September 29th, 2986 T. A.

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The storm passed. The mountains calmed. They are almost peaceful under the bright sky, washed by the rain and swept by the wind. Where are you, Aragorn? Did you survive the storm? The stars shimmer in the skies, as if one could reach his hand and touch them. I wish you could… but it is just an illusion in the brisk air. Where are you? Did the stream become too strong? Did you have the strength to resist it? Now only a thin rivulet of water flows down the valley, drying quickly, but the stones are still wet and cold. The air does not move. Everything is quiet. Where are you?

There! I let out the breath that I didn’t realize I was holding. There… You clothes are torn and muddy. I almost didn’t notice you… But you do not move! Aragorn! Aragorn! No, show me! Please show me that you are alive… You are so pale. The crimson blood contrast sharply to your pale face… The stream has taken away the sword that you used as splint and the makeshift bandage, and the gash on your temple is bleeding again. Bleeding…You live! You do not move, and your eyes are closed. Are you unconscious? No, your breath is regular and calm as it forms small clouds of mist before your mouth. You sleep… Finally, the sheer exhaustion won above the pain that didn’t allow you to rest. How calm is your face in sleep, how peaceful… For a while you do not feel the pain…

Rest, my child. Rest… I watch over you. I wish your dreams would be peaceful. May they be about the ones you love. May you visit the places where your heart dwells… Ah, why do I have tears in my eyes? You will just rest, renew your strength, and then you will wake, will you not? Tell me that you will, Aragorn… Promise me! Promise me… I reach into the empty air before me, as if I could touch you, and stroke your cheek, push aside those unruly locks of hair that are falling to your eyes… Rest while you can…You will wake. You must.

***

Wake up! Wake up! Aragorn! You must wake up! The orcs! They return! They are in the valley! How? They left… How did they find the way here? That doesn’t matter now, you must wake up! They are nearing… Is this the end? No, it can’t be! Come on! Open your eyes! There is a chasm between the boulders where you can hide, but you must wake up now! Oh, what can I do? I realize that I shout, but you cannot hear me… In a desperate attempt I throw a brooch of my cloak – the first thing that came under my hand – in your direction…

Oh, what did I think? How many times did I try it, in hope to send some message to my sons? Nothing falls from here to the ground. The heavenly winds take it, and blow it away, to float in the heavens endlessly – like me. Everything on my ship is bound to my fate: never touch the soil of Middle-earth again. How many messages already float in the sky so? The brooch joined them, another reminder of this endless curse. There is nothing that I can do. Wake up, please… The orcs will see you soon… You must wake up!

Ah... Your eyelids flutter… Yes, open your eyes! You sense the danger, don’t you? You are a Ranger… You don’t need my warning. Even in sleep you sense the danger. Thank Ilúvatar, for my warnings are useless… You look around confused, not sure what has awakened you. Quickly! There is not much time! Your eyes widen in comprehension; you have heard the orcs. You look around desperately. Behind you! Behind that boulder! Hide! Yes, you see the place. Will you have the strength to get there in time?

I count steps until they will see you. Thirty, twenty... Soon they will see… You bite your lip when you turn on your belly, you cannot cry out with the movement of the broken leg! Fifteen… You reach for a stone to pull yourself further, and lie still for a while. A wave of dizziness? Ten steps… No, you have no time! You know it… You hear them, nearer and nearer… Seven. Come on! Yes, reach for another stone, another step forwards… Five. You bite your lip to blood. It hurts. Oh, I know how it hurts… but you must! You are almost there… Three… You have reached the boulders. The gap! Slip into the gap! Two… One last effort! A voiceless cry of pain! One… You did it! …They are in sight.

Now quietly. Do not move. Do not breathe… I hold my breath myself. They sniff around the place where you have been a few moments ago. They can smell the scent of blood… You shiver in pain, and clench your fingers into the unyielding rock. The position of your broken leg is most painful, but you cannot move… It hurts so much! I know… Hold on… They look around; one of them heads to your hiding place. He sniffs. No! Your fingers reach for the hilt of a dagger. They are too many, and you know it. You want to die fighting…

Suddenly a gust of wind blows in the still air. It blows to you. The orc sniffs once more, but he doesn’t smell you. He turns, and joins the others that continue down the valley. Again I count the steps, until they will be out of sight. How important a few steps can be… How important can be few moments… One can live for long centuries, and the years are like ripples in the steady stream of time, and yet it is the bare moments that can decide…

How did the orcs come here? I saw them returning to the east, where they came from…. I was wrong when I thought that they would not return. They just sought a way into the valley. Maybe they even have some secret tunnel mouthing into it. The mountains are undermined by orcish tunnels.

They have gone. You cannot know it, you do not see them, and so you stay in the painful position, not moving, barely breathing. My poor lad… They are away. Relax… Finally you have no strength to hold still. You shift and cry out in pain as you move the leg into more favorable position. Then you tense, and clench your fingers around the dagger hilt, unsure if they have heard you. No, they are gone… Relax… Yes, you unclench them again with a sigh of relief. Then you rest your head on the hard stone, and close your eyes, the exhaustion clearly visible in your features. Rest, my child. You deserve it… but the rest doesn’t come easily. You are in too much pain to sleep… You open your eyes again, and seek one star on the clear sky. Oh, why do I have tears in my eyes again?