Here in the Sun

It was the most heartbreakingly beautiful thing Sam had ever seen.  The sun stained the edges of the sky all the shades of red and orange and Sam thought that he would cry from the splendor.  In the distance, he could still make out the shape of a graceful white ship that had waited countless years in these harbor waters for its final journey.

Waited for the Ringbearers.

Waited to take his Frodo away.

Waited to leave Sam behind.

Sam felt the lines that connected him to Frodo growing stretched and thin.  Soon they would break completely and Sam would be alone.  Tears started in his eyes and rolled down his cheeks as he gasped for breath. 

For a wild, passionate moment, he hated the beauty of the Elven ship and hated the beauty of the sunset. 

But then Sam heard a song.  Perhaps it was a trick of the wind through Elvish halls, or maybe it was Sam’s own imagination, but he heard a faint singing in the air.  It grew stronger as he listened more closely and it filled his body with sound and harmony. 

Then Sam found that his tears had turned to tears of joy and that the pieces of himself that had crumbled around him as the ship faded into the distance were coming together again.  He was being restored, and though it was imperfect and not the same as he had been (How could it be!) Sam found wisdom hidden in the rebuilding.  The song that mended his seams said it was right to cry and right to change.  It said that Frodo could never leave him forever.  No one leaves forever.

So Sam sat down on the pier and cried.  He cried for himself, and for Merry and Pippin, but he cried most for his dear Frodo.  The song sang in his ears and cried with him, but it also reminded him of the laughter of his sweet daughter and the love of Rosie and the joy that Sam felt at being a father.

So Sam stood up, wiped his eyes and went home.

The song let him go and remained on the shore, for anyone who might need it in the future.