded in a yell. He turned and I collapsed. Tears poured onto my dress as I tried to stop them. I couldn't understand why I was so upset. I should be happy for him. I should have reacted like Merry with a smile and a laugh. But I couldn't. And it was then that I realized why I was crying.