For those who suffer.
For those who grieve.
For those who have known loss.
For those who have known sorrow.
For those who have forgotten how to smile.
May God give them hope in their time of need.
May God give them the strength to rebuild their lives.
Lives which were simply swept away.
In an instant.
Needlessly.
Wait For Me, Galadriel
Disclaimer – Nothing that you recognise belongs to me.
Why must you leave me now, Galadriel?
Why must you go?
More than two Ages of the world I have stood by your side.
More than two Ages of the world we have been one, you and me.
Why must you wrench my soul apart now?
Why?
All the times we have spent together. Yet now it seemed that those two ages passed in a heartbeat. Soon, you will be gone. And what will I be left with? Memories…
Memories of times past.
Happy memories, sad memories. But somehow, they no longer seem substantial. They no longer seem enough. What will I do without you, Artanis?
I remember the day I first beheld you, Artanis. In Doriath in the First Age, now long past. You walked with fair Luthien and with wise, beautiful Melian. But I? I had eyes only for you.
You were so perfect. I was like a fool, hopelessly in love. Yet at the time, I felt that there was no hope for me. Why would one who was so fair, who had refused even the great Feanor a single strand of her hair, choose to spend her life with me? Feanor had fallen, but Celebrimbor still remained.
Celebrimbor… How I hated him! But you knew that, Artanis. Even when you had pledged your love to me, I would still feel afraid at times. Afraid that he would take you away from me. For he was, as he himself put it, 'no mere dark elf', unlike me. He was of your kin, a great and renowned jewel smith, and grandson of Feanor.
Yes, I hated him. I hated the way he would try to sway your heart with jewels, trinkets, and of course, rings. And even when he perished against Sauron, and went out of your life, I still hated him. He died a heroic death, and so perhaps paid for some of his mistakes, but I could not feel any respect, or even any pity for him.
I hated him for making you suffer. Yes, suffer. For that is what you were doing, Artanis. For so many long years you suffered. All because of that ring. You may be able to hide your pain from the rest of the world, meleth, but you cannot hide it from me. You are my heart, my soul. I know you better than you know yourself. And yet I could only stand by and watch, helpless, as Nenya slowly took hold of you. And so I hated Celebrimbor. For who else could I blame?
Perhaps those who call me wise are mistaken, for surely the wise do not hate; they forgive. But what could I do? I did not want to lose you. I did not want to lose my Artanis.
I did not want to lose my Galadriel.
But now the One Ring has been destroyed. The power of the Three Rings is ending. You are free. And yet, I will still lose you.
You ask why I do not wish to dwell in Aman, in paradise, where there is no death, no decay. Where the Valar dwell. Where the great eagles fly. Where the Two Trees grew.
You ask why I remain here, in Middle-Earth. In Arda Marred.
You ask why I do not come with you, to Aman.
Aman… where all hurts are healed. You will be happy there. For it was your home. But me? My home is here.
Here, in Endor.
In every blade of grass under my feet, in every tree that grows, in every stream, in every glade, I see home.
Marred it may be, but it is my home. It is where I belong. I cannot leave it.
Not yet…
But I am incomplete without you, Artanis, just as the hroa is incomplete without the fëa.
So I will come. This I swear. I will come one day, to Aman.
I will come to you. I will leave my home behind, for you. And yet, I know that on that day, I will be whole again.
Wait for me, Galadriel.
----- Fin ----
Translations
Meleth – Love
Endor –Middle-Earth (source – the Silmarillion)
Artanis – This was Galadriel's given name i.e. the name she was given at birth. Elves could have several names, given to them by different people along the course of their life, and they chose which ones they wanted to keep or use properly. Galadriel was the name given to her by Celeborn, when he met and fell in love with her. I feel itis a sign of her love for him that she used it above all her other names. I just felt that since Celeborn was perhaps the only person left at the end of the Third Age who knew Galadriel well in the times when she was still known as Artanis, he used the name from time to time, probably only in private.
Hroa - Flesh or body
Fëa - Spirit
I watched some footage of the disaster in Asia.
It made me cry.
A request to all those of you out there who have some compassion for fellow human beings – Do your little bit to help. Give what you can, if indeed you haven't already. Give these people another chance at happiness.
I will say no more on this matter, as I am already quite upset by it.
Anyway.
This was again what I wouldn't really call a story. I'll have to go for 'piece' again. Do tell me what you thought of it. I know that the 'suffering' part was quite exaggerated, but it doesn't exactly say anywhere how the elven ringbearers were affected by their rings, but I thought that for instance, Frodo was never exactly comfortable putting on the One Ring, and look at what the Nine rings made the kings of Men into, so presumably it had some effect on Galadriel as well. If you feel it's not right, then, well, poetic licence? I apologise if Celeborn seems out of character. I haven't written much of him so far.
To Malara – I'm glad you liked 'They Watched' (I'm beginning to dislike that title more and more each time I use it, somehow, but oh well). Thanks for all the lovely comments, and the constructive criticism. You're not the only person who notices the commas; my English teacher is also always complaining that I use too many commas. I'm just a bit too enthusiastic when it comes to commas, I'm afraid. But I will sort the piece out. Promise. In the mean time, do tell me what you thought of this piece.
To Patty - Thank you so much for all the complements! They did help me feel happier. And thanks for the review of 'A Letter From Ada'. I wasn't actually planning to add any more to the story. I too felt that it's fine as it is. As for the name Eldarion, I could go on about my views and ideas on it for quite a bit, so could you leave me an email address? I realise that I've spent far too long on this piece right now. If that is inconvenient for you, then I promise I will answer the question in my next post. Do tell me what you thought of this piece.
To Purple Evenleaf – I'm glad you liked it!
On a slightly happier note, two months from tomorrow I will be sixteen! That still doesn't help me feel that much better right now, though.
I will leave you with a poem by Christina Rossetti. I love her poetry. This poem just felt sort of appropriate… goes with my mood…
Bye!
- Narwen
The Thread of Life
The irresponsive silence of the land,
The irresponsive sounding of the sea,
Speak both one message of one sense to me:--
Aloof, aloof, we stand aloof, so stand
Thou too aloof bound with the flawless band
Of inner solitude; we bind not thee;
But who from thy self-chain shall set thee free?
What heart shall touch thy heart? what hand thy hand?--
And I am sometimes proud and sometimes meek,
And sometimes I remember days of old
When fellowship seemed not so far to seek
And all the world and I seemed much less cold,
And at the rainbow's foot lay surely gold,
And hope felt strong and life itself not weak.
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