Night

When night falls, the halls of Bag End echo with Frodo’s footsteps.  Sam fusses next to Rosie and tries to concentrate on the breathing of the new baby who sleeps in a cradle at the foot of their bed.  In the darkness his children are no longer a buffer for what memories may prey upon his mind.  Sometimes he fears that he will wake up to dust in his mouth, a dark sky overhead and fire in his master’s eyes.  Then Sam hearkens to the traces of Frodo that linger in the night.

The sea will call him soon.