[Child of the 7th Age]

A full moon hung silhouetted against the black night sky, its rays caressing the soft contours of the hills. Silver light from the moon and stars bathed the woods and marshes, the rich tilled fields and farmsteads, which ran from the eastern bounds of Buckland through the East and West Farthing, extending north up to Greenfields and as far south as Sackville. Almost at the center of this protected circle stood the town of Bywater with its smaller cousin Hobbiton.

At the Inn in Bywater, five hobbits sat huddled in a corner of the Common Room with their heads bent close, seemingly oblivious to the overarching beauty of the heavens. They spoke in tense, urgent tones, each of them trying to make sense out of what might happen later that night. The hands of the Dragon's clock stood close to midnight, yet no one gathered at the table seemed eager to retire to their beds.

Cami was seated next to Maura with her fingers interlaced with his. She had finished her goodbyes to Lindo, whom she'd known from the camps in Beleriand, and to Maura's sister Zira and her husband Ban. She wished there'd been more time to spend with them, especially Zira, whose talents as a healer had first alerted Cami to the possibility that she herself might want to follow in that path.

Maura had found it even more painful to explain to Lindo that he might or might not be returning home, and, even if he did, the length of his stay was uncertain. He could come to Tol Fuin for a tiny interlude and be suddenly whisked away, or live there quietly for the remainder of his days. There was no way to predict.

Lindo had looked frustrated as he confronted Maura with a series of questions, "Why didn't you tell me any of this before? I may never see you again. How can you leave your family? And all the time and effort we spent developing the community.... I understand you want to be with Cami, but why can't she come with us?"

Clenching his fists at his side, the young songmaster stood up and, without waiting for a reply, fired over at Zira, "Don't tell me you agreed to this?"

Zira flashed her brother a look of reassurance, "If Maura leaves, I will miss him to the end of my days. But I understand why he must go. I would do the same for my own husband." Her eyes locked onto those of Ban's.

"As far as Cami coming with us, that won't happen. The hobbits in the Anduin face greater danger than those in Tol Fuin. Cami must stay where she is, just as Ancalimon told her."

As Lindo sat down and helplessly pressed his head into his hands, Maura reached out to grip his friend's shoulder. "This is hard to say.... I don't like leaving any more than you like seeing me go. But, Lindo, if you'd had the chance before Gondolin.... the chance to join Niphredil, even if it meant leaving the community you knew, would you have gone?"

Lindo kept his head down for an instant as his fingers tightened their grip on his head. Then he replied in a weary, small voice, "Yes...yes, I would have gone with her."

"That's what I'm trying to do. To stay with my wife and her children and with our young son who'll be born next spring. I must try even if it leads me far from home. But whether our plea will be heard or any action will be taken, no one can say. We have only blind hope."

A painful look spread over Lindo's face. "Even after all these years and the joy I get from my lads, I still miss her... His voice trailed off into silence. "Alright, Maura Tuk. How can I fault you on those terms?" Lindo went on speaking more warmly, "If it wasn't for you, Loremaster, I'd never have begun writing songs. I shall miss you." Then he turned and walked away, with Ban following at his shoulder.

As Cami watched the two hobbits leave, she leaned over to Maura and added, "Stay here with your sister. I need to go out and take a walk by myself, and then say goodbye to Pio and Mithadan."

"You'll come back to our room then?" His tone sounded wistful.

"Yes," she indicated with a rapid shake of her head. As soon as I can. I promise."

With that, Cami slipped out the front gate and began walking earnestly along the road towards Hobbiton. Within less than a quarter hour, she had reached the party fields. Cami could see the graceful mallorn outlined in the middle of the grassy field with its gleeming silver bark. To the south lay the tiny burrows that had once been Bagshot Row, the spot where she used to live. To the north she could glimpse the front windows of Bag-end, now still and silent, where Samwise and his family slept protected. Cami suspected that Frodo had shared his goodbyes with Sam before the end of the party.

So many memories and so much of her past lay here. There were too many goodbyes to hold in a single evening.

As Cami approached the edge of the field, she glimpsed a tall, familiar figure under the crown of the mallorn whose body lay half-concealed in the shadows of the night. She found herself laughing for the first time that evening. I swear she knows what I'm going to do even before I decide to do it! How I shall miss her back home....

[ September 04, 2003: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]