The Passing

fever

Even though Kohana wished the world would stop turning until she could figure out where in God's name she was- the sun did not fail to rise or the forest prepare for a new day. Climbing down her tree, she stretched her arms and legs and looked about her surroundings. Things looked much different at night, but she could see that, unlike her hope to be near a road of some sort, she truly was in the middle of nowhere.

This realization of another night in a tree began her long brainstorm of ideas:

Find food (belly annoyingly screaming FEED ME!)

Build a fire, the smoke signal could help someone find me, perhaps

Good lord, take a shower- really! This is just ridiculous.

With this new agenda, the she began to find food. Now, Kohana was a vegetarian, and this narrowed her options drastically. She started what would be a three hour hike to find food.

'I don't remember the forest being this big.' If it had been hotter outside, she would have been sweating by now. Kohana knew she had few days until she would die if help didn't come soon. Tears flowed freely now as she walked faster and faster.

'If only Tori could see me now.' She thought. Tori was the brave one of her two sisters. While Shina was the nurturing older sister, Tori was coming home with the scraps and bruises as a little girl and sneaking out at night to parties in her teens. Tori was the sister that gave Kohana cigarettes at sixteen and took her to get her belly button pierced when she turned eighteen. Tori wouldn't be crying. She would have some bright idea, or game to make this nightmare into an adventure to laugh about later.

But Kohana wasn't laughing. She was crying harder- thinking about her sisters. She was the baby, and always leaned on her siblings to help her out. This time she was on her own to save the day.

Kohana was almost ashamed at her behavior- crying and all. Almost. She was scared and alone.

'I suppose I could find some berries or fruit on a tree . . .' she thought while walking through some underbrush. She looked around the forest before her.

'Trees- check . . . no lions, tigers, or bears – check . . . hmmmm, a clearing.'

Kohana followed a small clearing to find a bush of berries.

'Score for me!' she thought happily. Her hunger had made her so ravenous; she feel on her knees before the bush and started grabbing fist fulls of red berries and ripping off the branches to stuff the little morsels in her mouth. In no time her mouth was covered with red juice and she had past out near the bush into a lazy nap.

She dreamt of nothing, heard nothing, as soon a fever took her over.

'The world is hazy. I open my eyes, but all I see is red. A big pool of red. My stomach aches and all I want is to puke. Maybe puke and die, yeah. .I see the sky but it just looks like blood to me, with little blood-clouds floating in the blood sky. Oh God! Take this pain, please- Someone must be stabbing me, I am being murdered.

Maybe If I can get to the edge of the trees- WAIT!

What is that sound? Is it water, oh God, water. I have to get to it. If I just get a little further I'll be ok. The rippling sound has to be water; it has to be, please, please- just a little further, just a little. I can see it, no . . . I can feel it- is that water or is my body tingling?

I am a big ball of fuzz, just floating down my river of blood. Is this heaven?'

Bilbo Baggins didn't know what the commotion was about as he went about his day. Nothing of great important ever happened in the Shire, but the minute he stepped out of his front door there seemed to be more energy than usual on the street. Something must have happened.

News travels fast for shire-foke and for the hobbits of Hobbiton there was no exception. By mid day Bilbo heard the frantic taping in his door just as he was to sit down for is lunch.

Bilbo was hesitant to answer the door, for he had many enemies in his own town that he wished not to talk to, including his relatives. However this strangely adventurous hobbit in the hum drum shire was "itching for some action" you might say. Many, many years ago, Bilbo had gone on a grand adventure with dwarves and a powerful wizard, helped defeat a dragon, engaged in battle, and found friends and riches in distant lands. While this made a great tale for little hobbits to fall asleep to, and for the older folk to discuss over a mug of ale at the pub, it also made Bilbo rather unpopular among the Shire and antsy for more adventure outside of it.

"Who is at the door?" he asked as he held the handle.

"It's me, Frodo!"

Bilbo opened the door, but not just his cousin, Frodo, peered at him. Behind the anxious face of Frodo was what seemed to be the entire town of Hobbiton in his lawn and spilling out onto the street beyond.

"Bilbo, they have found something very grave in the forest." Frodo seemed to emphasis the word "thing" especially.

At this Frodo came closer with a stern expression on his face, "I think you should come and look at this creature, for you have been far beyond the Shire's borders, and might be able to shed some light on the matter."

Bilbo absent-mindedly clasped the ring in his pants pocket. If it was odd to say, the object brought him a spurt of courage, and relief at the same time. The curves of the band and the warmth of the gold brought waves of comfort. The whole town seemed to look to him to take care of this intrusion to there safe sheltered life. True, he had been on far more adventures than the average hobbit, being that the average hobbit considered crossing the Brandywine Bridge an adventure. It made him stand a little taller to be treated as a legend. Many folks where grateful to have a wise knowledgeable hobbit in there mist, while others believed it was his presents in their quiet settlement that brought such strange occurrences such as this creature to there town.

Bilbo gathered a few notes he had made over the years of the creatures and monsters he had encountered to help as references if the need be, along with a lantern to light his path as the afternoon progressed to nightfall...

The two hobbits scampered off into the forest trail while a very terrified crowd of townspeople awaited the verdict of circumstance from the safety of Hobbiton.

Frodo and Bilbo traveled up the hill, north toward the outer edge of the town Overhill, near North Farthing.

Bilbo was filled with the excitement and dread at this adventure, while clutching his notes in one hand, and the lantern in another as the sun came down hours ago.

Frodo did not to share his manner of excitement in the least. The young hobbit glanced back and forward through the trees.

'Thinks like this don't happen in the shire' he thought as worry filled his mind.

"How did all of this come about, Frodo?' Bilbo realized that embarking on this quest was faulty, for he didn't even know the full story as to where he was going, and why...

Frodo turned to him with the worry on his face etched dramatically by the lantern light in the blackness of the forest.

"I was reading my book in the forest early this morning when a messenger in great hast ran past me down the road toward town. This was odd of course, because nothing exciting ever happens in the shire. I called out to the lad and asked if he needed any help, and he replied to my surprise that he was looking for you. The poor soul had been running all night from Overhill to call on your aid, for a creature was found near a farmhouse early last afternoon. They moved the creature to a barn, for it seems to be injured and of no harm to anyone, but never the less, it is quite extraordinary and the people of Overhill are in need of your . . . knowledge in the matter."

Frodo seemed to re- act the whole day in his head. How did such a quiet morning of reading and future plans to have a drink at the pub, even maybe a walk to the ByWater pool- turn so sour? He could never do this "adventure stuff".