[piosenniel]

When Levanto was satisfied the hobbits had understood what he needed from them, he entered the river once again, saying that he must return to the ship to let the companions know that he had made contact. He bade them meet with him again in two nights.

The elders withdrew for a moment to speak among themselves. They returned saying that two of them would meet with him, at the requested time. Two would be easier to hide, they thought, less likely to attract the attention of the guards. Two days would give them plenty of time to gather the needed information. They bowed deeply to the mer-man and took their leave of him.

Loremaster beckoned to Gamba to come along with them, but he declined, a pleading look on his face, saying that there was one more question he needed answered by Levanto. Loremaster relented, instructing him, though, to come along directly when Levanto had left.

Gamba approached the edge of the river and knelt down to be face to face with the mer-man. His heart beat wildly. 'We were interrupted when the elders came.' he said. 'You never got a chance to answer my question.'

'What question was that?' asked Levanto, tired from the long day's exertions. 'I cannot seem to recall it.' A brief sound of someone moving in the rocks behind Gamba, brought the mer-man to full alert. 'Beware, hobbit! There is something which moves in the darkness behind you.' he said quietly.

Gamba laughed softly, and called to his brother. 'Come out, Phura! He has spied you out!'

A lone figure emerged from his hiding place behind the rocks and sheepishly joined Gamba at the waterside. Bowing, he greeted Levanto courteously, then knelt beside his brother.

Gamba turned once again to face the mer-man, his question burning in his mind, his eyes filled with hope and longing. 'You spoke of her in the present, Sir.' he said. ' You said "She is; she takes; she sings and dances?' I thought she died in Gondolin."

'Yes,' said Phura, leaning forward as eagerly as his brother, 'you speak of her in the present. How can this be?'

Levanto smiled, gauging the longing he saw in the faces of these two young hobbits. He spoke quietly the truth they knew and the truth they hoped to hear.

'She died in Gondolin, a hero just as your song tells it. And now, when our need for her was greatest, she has come back from the West.' He looked fondly at the two who hung on his every word. 'When you are away from here, in some safer place, then tell her of your wishes. Perhaps on a starlit night she will grant them for you. He sang their couplet to them -

Lovely smile in moonlight beaming
Shining hair in starlight gleaming . . .

He bade them fare well until his return, and vanished beneath the waters of the Siril. Gamba watched as the last ripple spread out in circles and disappeared against the rocks on the river's bank.

'She lives!' he said wonderingly to his brother. 'She lives.'

[ September 14, 2002: Message edited by: piosenniel ]