[*Varda*]

Poppy looked up at the two elves standing beside her and smiled.

“I would love to journey along with you. Much as I feel I should go back to the Shire, my heart speaks against it…this journey only makes me want to explore more of Middle Earth.” She held the Green book to her even more tightly, before carefully putting it in her bag. She smiled again to herself, staring up into the sky, feeling for a short time in her life, that she was complete and whole.

She had accepted a little of the gold from Gandalf, enough to keep her while journeying, and to give to her family, should they need it. The rest of her share she left for the House of Healing, feeling others would need it more than she did. Yes, she would go home when she was ready. They knew she could look after herself. Even better, she knew she could. The small hobbit continued to stand there silently, gazing into the depths of the blue sky that went on forever. Feeling the book in her bag, she knew that this experience too, would be remembered forever.