A/N:  This is a plot bunny that blinked its cute little eyes at me when I read Letter R in Dreamflower's "Alphabet for Middle-earth" repeated below to refresh your memory or have you read it for the first time.

R: LIKE A RADIANT RADAGAST

Gandalf stopped and watched the figure in brown: brown robes, bushy brown hair and beard, bright brown eyes twinkling in a rugged brown face. Yet it glowed, with a golden radiance, as Radagast stood over the ruins of Dol Goldur, where already vines had begun to insinuate their greenness among the stark and broken rubble. Radagast flung out an arm, and a sparrow flew down to perch upon a finger. He turned and smiled.

“Greetings, brother.”

Gandalf inclined his head. “You are not coming home with me,” he said sadly.

“Your work is finished, old friend. Mine has just begun."

___________________

A curious visitor came to call while Sam, Rose and Elanor were staying in Minas Tirith. Or perhaps it should be said, yet another curious visitor, for the Lord Mayor, as Sam was always embarrassed to be called, was a popular one. He and Rose showed everyone proper hobbit hospitality and all came away enriched by seeing one of the greatest heroes of the War of the Ring and his lady wife. But this particular visitor was no curious Gondorian child raised on tales of that War or a veteran of the struggle come to pay his respects.

“Mr. Radagast, sir!” Sam said in surprise and bowed deeply. He had met the wizard before as they had discovered in each other a mutual love of nature and growing things and Radagast had often come to the Shire after the War and seen what Sam had done thanks to the Lady Galadriel’s gift.

“My lord Samwise,” the Maia said with an even deeper bow. “My lady Rose,” he acknowledged with another bow.

The two hobbits blushed. “How can I be of service to you, sir?” Sam asked.

“It is my honor and pleasure this day to hope to be of service to you, my lord. It is twenty-three years since the fall of the Dark Tower, is it not?”

“To the day,” came the soft answer and for a little while, Sam stood not as a husband, father and three-term mayor but a frightened, hungry, thirsty, exhausted hobbit in a dark land.

“I wish to give you a gift to celebrate that.”

Radagast’s voice drew Sam back to the present. “A gift?”

“It is several days journey away and it cannot be brought to you. I wish, with your lady’s permission, to bring you to it.”

Sam almost smiled. He missed his master sore still at times, but now he was stabbed with a longing for Gandalf. “Do all wizards speak in riddles, begging your pardon, sir?”

Radagast laughed and it was a clear, musical laugh, like and unlike Gandalf’s. “You will see the meaning of it if you come with me.”

Sam looked at Rose who nodded. “Go, my love. I’m sure it will be wonderful.”

“Let me gather a few things then if it’s going to be a bit of a journey.”

The pack that the hobbit slung on his back a few minutes later was obviously old, patched over several times and otherwise mended, but just as obviously loved. “My master gave this to me on his 49^th birthday,” Sam explained. “I took it everywhere, including on the Quest to destroy the Ring. And I’m going to take it with me when I go West.” That last bit was spoken softly.

“It was a gift well given and well loved,” the Maia said.

“That it is. All his gifts were. Including all those he gave after he left.”

“Then I wish to show you another one. But this is as much a gift of yours as well.”

Sam raised an eyebrow at the continued riddles, but Radagast just smiled. He turned to Rose. “We should be back within a fortnight, my lady,” he said and bowed again to Rose.

The two hobbits gave each other a kiss and tight hug. “Enjoy your gift, my Sam, I love you.”

“I love you, too, my Rose. I shall.”

Radagast stood at the threshold. He extended his hand and Sam took it. He turned and waved goodbye to Rose.

“Where are we going, sir?” he asked.

“A place transformed. I wonder if you will even recognize it.”

They went to the stables first where a large man in the livery of Rohan presented a horse to them. He bowed low to Sam. “My lord King Eomer wishes you to have this gift to quicken your journey, my lord,” he said.

Sam looked rather confused, but bowed and thanked the man. Radagast lifted the hobbit up into the saddle and then climbed up behind him.

“Thank you, Hammon,” the wizard said.

“It is the king’s pleasure to give such to you and Lord Samwise.”

Just before they went through the gates leading out of the city, Aragorn saw them. “Enjoy your gift, Sam,” he said with a smile.

The hobbit looked between his king and the wizard, both looking quite pleased with themselves. “Does everyone know about this gift but me?”

Aragorn laughed. “You would want to know what it is before it is opened before your eyes?”

“Well, Mr. Pippin always used to shake his presents to see what was inside.”

“Ah, the curiosity of a Took! But you are not a one unless you’ve been hiding something from me.”

“No, my lord.”

“Then enjoy the journey to the gift as much as the gift itself, my lord mayor, for it is through your labors and Frodo’s that it exists at all.”

Sam shook his head. “More riddles,” he muttered, then to the soft laughter and under the twinkling eyes of his king, he left the city.

* * *

It was several days journey and it was through land that Sam thought he should recognize because it was taking them closer and closer to the Mountain or what was left of it, but he didn’t recognize much. Instead of a dead land, he was traveling through one alive again with grasses and flowers and flowing streams. The air was fresh and clean and he breathed deep instead of barely daring to take a breath from the terrible smell and fumes. The day was bright instead of what had seemed to be endless night. Memories and present reality mixed and mingled before his eyes and he was in both lands at the same time. It was a wonder to him to see it all and remember what it had looked like before.

He squirmed around in his seat. “Then what I saw was true,” he said. “The Ring showed me all this when it was trying to get me to claim it for myself. I thought it was just a trick, but it’s come true. The Black Land has become a garden just like it said.”

“It was a trick then, or so it thought, but the One I serve is greater than it and it was but showing a future it had no idea would come about. I have labored long to bring this land back to life, for the One’s glory and to honor the sacrifices you and Lord Frodo made to allow this victory to take place.”

Sam looked with fresh eyes at the beautiful land around him. The memories of the past faded and all he saw was the present loveliness and life. “Look at all the different flowers. Why, there’s even some elanor over there.” Radagast let him down and Sam reveled in feeling the grass between his toes and touching the flowers. He stopped down and drank from one of the many streams. “And water. Lots of clean, fresh, pure water.” He looked back up to the wizard. “Oh, Mr. Radagast, you did all this?”

“It is my gift to you and the gift of the One.”

It was long before Sam could take his eyes off it as they traveled slowly through the reawakened land. There were landmarks he thought he recognized, but they were all transformed. He wiped his eyes with his sleeve. “Oh, me dear, I wish you could see this,” he said softly and Radagast knew just who he was speaking to. “Always liked beautiful things, you did. I’ll tell you all about it when I see you next. Thank you for all of it.”

He turned back to the wizard beside him. “Thank you, Mr. Radagast, sir.”

“It is the birthday of the new year, my lord. It seemed a suitable gift to give to the one of those that made that year happen.”

“Mr. Frodo did that.”

“He couldn’t have without you or the One.”

“Who is this one you keep speaking of, begging your pardon, sir.”

“The One who made all of this possible. I am but His instrument, His hands. He is the Painter, the Creator. And He made you and Lord Frodo and Lady Rose and Lady Elanor and all Hobbits and Men and Elves.”

Sam’s eyes widened. “He made me and my Frodo and Rose and all?”

“He was with you and your master all along, for though you did not know it, you were also serving Him. Lord Frodo is discovering that in a most special way now.”

“He is? Then he’s well and he’s healing?”

Radagast smiled at the love and hope in that voice and eyes. “He is indeed, well healed and anxiously awaiting the one who will complete it.”

“Then all my dreams have come true. I wish I could be there with him or he could be here. He would have loved to have seen this.”

“He is at peace where he is now and in a land of even greater beauty. Do not wish to hurry away from this world for he is here also as long as you are and it was a bitter blow for him to have to leave it. You are with him still. And he is with you. Until you can see him with more than the eyes of your heart, he will wait for you and Another waits for you too.”

“Then he knows maybe somehow that the terrible, dry, dark land is beautiful and living now?”

Radagast smiled. “Yes, he knows.”

Sam sighed. “Thank you,” he breathed, to Radagast, to Frodo and to the One. “Thank you for this wonderful gift. Thank you for everything.”