See Chapter 1 for disclaimer.
THE TALE OF MARIAN
Chapter 7: A Elbereth Gilthoniel!*
2 September
"A Elbereth Gilthoniel,
Silivren penna miriel
O menel aglar elenath!
Na-chaered palan-diriel
O galadhremmin ennorath,
Fanuilos, le linnathon
Nef aear, si nef aearon!"*
This was the first music, the first words that woke me up in the
morning before the sunrise, while the stars still shone between the
trees and a soft light began to suffuse the sky. They stay with me
still, clear in my mind, though I can't say how.
I sat up and saw that Orodren was singing, standing high on a rocky
outcropping a short way up the hill from our camp, his face raised to
the sky. It sounded like a hymn, falling gently on the forest floor in
the enveloping silence of that early hour when all is still. Then, as
Orodren's song ended, I heard the birds begin to sing.
"This is what is says, roughly, in Westron, mother of the language
that you now call English, and which most of us speak, some with more
ability than others," Lindir said quietly, coming to sink cross-legged
beside me on my sleeping bag:
"O! Elbereth, who lit the stars, from glittering crystal
slanting falls with
light like jewels from heaven on high the glory of the starry
host.
To lands remote I have looked afar, and now to thee, Fanuilos,
bright spirit clothed in ever-white, I here will sing beyond the
Sea, beyond the wide and sundering sea."**
Then Lindir offered for me to ask my questions of them now, that
Gladrel stood watch and will join us after a time.
Why now, I asked first. Why would they not answer my questions
before?
"You were not ready," was his reply.
Where to begin, I thought? I might as well begin with the present.
I asked who Elbereth, and Fanuilos were, what language the song was
in, what were the lands remote, and where was "beyond the sea"?
Lindir smiled and raised his hands in protest as Orodren joined us.
"One question at a time, young one!" he exclaimed
Startled, I replied that surely they were younger than I was, they all
looked 30 at the most!
Orodren informed me that in truth they were much older, but I must
allow Lindir to start at the beginning. With an impish smile, he told
me that Lindir was chief among their "keepers of the tales of yore",
and had been biting his tongue since the day I came upon them. By now
he should be near to bursting, he said, though he would not show it.
I looked at Lindir expectantly.
With a harassed sigh, Lindir began. I have written as exactly as I
can possibly manage what he said, though I am still confused by it and
have probably missed much:
"Elbereth and Fanuilos, are one and the same - Fanuilos is what the
Eldar, the first and greatest of our people who dwelled with them in
Valinor, saw when she walked among them in physical form, snow-white
and radiant. She is our most beloved of the Great Ones: Lady of the
Stars. With Manwe Lord of Arda she dwells in Valinor, the Undying
Lands, across the great Sea that separates them from Arda, the Kingdom
of the Earth."
Somewhat at a loss, I commented to Lindir that, last time I checked,
the Earth was round and the only land on the other side of either
ocean was more Earth.
"Yet it was not always so, Marian. In the beginning the First Born
who we call the Eldar dwelt in the Far West, in Valinor. Many
journeyed to Arda and dwelt there before the Followers came to be, but
they have all since returned to the West. Others of the First Born,
we among them, came to life in Arda, as did the Followers. Many ages
ago the Followers who were faithful to Iluvatar were called by the
Great Ones to dwell near to them, on an island of great beauty, a gift
from the Great Ones, the Valar. It lay far west of here, and from it
could be seen the shores of the Undying Lands. Yet, the Followers
were not allowed to journey to Valinor. Most became embittered of
this and made war upon the Eldar, upon Valinor. In retribution,
Iluvatar drowned the island and forever removed the Undying Lands from
the reach of the Followers, into the realm of hidden things. Roads
that were once straight became bent - the Earth became round. Yet
still the First Born who dwelt upon the earth were permitted to find
and sail upon the Straight Way to Valinor.
Once the First Born felt the Call of the Sea, once the time of the
Followers had come and the glory and beauty of the First Born began to
fade, most took the ships to Valinor, to dwell there forever."
This Valinor, then, I asked, trying to parallel his story with
something I could relate to, was where people live forever, it is what
they called heaven; and Elbereth and Manwe, they were like God?
Lindir looked to Orodren, who nodded at him in encouragement, and then
continued.
"Marian, Valinor is to the First Born what your people would
understand as Heaven, or Nirvana, or other names it is given here.
Yet Elbereth and Manwe are not God, who we name Iluvatar, but his Holy
Ones, of which there are many. Yavanna, Giver of Fruits, who holds
dear all things that grow, and trees the dearest; Nienna, who mourns
for the suffering of Arda and teaches pity and hope, and brings
strength from sorrow to the spirit, are others.
There are also the helpers of the Valar, the Maiar, who are also
spirits of the World. For Iluvatar the Valar began the Music of the
World, the light in the darkness, whose Song is forever being sung and
forever changing. Among the stars and a part of that Song is Arda,
and the Children of Iluvatar, your people and ours."
Angels and Archangels and all the company of Heaven, who forever sing
praises to His Name. Elbereth and Manwe; Zeus and Hera; Ra and Isis, I
repeated out loud from my childhood memories. Were they one and the
same? Were they saying that the Song was the whole universe, which
was constantly changing?"
Lindir smiled. " Yes, but only Iluvatar knows to what end the Song
will lead in the fullness of time. Our beliefs and our legends, your
peoples and ours, the Followers and the First Born, spring from the
same Light, the same Truth, yet our fates are separate. Whereas we of
the First Born are bound to the earth, its life being ours, and KNOW,
you, the Followers, are caretakers of the earth and have dominion over
it, yet you are free from it, and must only BELIEVE."
But I didn't understand, I said, my head reeling. What were the First
Born, what were the Followers? What wasthe difference between us?" I
finally felt close to the crux of Lindir's story (and story I still
believed it was), but quite confused. Where was all of this leading?
Lindir paused and a look passed between him and Orodren that made me
hold my breath. Finally Lindir spoke again.
"Marian, we know that this will be difficult for you to accept, but
you must believe that we speak the truth.
The glory and beauty of the First Born have faded, as Iluvatar
intended, and the time of the Followers is in its fullness of the sun.
F ew of us remain in Arda now in the after-days. Most now wander in
the lonely places of the world, the woods and the caves, and keep to
the moonlight and the starlight. Few, if any of the Followers know of
us. We would not reveal ourselves to you now if it were not for the
severity of our plight, and our deep and abiding love for Arda, for
which we have remained, perhaps unwisely, long after our time here has
passed.
Your people, the Second Children of Iluvatar, the Followers, are
mortal men. Possessing the Gift of Death from Iluvatar, you live
short lives, then die and go where we know not after.
We are the First Children of Iluvatar, immortal, who dwelt upon the
earth before men and will we hope at last return to Valinor to endure
forever, where men may not follow, for our paths are separate. We are
Elves."
Of all the far-fetched stories, of all the tall tales that I had
imagined Lindir would tell me, I had not been prepared for this. He
had almost been making sense to me after a time - I could see how a
small society, even in the States, could come up with its own version
of creation that paralleled the known religions. But this! The sheer
ludicrousness of the idea - elves! - struck me as ridiculously funny
after the tension of the last few days, and I could humor him no more.
I stared at Lindir and Orodren with their looks of utter sincerity
and gravity, and laughed in their faces.
I'm sorry, I said, but this was it. This was all I could take.
Elves! Elves were little sprites with pointed ears that helped Santa
and made cookies. Elves were pixies in the woods that tormented
humans for fun by turning them into donkeys and making fools of them.
Why, I had even been an elf once: As a child I had worn a beanie on
my head, and called myself a Brownie! Why, if they expected me to
believe in elves, I would have to believe in dwarves and trolls, and
fairies and goblins, too!
I have seen no dwarves or trolls in a millennium, confided Orodren
seriously, and goblins but few, though they had come upon one on
occasion, in the dark. But there was no such thing as fairies, as far
as he knew.
Ok, look, I said, getting up and starting to stuff my things into my
backpack. I was sure they were all really nice people, but I was
leaving now, ring or no ring. What did they want with me, anyway?
Why did they say they had been expecting me? What were they trying to
pull, and did they really think I was THAT stupid?
Lindir stood up as I did and grasped me gently by the arms. He held
my gaze with his own intense and even perhaps slightly desperate one
and said simply that men needed the gift that the elves had to give,
and it was only me to whom they were willing to give it. They needed
to give it to me. Arda needed them to give it to me, and I must
accept it and shoulder the burden that would come with it.
Then he let me go, grasped the long, blond hair on both sides of his
head, drew it back and braided it, drew it, up over his ears. Orodren
did the same.
I looked at them in shock for just a moment; then I came to my senses.
Oh please! I groaned, reached out and grabbed Lindir's ear, and
twisted it.
It didn't come off. As a matter of fact, Lindir looked like he had
just suffered severely, with that agonized, nauseated look on his face
that men get when someone kicked them in the balls - not that I have
ever done that, I like to stay alive.
It was evident to me that the pain Lindir felt was very real. I felt
terrible! I started to apologize, when (probably lucky for me) a
clear bird call came from the direction of the flet. Orodren grasped
my arm and pushed me and my backpack behind a big sword fern,
whispering to me that someone was approaching and then taking position
a few yards away. If I had not known where he was I would not even
have seen him, he blended into the forest so completely and silently.
Lindir disappeared behind a tree.
Both of them had picked up their bows and now drew them, making my
heart pound. What were they intending to do? Shoot someone?
We waited silently for a few moments. All at once Bruno, whom I had
forgotten, jumped up and started barking. Before I could stop him, he
had taken off down the hill.
"Bruno," a delighted, small voice rang out from the trees, and Adam
appeared, walking toward the pool and petting Bruno, whose tail was
wagging fiercely. Maybe I had misjudged him and he didn't eat small
boys after all.
As Adam and Bruno neared the pool I glared at Orodren and Lindir, who
had their arrows trained on the boy. Where were his parents, and how
long would it be before he started calling for me?
I looked back at Adam, who had reached the pool and had begun to take
off his shoes. Orodren tightened his bow. Desperately I wondered if
they would shoot an innocent child for jumping in the water. Would
Gladrel? I had thought these people were not dangerous. Clearly,
they were very much so. I had to do something before it was too late.
Grabbing my backpack and running down the hill, I called out to Adam
in what I hoped was a cheerful greeting. Hoping that I was planted
firmly in Orodren's and Lindir's way, I couldn't also get between the
flet and the boy. I glanced up at where I thought Gladrel would be in
a silent plea.
Quickly, I cautioned Adam not to touch the water, that it wasn't safe.
I drew him away and handed him his shoes.
Greeting me and looking longingly toward the pool, he asked why not,
that he saw fish in the water so what was wrong with it? I paused,
trying to think of a believable explanation.
"Its currents are deceptive," a smooth voice stated from behind me. I
turned and looked up to see Lindir standing there, ears and all but
without his bow, his very presence exuding serene command. "You may
drink, but it would be VERY dangerous to enter," he said, giving Adam
a direct and meaningful look.
Adam looked up at Lindir, clearly in awe of him, and said wow, he got
it, he would not go in. His mom and dad were just down the hill. He
would tell them not to go in, either.
I breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at Lindir pointedly, I told Adam
that we were going to go find his parents now, that we were not on the
right trail. We would go back and find his parents, and wasn't it
about time they went home, school was starting soon, wasn't it?
Adam, like any kid, protested the impending start of school, and did
he HAVE to go?
Lindir advised him that school was indeed very important and it was
time for him to go home. He must, however, carry his time in the
forest with him when he returned, and remember the wisdom of the
trees.
Adam replied that he would, as though he understood exactly what
Lindir was talking about, and asked if he could tell his class that he
had seen him, too.
Lindir replied that he thought it would be best if he did not, at
least right away, and asked Adam if he did not agree.
Adam agreed with some disappointment that yeah, he guessed he was
right. Then Adam turned to me and asked if I was really coming with
him, a confused look on his face as he looked between me and Lindir.
Yes, I told Adam, Bruno and I were coming with him; it was time to get
back to reality. Then I turned and told Lindir sincerely that I was
sorry, while I thought that really I had been learning to like him
very much.
Surprisingly, Lindir reached into his cloak and brought out Jason's
ring, silently placing it in my hand and searching my eyes deeply with
his own clear, intense and seemingly wise gaze. What he said next
struck me hard and made me feel totally miserable.
"I am sorry as well," he said, deep disappointment etched on his
perfect face. "Perhaps you are not the person we hoped you would be."
Then he shrugged, "The Followers all seem the same to me, anyway."
I looked down at the ground momentarily, then back up to reply. But,
silently, he had gone.
*From: The Fellowship of the Ring, J.R.R. Tolkien **From: The Road Goes Ever On - A Song Cycle, poems by J.R.R. Tolkien, Music by Donald Swann.
THE TALE OF MARIAN
Chapter 7: A Elbereth Gilthoniel!*
2 September
"A Elbereth Gilthoniel,
Silivren penna miriel
O menel aglar elenath!
Na-chaered palan-diriel
O galadhremmin ennorath,
Fanuilos, le linnathon
Nef aear, si nef aearon!"*
This was the first music, the first words that woke me up in the
morning before the sunrise, while the stars still shone between the
trees and a soft light began to suffuse the sky. They stay with me
still, clear in my mind, though I can't say how.
I sat up and saw that Orodren was singing, standing high on a rocky
outcropping a short way up the hill from our camp, his face raised to
the sky. It sounded like a hymn, falling gently on the forest floor in
the enveloping silence of that early hour when all is still. Then, as
Orodren's song ended, I heard the birds begin to sing.
"This is what is says, roughly, in Westron, mother of the language
that you now call English, and which most of us speak, some with more
ability than others," Lindir said quietly, coming to sink cross-legged
beside me on my sleeping bag:
"O! Elbereth, who lit the stars, from glittering crystal
slanting falls with
light like jewels from heaven on high the glory of the starry
host.
To lands remote I have looked afar, and now to thee, Fanuilos,
bright spirit clothed in ever-white, I here will sing beyond the
Sea, beyond the wide and sundering sea."**
Then Lindir offered for me to ask my questions of them now, that
Gladrel stood watch and will join us after a time.
Why now, I asked first. Why would they not answer my questions
before?
"You were not ready," was his reply.
Where to begin, I thought? I might as well begin with the present.
I asked who Elbereth, and Fanuilos were, what language the song was
in, what were the lands remote, and where was "beyond the sea"?
Lindir smiled and raised his hands in protest as Orodren joined us.
"One question at a time, young one!" he exclaimed
Startled, I replied that surely they were younger than I was, they all
looked 30 at the most!
Orodren informed me that in truth they were much older, but I must
allow Lindir to start at the beginning. With an impish smile, he told
me that Lindir was chief among their "keepers of the tales of yore",
and had been biting his tongue since the day I came upon them. By now
he should be near to bursting, he said, though he would not show it.
I looked at Lindir expectantly.
With a harassed sigh, Lindir began. I have written as exactly as I
can possibly manage what he said, though I am still confused by it and
have probably missed much:
"Elbereth and Fanuilos, are one and the same - Fanuilos is what the
Eldar, the first and greatest of our people who dwelled with them in
Valinor, saw when she walked among them in physical form, snow-white
and radiant. She is our most beloved of the Great Ones: Lady of the
Stars. With Manwe Lord of Arda she dwells in Valinor, the Undying
Lands, across the great Sea that separates them from Arda, the Kingdom
of the Earth."
Somewhat at a loss, I commented to Lindir that, last time I checked,
the Earth was round and the only land on the other side of either
ocean was more Earth.
"Yet it was not always so, Marian. In the beginning the First Born
who we call the Eldar dwelt in the Far West, in Valinor. Many
journeyed to Arda and dwelt there before the Followers came to be, but
they have all since returned to the West. Others of the First Born,
we among them, came to life in Arda, as did the Followers. Many ages
ago the Followers who were faithful to Iluvatar were called by the
Great Ones to dwell near to them, on an island of great beauty, a gift
from the Great Ones, the Valar. It lay far west of here, and from it
could be seen the shores of the Undying Lands. Yet, the Followers
were not allowed to journey to Valinor. Most became embittered of
this and made war upon the Eldar, upon Valinor. In retribution,
Iluvatar drowned the island and forever removed the Undying Lands from
the reach of the Followers, into the realm of hidden things. Roads
that were once straight became bent - the Earth became round. Yet
still the First Born who dwelt upon the earth were permitted to find
and sail upon the Straight Way to Valinor.
Once the First Born felt the Call of the Sea, once the time of the
Followers had come and the glory and beauty of the First Born began to
fade, most took the ships to Valinor, to dwell there forever."
This Valinor, then, I asked, trying to parallel his story with
something I could relate to, was where people live forever, it is what
they called heaven; and Elbereth and Manwe, they were like God?
Lindir looked to Orodren, who nodded at him in encouragement, and then
continued.
"Marian, Valinor is to the First Born what your people would
understand as Heaven, or Nirvana, or other names it is given here.
Yet Elbereth and Manwe are not God, who we name Iluvatar, but his Holy
Ones, of which there are many. Yavanna, Giver of Fruits, who holds
dear all things that grow, and trees the dearest; Nienna, who mourns
for the suffering of Arda and teaches pity and hope, and brings
strength from sorrow to the spirit, are others.
There are also the helpers of the Valar, the Maiar, who are also
spirits of the World. For Iluvatar the Valar began the Music of the
World, the light in the darkness, whose Song is forever being sung and
forever changing. Among the stars and a part of that Song is Arda,
and the Children of Iluvatar, your people and ours."
Angels and Archangels and all the company of Heaven, who forever sing
praises to His Name. Elbereth and Manwe; Zeus and Hera; Ra and Isis, I
repeated out loud from my childhood memories. Were they one and the
same? Were they saying that the Song was the whole universe, which
was constantly changing?"
Lindir smiled. " Yes, but only Iluvatar knows to what end the Song
will lead in the fullness of time. Our beliefs and our legends, your
peoples and ours, the Followers and the First Born, spring from the
same Light, the same Truth, yet our fates are separate. Whereas we of
the First Born are bound to the earth, its life being ours, and KNOW,
you, the Followers, are caretakers of the earth and have dominion over
it, yet you are free from it, and must only BELIEVE."
But I didn't understand, I said, my head reeling. What were the First
Born, what were the Followers? What wasthe difference between us?" I
finally felt close to the crux of Lindir's story (and story I still
believed it was), but quite confused. Where was all of this leading?
Lindir paused and a look passed between him and Orodren that made me
hold my breath. Finally Lindir spoke again.
"Marian, we know that this will be difficult for you to accept, but
you must believe that we speak the truth.
The glory and beauty of the First Born have faded, as Iluvatar
intended, and the time of the Followers is in its fullness of the sun.
F ew of us remain in Arda now in the after-days. Most now wander in
the lonely places of the world, the woods and the caves, and keep to
the moonlight and the starlight. Few, if any of the Followers know of
us. We would not reveal ourselves to you now if it were not for the
severity of our plight, and our deep and abiding love for Arda, for
which we have remained, perhaps unwisely, long after our time here has
passed.
Your people, the Second Children of Iluvatar, the Followers, are
mortal men. Possessing the Gift of Death from Iluvatar, you live
short lives, then die and go where we know not after.
We are the First Children of Iluvatar, immortal, who dwelt upon the
earth before men and will we hope at last return to Valinor to endure
forever, where men may not follow, for our paths are separate. We are
Elves."
Of all the far-fetched stories, of all the tall tales that I had
imagined Lindir would tell me, I had not been prepared for this. He
had almost been making sense to me after a time - I could see how a
small society, even in the States, could come up with its own version
of creation that paralleled the known religions. But this! The sheer
ludicrousness of the idea - elves! - struck me as ridiculously funny
after the tension of the last few days, and I could humor him no more.
I stared at Lindir and Orodren with their looks of utter sincerity
and gravity, and laughed in their faces.
I'm sorry, I said, but this was it. This was all I could take.
Elves! Elves were little sprites with pointed ears that helped Santa
and made cookies. Elves were pixies in the woods that tormented
humans for fun by turning them into donkeys and making fools of them.
Why, I had even been an elf once: As a child I had worn a beanie on
my head, and called myself a Brownie! Why, if they expected me to
believe in elves, I would have to believe in dwarves and trolls, and
fairies and goblins, too!
I have seen no dwarves or trolls in a millennium, confided Orodren
seriously, and goblins but few, though they had come upon one on
occasion, in the dark. But there was no such thing as fairies, as far
as he knew.
Ok, look, I said, getting up and starting to stuff my things into my
backpack. I was sure they were all really nice people, but I was
leaving now, ring or no ring. What did they want with me, anyway?
Why did they say they had been expecting me? What were they trying to
pull, and did they really think I was THAT stupid?
Lindir stood up as I did and grasped me gently by the arms. He held
my gaze with his own intense and even perhaps slightly desperate one
and said simply that men needed the gift that the elves had to give,
and it was only me to whom they were willing to give it. They needed
to give it to me. Arda needed them to give it to me, and I must
accept it and shoulder the burden that would come with it.
Then he let me go, grasped the long, blond hair on both sides of his
head, drew it back and braided it, drew it, up over his ears. Orodren
did the same.
I looked at them in shock for just a moment; then I came to my senses.
Oh please! I groaned, reached out and grabbed Lindir's ear, and
twisted it.
It didn't come off. As a matter of fact, Lindir looked like he had
just suffered severely, with that agonized, nauseated look on his face
that men get when someone kicked them in the balls - not that I have
ever done that, I like to stay alive.
It was evident to me that the pain Lindir felt was very real. I felt
terrible! I started to apologize, when (probably lucky for me) a
clear bird call came from the direction of the flet. Orodren grasped
my arm and pushed me and my backpack behind a big sword fern,
whispering to me that someone was approaching and then taking position
a few yards away. If I had not known where he was I would not even
have seen him, he blended into the forest so completely and silently.
Lindir disappeared behind a tree.
Both of them had picked up their bows and now drew them, making my
heart pound. What were they intending to do? Shoot someone?
We waited silently for a few moments. All at once Bruno, whom I had
forgotten, jumped up and started barking. Before I could stop him, he
had taken off down the hill.
"Bruno," a delighted, small voice rang out from the trees, and Adam
appeared, walking toward the pool and petting Bruno, whose tail was
wagging fiercely. Maybe I had misjudged him and he didn't eat small
boys after all.
As Adam and Bruno neared the pool I glared at Orodren and Lindir, who
had their arrows trained on the boy. Where were his parents, and how
long would it be before he started calling for me?
I looked back at Adam, who had reached the pool and had begun to take
off his shoes. Orodren tightened his bow. Desperately I wondered if
they would shoot an innocent child for jumping in the water. Would
Gladrel? I had thought these people were not dangerous. Clearly,
they were very much so. I had to do something before it was too late.
Grabbing my backpack and running down the hill, I called out to Adam
in what I hoped was a cheerful greeting. Hoping that I was planted
firmly in Orodren's and Lindir's way, I couldn't also get between the
flet and the boy. I glanced up at where I thought Gladrel would be in
a silent plea.
Quickly, I cautioned Adam not to touch the water, that it wasn't safe.
I drew him away and handed him his shoes.
Greeting me and looking longingly toward the pool, he asked why not,
that he saw fish in the water so what was wrong with it? I paused,
trying to think of a believable explanation.
"Its currents are deceptive," a smooth voice stated from behind me. I
turned and looked up to see Lindir standing there, ears and all but
without his bow, his very presence exuding serene command. "You may
drink, but it would be VERY dangerous to enter," he said, giving Adam
a direct and meaningful look.
Adam looked up at Lindir, clearly in awe of him, and said wow, he got
it, he would not go in. His mom and dad were just down the hill. He
would tell them not to go in, either.
I breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at Lindir pointedly, I told Adam
that we were going to go find his parents now, that we were not on the
right trail. We would go back and find his parents, and wasn't it
about time they went home, school was starting soon, wasn't it?
Adam, like any kid, protested the impending start of school, and did
he HAVE to go?
Lindir advised him that school was indeed very important and it was
time for him to go home. He must, however, carry his time in the
forest with him when he returned, and remember the wisdom of the
trees.
Adam replied that he would, as though he understood exactly what
Lindir was talking about, and asked if he could tell his class that he
had seen him, too.
Lindir replied that he thought it would be best if he did not, at
least right away, and asked Adam if he did not agree.
Adam agreed with some disappointment that yeah, he guessed he was
right. Then Adam turned to me and asked if I was really coming with
him, a confused look on his face as he looked between me and Lindir.
Yes, I told Adam, Bruno and I were coming with him; it was time to get
back to reality. Then I turned and told Lindir sincerely that I was
sorry, while I thought that really I had been learning to like him
very much.
Surprisingly, Lindir reached into his cloak and brought out Jason's
ring, silently placing it in my hand and searching my eyes deeply with
his own clear, intense and seemingly wise gaze. What he said next
struck me hard and made me feel totally miserable.
"I am sorry as well," he said, deep disappointment etched on his
perfect face. "Perhaps you are not the person we hoped you would be."
Then he shrugged, "The Followers all seem the same to me, anyway."
I looked down at the ground momentarily, then back up to reply. But,
silently, he had gone.
*From: The Fellowship of the Ring, J.R.R. Tolkien **From: The Road Goes Ever On - A Song Cycle, poems by J.R.R. Tolkien, Music by Donald Swann.