The countryside passed pleasantly by in a steady stream of comfortable chatter, and Rose found herself happily swept away by Merry’s fascinating stories of adventure and the funny tales of the quaint Shire she had missed since her departure. Somewhere near a sweet cherry tree, clad elegantly in soft pink and purest white blossoms, Merry told of the recent welcome home party for Bilbo and Frodo. Rose shrieked with laughter at her companion’s vivid imitation of the hobbit children’s food fight and their parent’s mortified reaction. Bird’s arrival in the vest pocket of the funny, silver-haired man almost brought tears to the young hobbit’s eyes; she could just see the poor man’s reaction as the disheveled Bird sprouted on top of him! Through her enjoyment of the story, however, a question nagged at the back of her mind, wondering what could be so important as to bring Bilbo and Frodo sailing back from the Blessed Realm.
Merry mentioned his own reason for traveling back into Hobbiton and Rose listened with interest, hoping maybe to pick up clues for her own journey. Her companion spoke quite enthusiastically about seeing his good friend, Pippin, again so soon and Rose could not help but allow her mind to wander as he described the antics of Peregrin’s son, Faramir. Her train of thought wandered from the Took family around to her old friend, Daisy, who had once worked in the Great Smials. A great longing awoke within Rose to see her old home and friends; it had been a long time since she had set out, and though the wild life of Greenwood always bore its adventures and joys, the comfortable and consistent land of the Shire was rooted deeply into every hobbit heart who had the luck to be born there. An order and rhythm was ingrained into her soul, and the very land, tilled into neat rows or tended carefully to form bright gardens, called out to her to remember the rich soil that had allowed her to grow.
“Ah, and we have arrived!” Merry exclaimed, breaking into her thoughts. Rose turned eagerly in her seat and saw the great inn rise up to greet her from around a bend in the road.
“Oh, I cannot wait to see Cami! How surprised she will be to see me!” Rose clapped her hands together, delighted and completely forgetting her previous thoughts. “Thank you so much for giving me a ride, your kindness had been quite wonderful.”
Merry beamed that it was “no trouble at all” and “completely his pleasure” making Rose blush as he pulled the horse to a stop before the inn.
[ March 18, 2003: Message edited by: theWhiteLady ]
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