20. Sightseeing

I return to the library with Lindir after second breakfast. I imagine Frodo spent much of his time here, so I’m surprised when Lindir tells me otherwise.

“Certainly, he did love it here and came whenever he was in the city, but he preferred to pursue his other interests or learn new ones. He learned to sail and tried his hand at sculpting and weaving. He loved gardening and painting most.”

After a few hour’s browsing, I find some storybooks for children that Lindir offers to translate into Sindarin and Westron. “Won’t that mess them up, writing in them?” I ask.

“They’re books. They are meant to be written in,” he says. I can’t argue with that.

“Where else did Frodo like to go?” I ask as we leave the library. 

Over the next few days, Lindir shows me the cafe where Frodo often ate that served a berry tart even Rose would envy. Near there is the seawall where he’d watch the ships and draw his sketches. Across town is the seamstress who made his robes (and she offers to make some for me as well) and the stationer who supplied him with his parchment and canvases. 

I can easily imagine Frodo here, chattering away with his new friends. Everyone speaks of him with great respect and fondness. They tell me how he would tell stories to the children just as Bilbo had and how he’d recite poems on impulse. One of his ocean paintings even hangs in the grand hall of the theater here. 

I walk the city alone my last night and wish Rose could be here. It’s not as she drew it, but it’s similar. The pang that hasn’t gone away since her passing makes itself known as I stargaze. Will I ever be whole again?

GF  9/18/12

To be continued...