Disclaimer: Lord of the Rings and all characters, places, etc. etc. belong
to Tolkein.
Gollum's Story
Chapter One: The Finding of the Precious
I wake up every morning to the same thing. Grandmother and Mother huddling over a cooking fire, and Father fishing. It is so dull. But today, today is different. Today, Father promised I could go fishing with him. He promised! He was in denial that he had a son in his tweens. But that's how he is. He has never let me go before. It took Mother pleading with me to have him even THINK about it. But I don't care any more. I can go fishing!
Fish is all we eat in our little town. Fish and fruit and wheat. That's all we eat! But now, I can fish, and am on my way to being an adult. My coming of age isn't for a few years yet, eight to be exact. But I can go fishing!
I baited the hook with a worm. I silently thanked the worm for giving its life up so we could find food. Father had taught me that. I cast the line like a pro. The boring part is waiting. But there! I felt a tug! And there! Another one! "Father!" I called, "I've got a bite!" He hurried along to me.
"Pull the line in slowly," he directed. I did so with my long nimble fingers. "Take the fish off the hook." I attempted, but I failed, and the fish began bleeding from the gills. Father finished taking it off the hook for me. That morning, I caught three fish, but one was too small, so Father let it go. "To get bigger so we can catch and eat it another time," was the explanation.
We got back just in time for breakfast. "Smeagol!" Mother shrieked, "Go wash up. Right now!" she added when I didn't make a move. I washed in the basin that was kept full of wash-water. I went back, and we thanked the fish for giving their lives so we could eat.
After breakfast I went out with Deagol, my best friend. We decided to swim in the River. We splashed and raced. I attempted to catch a fish with my bare hands. "It's hopeless, Deagol," I exclaimed. He tried as well. He managed to get closer, but still no fish. We promised each other that we would perfect that system before the summer was over. And so we did.
Every summer we made a new bet; one year it was to not wear our caps any more. Our mothers ruined that one.
~*~*~*~
It's my Birthday today! I turn twenty-eight. Mother made a veritable feast! She has made all the best foods: fish, eggs, cake, and oranges. Well, she didn't make the oranges, she got them. But they're there!
Now come the presents. Deagol got me a pretty silver chain. Mother and Father got me a set of colors so I can draw my surroundings and remember them when I'm older. Grandmother gave me a chest to keep my belongings in. "It's time you started keeping mementos of your tween years," she said.
The best present of all was that my parents said that Deagol and I could go to an unexplored part of the River. Deagol's parents had already said it was fine. So we went and caught fishes with naught but our hands. Then, when Deagol was exploring the bottom of the River, he found a Ring. It was gold, and shiny, but covered in muck. He tried to hide it from me. "Give it to me, Deagol," I commanded. I didn't know why, but after it was said, I stuck by it.
Deagol defied me. "No, I found it! It came to me! Besides, I've given you a present already, more than I could afford."
I wanted that Ring, more than anything I've ever wanted. Something came over me, something I couldn't explain, and I decided to squeeze Deagol until he handed it over. I gave him one last chance. "Give it to ussss, Deagol!" But he made the wrong decision. My fingers wrapped around his throat. He didn't give it up! I squeezed harder! But his fingers were still clasped around the Ring, the Precious. I squeezed the life out of him. I pried his fingers apart and put the Precious on the chain he had given to me. I was suddenly stabbed with grief over the loss of my friend. How would I explain this to my parents, to his parents? But I took the body, and threw it in the River.
Gollum's Story
Chapter One: The Finding of the Precious
I wake up every morning to the same thing. Grandmother and Mother huddling over a cooking fire, and Father fishing. It is so dull. But today, today is different. Today, Father promised I could go fishing with him. He promised! He was in denial that he had a son in his tweens. But that's how he is. He has never let me go before. It took Mother pleading with me to have him even THINK about it. But I don't care any more. I can go fishing!
Fish is all we eat in our little town. Fish and fruit and wheat. That's all we eat! But now, I can fish, and am on my way to being an adult. My coming of age isn't for a few years yet, eight to be exact. But I can go fishing!
I baited the hook with a worm. I silently thanked the worm for giving its life up so we could find food. Father had taught me that. I cast the line like a pro. The boring part is waiting. But there! I felt a tug! And there! Another one! "Father!" I called, "I've got a bite!" He hurried along to me.
"Pull the line in slowly," he directed. I did so with my long nimble fingers. "Take the fish off the hook." I attempted, but I failed, and the fish began bleeding from the gills. Father finished taking it off the hook for me. That morning, I caught three fish, but one was too small, so Father let it go. "To get bigger so we can catch and eat it another time," was the explanation.
We got back just in time for breakfast. "Smeagol!" Mother shrieked, "Go wash up. Right now!" she added when I didn't make a move. I washed in the basin that was kept full of wash-water. I went back, and we thanked the fish for giving their lives so we could eat.
After breakfast I went out with Deagol, my best friend. We decided to swim in the River. We splashed and raced. I attempted to catch a fish with my bare hands. "It's hopeless, Deagol," I exclaimed. He tried as well. He managed to get closer, but still no fish. We promised each other that we would perfect that system before the summer was over. And so we did.
Every summer we made a new bet; one year it was to not wear our caps any more. Our mothers ruined that one.
~*~*~*~
It's my Birthday today! I turn twenty-eight. Mother made a veritable feast! She has made all the best foods: fish, eggs, cake, and oranges. Well, she didn't make the oranges, she got them. But they're there!
Now come the presents. Deagol got me a pretty silver chain. Mother and Father got me a set of colors so I can draw my surroundings and remember them when I'm older. Grandmother gave me a chest to keep my belongings in. "It's time you started keeping mementos of your tween years," she said.
The best present of all was that my parents said that Deagol and I could go to an unexplored part of the River. Deagol's parents had already said it was fine. So we went and caught fishes with naught but our hands. Then, when Deagol was exploring the bottom of the River, he found a Ring. It was gold, and shiny, but covered in muck. He tried to hide it from me. "Give it to me, Deagol," I commanded. I didn't know why, but after it was said, I stuck by it.
Deagol defied me. "No, I found it! It came to me! Besides, I've given you a present already, more than I could afford."
I wanted that Ring, more than anything I've ever wanted. Something came over me, something I couldn't explain, and I decided to squeeze Deagol until he handed it over. I gave him one last chance. "Give it to ussss, Deagol!" But he made the wrong decision. My fingers wrapped around his throat. He didn't give it up! I squeezed harder! But his fingers were still clasped around the Ring, the Precious. I squeezed the life out of him. I pried his fingers apart and put the Precious on the chain he had given to me. I was suddenly stabbed with grief over the loss of my friend. How would I explain this to my parents, to his parents? But I took the body, and threw it in the River.
