Stars began to blink into existence overhead, speckling the heavens with familiar shapes and wondrous figures. From above descended the light they gave to earth, casting an ethereal glow upon the gardens of Rivendell. Softly, the trees rustled their leaves, sending a rhythm into the air. Through the branches blew a gentle eight of wind, playing a wordless song to the boughts' beat. Effortlessly went the somber evening melody. Some distance away whispered the falls, allowing the world to be consumed by serenity. Above the white sound of the night's musings, a single humming voice wandered amongst the eves of the trees, dancing whimsically over the grass laden with dew. Bearing a grace far beyond the count of years, Elrond sauntered through his beloved home. He knew of the sorrows that pressed his house, though, it was but added to the same deep wounds that would likely never fully heal in his heart. Though his thought bore such a solemn tone, he continued to let the soothing song slide from his lips.
The seas bore him far away.
Walking on a distant shore,
Or yet asail, none can say.
Yet so remains his great tale
Bringing hope to striving minds.
So tarries he ageless now.
As hope through history winds…"
Faintly, a glimmer was in his eyes of dreaming distantly of ages long ago. Time seemed to slide away through his grasp. Once he would have found joy in the verse he himself had written, however, the solemnity of the day weighted heavily in the arch of his brow. How greatly he desired to lift the sorrow he knew was upon Gilraen. In years long passed he too had felt the loss she had suffered, yet he was given the comfort of knowing she awaited him on the distant shores. Her one hope was in a small boy who the both knew was both destined and doomed for a greater purpose.
Estel… May the Valar guide you on your path, for you shall not always dwell in unknowing bliss…
Regret flooded him. Never can anyone dwell forever in bliss…
For much of the day he had evaded the though: the memory that taught him the comfort he shared with the Lady Gilraen. However in the gaze of his children, in the gardens in which he wandered, and even in the rise and fall of the golden sun, he saw her. Celebrian… vanimelda…1 Throughout all consciousness wove her brilliant smile, bringing with it a bittersweet comfort.
Before him in a small clearing, bathed in moonlight, stood a figure chiseled from stone. Upon a pillar spun with a simple pattern, an awe-inspiring lady stood, one hand drawn close to her heart and the other with its palm facing outward. Time had torn away some of the smoothness of her gentle contour and vines draped over her, yet he could still see his beloved wife's likeness engraved into the statue. So long ago had he placed the statue in the secluded clearing.
Between us likes the sundering seas… Longing filled Elrond even more as he lived his hand and slid his palm into the cold outstretched hand of the statue. One day, after all my duties have passed, I will come to thee…
Yet, a small comfort was had in knowing that one day, they would be reunited. Above them still gleamed the same stars, the same moonlight still lit their faces. Not entirely was she gone from him.
1Vanmimelda. S. Fair-love.