A knock came from the front door as Diamond continued to clean.
"Now" she said, stopping her cleaning.
"Who ever could this be?" she asked herself.
The mop was propped up against the wall. A bucket stood near by. But the cleaning had to wait as Diamond made her way to the door. She took a deep breath as opened the door.
Standing there was someone she had not seen in a while. It was Pippin. He gave a small smile as he saw her.
"Pippin?" Diamond asked.
There was a small bit of tension between the two. Pippin wasn't sure if he should have knocked or not. But it was too late.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
Now was the time to tell her why he had come.
"I need to talk to you" he answered.
Diamond took a deep breath. A part of her did not want to let Pippin in. Not only because she did not want to talk to him, but because she was cleaning and didn't want his muddy footprints trailing over her clean floor.
But then, she had too. Diamond could not leave Pip in the freezing cold.
"Alright" she said, opening the door wider.
Pippin gave a cold smile and walked inside. The house was much warmer then the outside world. Pippin smiled as he looked around. Not an inch had changed.
"So, tell me" Diamond said, standing there with her arms folded.
"What would you like to say?" she asked.
Pippin placed his coat on the hook. He knew that what he had to say would take longer then just a few minutes.
"Could we sit down and talk about it?" he asked.
This was not what Diamond wanted. But then again, she still loved him.
"Follow me" she said, knowing that her cleaning would have to wait.
So, the two of them walked down the passage. Many doors led into many rooms. But Diamond and Pippin needed only one room to talk about things.
The kitchen was the best place to do this. Diamond secretly hated Pippin walking over her newly cleaned floor. But she could nothing but have to clean it again.
The kitchen door was opened. Diamond was the first to enter the room. The window showed a white abyss outside. A never ending cloud that reached from east to west, north to south hung there.
"Would you like some tea?" Diamond asked.
She was very uncomfortable with Pippin's presences.
"Yes please" he answered.
Pippin slowly took his seat, the first time he had done so in almost two weeks. Two weeks of being away from his wife and best friend.
But this was about to change as Diamond came out and started making two cups of tea. After a few minutes, the tea leaves were taken put and a few spoonfuls sugar were placed into the cooling water.
"Thank you" Pippin said as Diamond placed a full mug of tea in front of him.
Diamond sat down and took a deep breath. There was a moment of silence between the two of them.
"So" Diamond said, breaking it.
"What do you want to say?" she asked.
Pippin took a deep breath as he tried to muster some words.
"I don't know where to start" he told her.
Diamond's blue eyes were staring straight at Pip. But he was not doing the same. His eyes were focused on a spot on the table before him.
"I guess" he said, but stalled yet again.
It was very hard for Pippin to talk to Diamond. But Diamond seemed know Pippin better then he thought.
"I've been reading your book that you gave me" she said.
Pippin looked up. He could not believe that she had actually taken the time to read it.
"And, there are a few parts where your memory is not as good as mine" she said.
Pippin then felt something strange as Diamond smiled. After a few seconds, Pippin came to only one conclusion.
Love.
His heart beat started to rise as they locked eyes. Diamond's eyes were very blue and very perfect. Pippin still felt like he could get lost in them for many hours.
"I'm sorry" Pippin said, finally mustering some more words.
Diamond took a deep breath. Pippin knew that she did not believe his words.
"For what?" she asked.
Diamond knew that she was testing Pippin now. But this did not mean that she did not know the reason. She wanted to see if Pippin knew it.
A day had past since then. Diamond was still alone as she woke up to a crying baby. Her mood seemed to have changed over night. It went from upset and desperate, to happy and hopeful. Her talk with Pippin had gone well. Many things had been sorted out. But, for now, everything was getting back to normal.
"Alright, sweetie" Diamond said as she took the duvet off.
Faramir whined as Diamond stood over him. Two large, warm hands picked up the small baby. But Faramir was not as small as he used to be. In fact, Diamond seemed to notice this nearly every day.
"My little boy is getting bigger" she said, tickling him.
Faramir's tantrum seemed to subside a little bit, but he still whimpered. Diamond smiled as she walked out to the kitchen.
The room she entered was nice and warm. Two mugs standing by the sink. They acted like memories of past events. And the evens of last night were still fresh in Diamond's memory.
Pippin took a deep breath and looked at a spot on the table.
"Well" Pippin started, taking a deep breath.
"I'm sorry for what I did. I know that you said that I should leave. But I didn't fight hard enough to stay" he explained.
This was what Diamond wanted and needed. Pippin, like only a handful of times before, was telling the truth.
"And, why do you think I told you to leave?" Diamond asked.
Neither of them had touched their tea, though Pippin's hand was wrapped around the handle of the mug.
"Well, because I was stupid. I thought of myself instead of you" he said.
Yet another thing that Pippin said right. Diamond started to believe that she could take Pippin back. But more things were needed to be uncovered.
But Diamond did not know where to start. She had never really been told about Pippin's time away from the Shire all those years ago. Though she had read his book, it did not cure her curiosity.
"I need to know more about your time away from the Shire" Diamond said.
Pippin took a deep breath. He knew that the time would come where he would have to surface all of his deepest secrets.
"Like what?" he asked.
Diamond looked away for a split second, then slid back over to Pippin.
"Well, I would like to know all that you can remember" she told him.
Pippin took a deep breath. There seemed to have been a block in his memory concerning the quest he had been on. But now, it was all coming back to him.
"Well, it all happened when me and Merry"
There was a slight moment of hesitation.
"We we're at Maggot's farm again. But this time, it was different."
Pippin looked over at Diamond. He knew how much she hated him stealing. But this time, Diamond wasn't bothered.
"Why was it different?" she asked.
Pippin thought more about what had happened.
"Well, as me and Merry ran away, we literally bumped into Frodo and Samwise. It was then all of us were running for our lives. But, something happened that changed everything"
There was an awkward silence between to the two of them. Small pops and crackles coming from the fire was the only sound they could hear for a while.
"A rider, bathed in a jet black cloak. Frodo was the first to saw him and the only one to warn us of the impending danger"
Diamond could only start to imagine what this rider looked like. But she still wanted to know more.
"What happened next?" she asked.
Pippin took a deep breath.
"We hid. Hid for our lives. For the mounted figure stopped just meters from where we were hiding. I later learnt that this creature was from the very heart of Mordor. And I also learnt that this figure was not the only one wandering the wilds. Eight more were searching the land for Frodo"
This was Diamond's worst nightmare. She had always been fascinated by the riders. For she had heard many stories about them coming from over the boarders.
"Did it find you?" she asked, leaning a little bit forward.
Pippin shook his head.
"No, it did not. Sam was the one you should thank for that. For without his quick thinking, the Wraith would have found the ring. Frodo was just inches from putting the ring on. But Sam stopped him from doing so"
Diamond could see the scene clearly. She could see all four of them hiding, looking scared. But Pippin could see it and hear it clearer then ever before.
Diamond smiled as she got out a funny looking glass. It had a wooden top to it, like an inverted cone. A single slit had been made at the top of the inch high cone. This was where the baby would drink out of.
Diamond smiled as she carefully unscrewed the lid. The milk was stored in a large vase, just like the oil was. The vase was carefully picked up. Faramir was now being held with one arm. Diamond struggled as she walked out of the cellar again.
Faramir gave a small whine, getting his mothers attention. Diamond smiled as she looked down at her son.
"I'm doing it" she said, playfully.
The vase was carefully lifted onto the counter. It took Diamond most of her energy to do so. But now she had come to a stand still.
Diamond needed two hands to get the milk into the bottle. One to tip the vase so that the cold milk could flow out and one to hold the glass as the milk fell into it.
It took her only a few seconds to make up her mind. She would have to put Faramir back in his cot again. So, she walked out of the kitchen and back down the winding corridor to her room.
"Mummy will just be a minute, sweetie, she has to get your milk ready" she said, kissing him on the forehead and placing him back down.
Diamond hated leaving her son on his own. But she had to. The door was left open so that she could easily hear if her son started to cry.
The hobbit re-entered the kitchen. There, she saw the large vase and the glass bottle standing, waiting to be used. It was much easier to make Faramir's bottle of milk. The milk slowly started to fill up the bottle.
Diamond only stopped when she saw enough had been poured. But the top of was not placed back on just yet. The young woman opened up a cupboard and brought out a small bottle. This was different to any of the other bottles.
Firstly, it was much smaller then a wine bottle. And, instead of liquid, it held a fine white powder. Diamond twisted the cap and took it off.
Only a pinch of this powder was needed. Diamond smiled as she took what she needed and placed it in Faramir's milk. The cap was then placed back on the small bottle. The cupboard door had been left open so that Diamond could place the bottle right back.
And that's exactly what she did. The door closed, leaving the bottle locked inside. Now Diamond could get back to her son. She screwed the milk bottle cap on and walked out of the kitchen.
The bottle was just small enough to fit into one of her pockets. The young hobbit smiled as she walked into her warm room. As she came into the room, she could feel how warm it was.
Her heart melted as she reached the cot. Faramir had fallen asleep again. Diamond always hated to wake him up. He looked so much like Pippin when he slept.
"After the wraith, the four of us just ran. Ran for our lives. It was near darkness before we started to slow down. But this did not mean the danger would cease. In fact, it could do nothing but grow" Pippin told her.
Diamond was hanging on to every single word coming from him.
"Eight other wraiths were searching for us. But the darkness also helped us. We could move around easier then normal. But that did not mean we were not looking out"
There was a small pause.
"Every so often, we would see a shadowy figure on the horizon. We dodged from tree to tree looking all around us. It was then that Frodo told us of his quest to get to Bree. And Merry knew how"
Pippin could see the very place where Merry had suggested using the Buckleberry ferry. And then it happened.
"A large wraith blocking our path. Merry, Sam and I got past. But Frodo was having trouble. The wraith seemed to block his path. When he moved right, the wraith did too. When he went to the left, the creature followed him"
Some how, Frodo managed to pass the mounted figure and get away.
"Me and Sam untied the ferry as fast as possible. Fear ran through all four of us. Frodo had still not caught up. In fact, it was only a few seconds after we untied the rope that we saw him. But we also saw a massive wraith behind him. All we could do was set off and hope that Frodo made it"
There was a silence, broken once again by the crackling of the fire and the songs of birds that barely got through the pain of glass that made up the window.
Pippin took a deep breath. The Nazgûl's ear-splitting scream still lingered in the depths of his memory.
"Did he make it?" Diamond asked.
The more questions that were answered, the more questions popped up.
"Yes, but only just. The wraiths now had a twenty mile journey to do before they could cross the river. We knew that we had now gathered enough time to make our escape to Bree"
Diamond picked up her sleeping son. Faramir gave a small whine and wriggled in his large blanket. He had yet to have his breakfast.
Diamond found it very hard to wake her son. But she had to. Faramir's little face screwed up as he opened his eyes.
"I know, I know" she said, walking out of the room.
Her large, bare feet slapped on the cold tiled floor. Candles flickered as she walked down the corridor. The smell of dinners past hit her for the third day that time. The two mugs that Pippin and herself had used the night before were still waiting to be washed up and put back in their rightful place.
The glass bottle, full of Faramir's milk, was picked up. Diamond smiled as she carefully sat down. She smiled, taking the bottle and flipping it up side down. Faramir yawned before he started to suckle on the bottle. Diamond smiled as she saw the milk slowly start to drain away.
Every so often, Faramir would take another breath.
Diamond felt his little hand wrap around just one of her fingers. There was a strange tingling in Diamond's finger that ran all the way up her arm.
"You don't know how precious you are" she whispered.
Pippin and Diamond were still sitting at the table. An hour had past since they had sat down. Pip took a sip of his tea. It had lost nearly all of its heat. The taste of sugar was strong.
Diamond had a similar looking mug of tea. But hers had gone down more then Pippin's had. But there was something else needed.
Hunger was now getting to both of them. For storytelling was a tiring process.
"Would you like something to eat?" Diamond said, getting up.
Even if Pippin did not want food, Diamond was getting some for herself. Pip smiled.
"Yes please" he answered.
Diamond gave him and smile as she walked towards the cellar. Pippin was now alone in the room and alone with his thoughts.
He was getting ready to talk about the next set of events. The more he delved into his memory, the more he could see.
Beads of sweat were now running down his face as Diamond returned with a few packets of seed cakes. She smiled as she placed two packets in front of Pip.
"What's this?" he asked, looking up at her.
A small look of confusion over came Diamond.
"You didn't think I would eat all of them by myself, did you?" she asked.
Pippin smiled, knowing that Diamond always thought of him as well. Diamond sat down again and ripped open the packet. Inside, perfect seed cakes.
A strange silence came over both of them as they ate. Pippin gave a small smile as he broke a bit off and ate it. Diamond took a deep breath as she looked over at Pippin.
Faramir had now finished his milk. Diamond gave a big smile as he moved it away.
"Good boy" she said, placing the bottle on the table.
Diamond gave a smile.
"Are you hungry?" she asked.
Faramir's eyes were showing the first signs of their colour. They had a hint of his mother's blueness. But there was one thing that Faramir had that was apart of one of his parents.
His hair was exactly like his father's. Diamond smiled as she stood up. She carried her son with her as she walked over to the cellar. Faramir seemed to whine at the temperature change. But the coldness did not last long as Diamond brought out a bowl.
In the bowl was Faramir's breakfast. An orange mush that Diamond had made.
"I need to make some more" she thought, taking the paper off.
This was something to do later on. The cupboard door was then opened and smaller bowl was taken out. Diamond smiled as she closed it. All she needed was a small spoon. So, opening up draw, she picked out a big table spoon and a little tea spoon.
A few minutes past as Diamond scooped the mixture into the small bowl. She smiled as she placed the paper cover back on the larger bowl.
"Right" she said, putting the small spoon in the bowl.
Diamond turned around and walked over to the table. The bowl was placed down and pulled the chair back a bit more.
But there was a strangeness about the kitchen. Normally, a small puppy would be eating as well. But Origo was not here at the moment. In fact, it had been a few weeks since she had seen her little pup.
There were no clues to his whereabouts. Abira, Pimpernel's similar looking puppy, had vanished about the same time that Origo did.
Pimpernel seemed to be taking it harder then Diamond. For she had nothing to take her mind off of her missing puppy. But today, she had news that would change her life for the better.
Samwise was sitting on a large sofa in a warm lounge. He had a cup of tea in his hand. A few valuable pieces of parchment were laying on the table.
"And, you'll do that for me?" asked Pimpernel, finding out about Sam's plan.
Samwise smiled and nodded.
"As mayor, it is my duty to do everything in my power to make this town safe"
Pimpernel gave a small smile. Images were now flashing over her eyes. She could see her new home like it was already built. Nelly, as she was known, had seen the lay out of her new home.
The lay out was no different to her old home. The kitchen was in the exact same place in had been. In fact, all of the rooms that were labelled on the parchment.
But there was a bit of doubt in Pimpernel's heart.
Could she really live on her own again?
Did she trust herself?
"Sam, I don't know what to say" she said.
To Sam, it was obvious that this meant a lot to her.
"Don't thank me, Pimpernel. It was Paladin who first started to send the letters to the suppliers"
Pimpernel gave a large smile. She knew that her father had something to do with this.
"How long will it take to rebuild?" Pimpernel asked.
Samwise took a deep breath.
"Well, it may not start to be rebuilt for a few months. The snow is making things difficult to work at the moment" he answered.
This seemed to crush Pimpernel's hope. For she hoped to be in it as soon as possible. But for now, she would have to grit her teeth and get on with things.
Pippin had now finished his seed cake. Diamond had took.
"So, tell me" Diamond said, placing her mug of tea back down.
"What happened next?" she asked.
Pippin took a deep breath.
"Well, it took us a few more hours to reach Bree. Frodo was going to meet Gandalf there. But when we got there, the wizard was nowhere to be seen"
There was a hushed silence in the room now. Diamond could not keep her eyes off of the hobbit sitting opposite her.
"Where was he?" she asked.
"We did not know. All we knew was we could not get to Rivendell without him. So, we we're stuck. And then in happened"
Pippin took a deep breath. The consequences of event were still felt today. Frodo had slipped and vanished. Vanished from the sight of everyone in the inn.
"What happened?" Diamond asked.
Pippin took a deep breath. For some reason, he found it easier to talk.
"I do not know the exact details. All I know is that one second, I saw him and then next, he was gone!"
Diamond could not understand what Pippin was talking about. She could not get her head around what he had said.
"Did he just leave?" she asked.
Pip shook his head.
"No, he just wasn't there any more"
Pippin took a deep breath. Deep down, he knew it had been his fault. If only he hadn't started talking.
"Me and my big mouth"
"What happened after that?" Diamond asked.
Pippin continued with his story.
"Sam had the sharpest eyes that night. He saw Frodo being pushed up the stairs by one of the big folk. So, we armed ourselves, thinking it was one of those black riders from earlier. But, when we got up to the room, we were meet by a different figure"
Diamond had never heard this story before so all of his words were news to her ears.
"His name was Strider, later we found out his real name. Aragorn"
Diamond's eyebrows raised.
"Aragorn?" she asked.
She knew of this name. But only a few times.
"Yes. He made sure that we were safe. And it was a good thing too because the wraiths had tracked us down. Four of the nine were now baring down on the inn"
The clock on the wall chimed eleven times. One more hour 'til lunch. But lunch was not on the mind of all hobbits. Diamond and Pippin were still deep in conversation.
"The next day, the five of us set off. We brought along a horse. Well, when I say we, I mean Aragorn. The horse was massive, twice as tall as an average hobbit. It was ladened with food and drink for the journey"
Pippin had never been so tired and sore in his life. But his tiredness had only just begun. There were many days of walking to be done. They would have many late nights and a short supply of food to keep them going.
The five beings were two weeks into their journey when they reached Weathertop. An outcrop of rock shaped by the elements.
"Weathertop was our resting spot for the night, just like the few before it. But this night was very eventful indeed"
The more Pippin thought about it, the more Pippin started to blame himself. But what happened was inevitable. Sam, Merry and himself had started a fire. Hunger was getting all of them.
The three of them had gathered some dry wood and, within a matter of minutes, started a small fire. The three of them smiled as they sat around as they started to cook their food. But this was the biggest mistake that they could ever make.
"And then Frodo woke up. He wasn't very at all happy. Frodo stomped out the fire, getting ash all over our food. But that was the least of our worries. Five jet black figures, akin to the depths of a moonless night were seen coming for us. Strider, as he was called back then, was nowhere to be seen. So we we're on our own"
Pippin could still remember the cool wind blowing his hair in front of his face. All four hobbits were looking around. The wind seemed to suddenly stop. Sounds did too.
"And then they came. Not one wraith like before, but five. Five sword wielding devils, towering before us. All that could be heard as they approached were their heavy feet, impacting on the ground. Sam the courage to actually grab his sword. all I heard was the clanging of metal on metal Me and Merry were the first in their path. But we weren't much help."
The ringing still echoed around his memories to this day.
"Frodo was next in line. His sword instantly dropped to the floor. Fright over come him as he stepped backwards. But stepping backwards was the worst thing he could have done. For he tripped over a root or rock, I cant really remember. Now he was cornered. There was no way out, no escape route and no one to save him"
Frodo could do only one thing. One thing that he thought would work. The Ring was taken out of his pocket.
"If it makes me invisible, maybe it can shield me from these creatures" he thought.
"And then he vanished. It did not take long to figure out that he was still where he fell"
Frodo could see the creatures behind the veil of black cloth. The creature had a milky white ting to it. An invisible wind seemed to rush around all of them.
Frodo had never been so scared in his life. But the fear rose as he felt his hand slowly rise. But he wasn't going to give in that easily. The hobbit snapped out of the tight, invisible grip just in time.
This did not matters. A few seconds later, a long, poisonous blade was thrust into his chest.
"The sound coming from him was not forgotten so easily. But everything changed as Aragorn came out from nowhere. Then Frodo came into view again. He was clutching his chest. The blade lay just feet from him"
Pippin took a deep breath as sounds of Frodo's screams came back to him. Diamond would never fully understand what it was like to see a friend in so much pain.
"Time was now running out. Rivendell was still many days journey away and Frodo was slipping. Slipping into a wraith like creature. But hope was still on the horizon as a fair lady came to help"
Pippin could still remember the first time that he had laid eyes upon an Elven princess. Pippin had never seen anyone so beautiful. Apart from Diamond.
"Her name was Arwen and she was the daughter of Elrond. She had been tracking us for many days. For elves are good at tracking and found it easy to find anyone just by the sight of a broken blade of grass. Aragorn shared this skill as well"
The tea in his mug had now all but vanished. He had been taking small sips at every small break. Diamond was still hanging of every word.
But the best was yet to come.
"We had to left Frodo go with Arwen, even though we knew of the dangers of what was to come. But it would be quicker if Arwen took him"
Pippin, Merry and Sam were now with Aragorn while Arwen and Frodo made their way to Rivendell. They made it there much faster then us. But this came at a price. Frodo made it only just on time, according to Elrond. And it was Elrond that saved him. Frodo was minutes from becoming an empty shell, slaved to Sauron. But it never came to be.
Pippin gave a small smile.
"The powers of elves was enough to bring Frodo back from the darkness. But it was a few days before he woke. Samwise was most distraught. He never seemed to leave Frodo's side. Even at breakfast, lunch, dinner, basically every meal were could get"
But Frodo did eventually wake. Soon, all of them were back together. They could now take in the beauty of where they had gone to.
"And it was at Rivendell that we meet a familiar person"
Pip gave a small grin.
"Bilbo" he said.
Diamond was still sitting at the table, holding her little son. Mouthful after mouthful of her orange mixture was gobbled up. It seemed that both of them were in a really good mood.
"How about we go and see auntie Dolly?" Diamond asked her son.
Dolly had yet again helped Diamond out of a sticky spot. Diamond felt like she owed Dolly a lot. Not many people knew of Diamond's struggles and Dolly seemed to be the only one that understood what she was going through.
A few more minutes past as the baby continued to eat.
Finally, all of the food was gone. Faramir had now finished all of his breakfast. It was now time for his mother to make her own.
Hunger was not only physical, but now, it was also audible. Diamond's tummy rumbled as she walked back to her room.
"Mummy will be back in a bit, she has to get her breakfast too"
Once again, her meal would be a simple, but a filling one. Eggs were taken out of the cellar along with bread and oil. A pan was taken out and placed on a, now, very hot hob.
A few more minutes past as the pan grew hotter. It was now hot enough to cooking what Diamond needed to cook. So, having placed the oil in the pan, the food was now ready to be cooked.
The eggs were cracked and beaten. A pinch of salt had been put into the yellow yolk. Diamond smiled as the bread was dipped into the yellowy mixture.
Fizzing and sizzling erupted from the pan. The egg started to turn a brown colour the more it cooked. And then the smell came. This seemed to make Diamond's hunger double.
Time was seemed to slow down. Diamond held a spatula in one hand and the handle of the pan in the other. The hobbit smiled as she flipped over the last piece of eggy bread. It, along the several other pieces, was put into the plate. Diamond smiled as she took the pan off of the heat. Faramir was being his quieter self. This made Diamond's goings easy.
The plate was then put before her place and she sat down. A knife and fork had already been set out. The fork that had been laying on the left hand side was now picked up. The knife laying on the right was picked up too.
A few seconds later, after surveying the pile of steaming slices, Diamond started to cut into it. A large bit was cut off. This did not bother Diamond. For the food could not have entered Diamond's mouth quick enough.
The hobbit started to chew. She could really taste the egg as she chewed. The fork pierced the soft, warm bread. The knife was then used to cut a sizable piece.
But, just as she was about to eat it, Faramir started to cry. He cries were ignored for a while. All Diamond wanted to do was eat. Slice after slice were finished and started. The seven original slices had now turned into four. But Diamond's hunger still was not tamed.
"I think a bit of seed cake would do me beautifully" Diamond thought, starting on her fifth slice.
Faramir's crying seemed to have grown louder. This caught Diamond's attention again. A deep breath was taken. She knew she couldn't leave Faramir to cry on his own. Yet if she did leave her breakfast, she would struggle to finish.
For she would only have one arm to cut and eat the food. Diamond looked at the door as the echoes of her son continued.
"I need some help" Diamond said.
The day before was one of the best days in Diamond had. She had learnt about Pippin more then she did in her few years of knowing him.
"We had left Rivendell with Frodo at the helm. We were now heading towards Mordor. The four of us were now joined by five others. Gimli, the dwarfs. Legolas, the elf. Gandalf, the wizard. And two men, Aragorn and Boromir"
Diamond nodded.
"We headed down to the Gap of Rohan. But there was a problem. Saruman was now watching the gap. He had many spies on his side. Birds mainly. And that's exactly what happened. A black cloud of crows flew around the rocky out crop we were resting at"
Pippin took a deep breath. He knew what came next. A climb. Heights were not one of Pippin's strong points. In fact, heights were kept far away from any of the hobbits. For climbing any hill, be it even a shallow one, was too much effort for them.