by Sally Gardens
PART ONE: AUTUMN
Chapter One: An Unexpected Journey
Water. Water and darkness. And warmth.
Waking, as from a dream. Wishing he were falling asleep again.
But, it seemed, he'd had quite enough of sleep.
Frodo let the blanket fall away, let his feet find the floor, let his hands find the door.
He was on a ship. In a firth. Drawing toward a rocky gray shore at the edge of a wood. A gray stone quay in a lonely haven.
He knew that haven.
And memory, the mists of a fading dream, played at the edge of his sleep-hazed mind.
...surrounded by gray mists, he stared into the night...wondering if he would ever feel again...
Frodo, my lad...my story is drawing to a close...yours is only half-written...
Go. Live the rest of your story.
...pacing the shore, gazing east over the sea...the brine stung his eyes, yet no tears would come...
If you truly desire it, the way of return shall be opened to you.
...the gentle undulation of the waves against the ship rocked him, rocked him, soothing him with their ceaseless soft song...
He was back.
He stood on the quay, looking at the road that would lead back to the Shire.
The Shire has been saved, but not for me.
He stared down the road, a road grown dim in the deepening twilight. It had been twilight when he had departed; if this were a tale, he should be returning to a rising sun, striding with renewed hope and strength into a new day.
But this was no tale, only his life, moving along as it would and not waiting to meet his expectations. He drew in a long, measured breath and let it out in a song.
And so the Road is not yet through.
Far from the door where it began,
The end has turned to start anew,
And I must follow—if I can.
Pursuing it with faltering feet
Until once more I find my way
To a dear, familiar street.
And whither then? I cannot say.
The song fell to silence.
Twilight had become night. He ought, he supposed, to settle beneath a sheltering tree, make camp, set out at dawn, but he had always liked to walk at night, at least when night had been gentle and dusted with starlight, as was this one, and he found he had, after all, had quite enough of sleep for now.
Frodo lifted one foot and began the long journey home.