[Child of the 7th Age]

Child went over to Kali and wrapped her arms about him. "No, Kali, please don't stop. Sometimes, we cry both for sadness and joy. And this is one of those times when the two have come together. Your songs are like a magic bird that bring me close to someone I love. When I hear you singing, I feel a piece of him still lives." Child said softly.

And part of her was grateful to Lindo who had written this beautiful ode.

"Miss Child," Kali asked simply, "What happened to you in Beleriand? Do you mind if I ask?"

"No, Kali, I don't mind. Part of my heart is sad, but it warms a bit when I talk about it. Sometimes grief is like that. And the best thing you can do when you miss someone is to find a friend to help you remember. Hobbits often do better when they come together to remember instead of sitting by themselves and trying to do it all alone." Child looked in the direction of Daisy and Tule who had come onto the deck to sit down near them.

"What was he like?" Daisy's eyes sparkled as she asked.

Mithadan sat on one of the barrels, his face a mask of tiredness and strain. "Daisy, Child has been through a lot, and she may not want to discuss that right now."

Child walked over to Mithadan, and placed her hand on his shoulder. "It's alright, Mith. I really meant what I said. You folk are the only family I have now. And I would prefer that everyone heard what happened to Rose and myself."

She turned to Daisy and laughed, "He was nothing extraordinary to look at. And I guess to others he seemed like just another hobbit. But to me, he was special."

"But why Child, why? Was he a great warrior?" Daisy prodded.

"Maura, a warrior? No. He did his share of killing on the night Gondolin fell, and, at the end, when the hobbits battled the Orcs. But, he was no fighter. His community called him a "Keeper of the Lore" or a wise-man. He was the memory of the community, the one who told the tales and who spoke with the Elves and Ancalimon."

"Apparently, the hobbits came west just like the big folk to get close to the light. Ancalimon told them to journey with the house of Beor. And it was from that house that they learned many things. And also from the Elves Finrod and Galadriel who were brother and sister. "

"You know, Maura and Ancalimon used a special name for me. They always teased and said I was "Little Andreth" because I was so stubborn. And I think Ancalimon could see, even before Maura and I talked about our feelings, how we felt towards each other." Child sighed, "And I think he also sensed, that just like Andreth the wise-woman who dearly loved one of Finrod's brothers, this could never be."

"You would have stayed there?" Mithadan asked.

"Yes, Mith, I would have stayed." she said simply. She explained how Ancalimon had told her that she must return to the Star to see the journey through, and that there would be no coming back. "Too many threads have been pulled loose in Vaire's web by our time travel. So I have no path on which I may return without bringing down the Shadow on our heads. And neither of us could accept that."

"You won't be with him again, ever?" Daisy asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Not in Arda, Daisy, not in Arda."

"But there are other reasons for which both Rose and I are sad. We've seen too many senseless murders of innocent children. That's how the Orcs controlled us. If they found weapons, or we went against them in any way, they'd take out their brutality on the children. They had the perfect plan to cow and bully us, by threatening what we held most dear."

Child remembered with pain how they'd tried to prod her into choosing the hobbit child who should die, but she had refused. And they had killed two instead. Then she explained how she and Rose had tried to help the little ones as best they could in the Workhouse.

She looked over at Mithadan, "Sir, Piosenniel would have been so proud of Rose. She was young, but she worked hard and was incredibly brave. And, at the end, she was the one who spied on the Orcs. Plus, it meant so much to me to have her there."

"Who is Lindo?" Tule questioned.

Child tried to explain as best she could and said how Lindo had been almost like a son to her, and a close friend to Rose.

"So, Kali, I find it sweet that you remember these tunes and words from a world that exists no more. For they bring back to me both the beauty and the terror of that world. And I remember how Maura and I bound ourselves, and promised to cling to estel until the Light would lead us together some day." She fingered the single stone at her throat. Then she went over to Kali and placed a kiss upon his head.

[ September 10, 2002: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]