She did not leave her house for days. She did not eat, only drinking water when needed. She kept to bed, becoming paler and paler each day. Every dream she ever had was haunted by dreams, memories. Nightmares of how he died.
One night, it became more livid and terrifying than ever.
"Mattie! Look at me!" Ferdirand called from the tree branch. "I'm going to dive!" Mattie shook her head firmly. "It is too shallow! You will hit your head!" Ferdirand laughed and said, "Oh, little sister. Will you take no risks?" She put her hands on her hips and gave him a stern look. "Ferdirand, get down this instant!"
"You are not mother! I am the eldest!" he said proudly, puffing out his chest. "And not the wisest!" Mattie said. He pretended to pout, and stuck out his lip. She took her hands from her hips and laughed. He smiled, and stripped off his vest and shirt, and threw them at Mattie.
"Ferdirand, don't!" Mattie shrieked. But it would not stop him. He jumped off the branch, and did a pretty swan dive into the pond. She screamed, and yelled, "Ferdirand! Answer me!" He did not.
"Ferdirand!" she screamed louder than before. She was starting to panic. He always answered her! She walked around and around the pond, and after 1 minute he did not appear. "Ferdirand! You know I can't swim! I can't save you!" she screamed, fully panicking.
Suddenly, his head popped up. "Ferdirand!" she shrieked, and at first was happy, but the happiness did not last long. She saw he had a large gash on his forehead, and was flailing about his arms, splashing and screaming. "HELP! HELP!" he cried. "FERDIRAND!" she screamed, her voice becoming horse. She waded into the pond, when he said, "You can't swim, Mattie!" she didn't care. She waded till it was up to her neck and kicked her legs. The water was over her head, cutting off her oxygen. The rushing water filled her ears, and everything became a dull roar, her brother's splashing, and her struggling.
She saw his splashing slow, and she used to be able to hear him screaming help, but she could not hear him anymore. She opened her eyes, and could see nothing but a light green lighted by the sun. She heard him screaming in the water and she felt herself sinking. She clawed towards the surface, feeling the pressure on her lungs begin to beg for air.
She kicked, and that got her up, and then she started kicking twice as hard. She made it up enough to get a little breath. She saw with a glimpse that a reed was near her toe, so she kicked out a little, and felt it tickle her foot. She reached down, and grabbed it. She felt her toes touch soft squishy mud, and clawed at the surface. Her hand touched grass.
She pulled herself up, and threw herself upon the bank, choking and gasping for air. She turned, and realized Ferdirand was no longer in sight. She saw a person on the bridge, not to far away.
"FARAMIR!" she screamed. The hobbit turned to look at her, and waved, not knowing anything was wrong. "HELP!" she shrieked. His smile faded, and he stopped waving. He ran over to her, and knelt beside her. "Mattie, what's wrong" he asked urgently.
"Ferdirand" she gasped. "Drowning…jumped from tree branch….middle of pond." Was all she managed to get out through giant gulps of air and the sheer panic. Without another word, he jumped in, and seconds later, he appeared at the bank, a limp Ferdirand in his arms. She noticed her brother's eyes were shut tight.
She ran to them, tripping over her own feet, and landed at Ferdirand's side. Faramir knelt down and listened for breathing.
"He's not breathing!" he said, and pushed on his stomach. He listened again, and pushed harder on his diaphragm. He did this numerous times, and finally checked his wrist for a pulse. His eyes widened and he let Ferdirand's wrist fall to his side. He looked at his best friend's face, then looked at Mattie.
"No," she said. She felt his neck for a pulse. None.
"No!" she said a little more desperately. She pushed on his stomach, trying to force him to breathe. He wasn't dead. He couldn't be dead!
"No!" she yelled, and tears began forming.
"Mattie. I'm sorry. He's gone," Faramir whispered. "NO! HE'S NOT! HE'S ALIVE!" she screamed, trying to convince herself more than Faramir.
He grabbed her wrist, and pulled her into a hug. She ripped away and ran off. She stumbled down the path, not caring if her hair was in a rat's nest and her dress sopping wet. She ran through town, not noticing the crowds of people staring at her. She ran down the path to her house and opened the door. She almost went in, but stopped herself. Ferdirand was not there.
She left her door wide open, and ran past all the other holes. She ran until the path faded into the hill, and kept running. She collapsed at the base of a tree, at the inside of the small forest. She was shaking with sobs.
"No, no, no…" she whispered, "Brother, friend, best friend… Ferdirand." She heard footsteps but did not turn.
She felt a hand on her shoulder. Faramir kneeled next to her, and opened up his arms. She threw herself into them, and cried and cried. Whenever she closed her eyes, she saw Ferdirand.
Suddenly, Mattie awoke, in a cold sweat and crying hard. She sat up, and crisscrossed her legs. She buried her face in her hands and sobbed. She felt so alone and helpless. Her brother was her protector. Her parents died when he was about 30, and she was about 15. Ferdirand took care of the house and the shopping and the cooking till she was old enough, 33, to learn to do these things. He was always off running an errand, so she matured early. She did not go to the Green Dragon every night, like most did. She stayed at home, and read a book or two.
All the thoughts of him came back to her. What would she do without him? She loved him with all her heart. They fought, but always apologized to one another at the most 10 minutes afterwards. She never could stay mad, because he did so much. She realized he was very tired and weary a lot. The lines in his face became deeper, and with each passing day he went to bed earlier, started skipping more meals, and woke up later.
The very thought of him brought tears to her eyes. She removed her hands and looked up. The beginnings of light were just creeping over the tops of the trees, but no one was out and about yet. No one but her would come out of the house today. Not two hobbits…just one…
hey, I am looking for people to help me on my story! I don't have enough inspiration! If you would like to add a chapter, email me! By the way, Faramir is not the human, but Pippin and Diamond's son, and Elanor quite obviously is Sam Gamgee's daughter.