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To The End of His Days  by GamgeeFest 6 Review(s)
AndreaReviewed Chapter: 31 on 10/22/2012
That is the best Sam (and we) could wish for. Frodo passed away peacefully in his sleep. And the anniversary illnesses were gone.

I like the wreath the elves made for Bilbo and Frodo, especially the seashells.

Author Reply: Sam is able to find comfort in that parting now, and it certainly helps to know that he went peacefully and suffered no illnesses. He already has Frodo's word that he was healed, so hearing it from others would only confirm that.

Sam would have helped to make the wreath as well. It was just too big for Sam to carry easily. There was supposed to be mention of remnants of other such wreaths there, but the word limit meant that had to be left out.

AntaneReviewed Chapter: 31 on 10/20/2012
How wonderful that Frodo passed happily and peacefully. Love also the recall of that last glimpse of him and Bilbo alive with 'hope in their eyes.'

Namarie, God bless, Antane :)

Author Reply: I do believe that's how Frodo would have chosen to go: in the garden surrounded by the statues of his homeland and the flowers he planted himself. Sam has a wonderful last memory of them, doesn't he?

LarnerReviewed Chapter: 31 on 10/16/2012
A good resting place. My markers are nearby the guesthouse where they dwelt, of course, although they actually were buried variously, with nothing really of Frodo left to bury once he quitted his body.

Author Reply: Frodo and Bilbo would have loved the woods, I think. It seems fitting they'd be buried there.

demeter dReviewed Chapter: 31 on 10/16/2012
,,,"about twenty years of your time..." He would not have made one hundred. At this point, he and Sam would have been close to equal in age. I echo Dreamflower and Shirebound's sentiments. The farewell they had already made had been full of hope. That was a lovely way to go out.

Author Reply: Faeglin (I'll blame him rather than my failing to do the math properly before posting) is perhaps being generous here. The calculation of time passage isn't exact, so it probably has been longer than that. I can see Frodo reaching the 80/90 range (making it closer to 30 years) if he's really determined to hang in there, but not much older than that.

It is best to remember your loved ones with hope: hope they went on to a better place, hope they found rest there. It's what Sam gave his own family when he left as well.

shireboundReviewed Chapter: 31 on 10/16/2012
If I couldn’t see them one last time, I couldn’t ask for a better parting than the one I’d already had.

*sniff* You handled this moment for Sam so gently.

Author Reply: Thanks, dear! Sam is most wise in his own way, as we see here.

DreamflowerReviewed Chapter: 31 on 10/16/2012
Oh, Sam! *sniffle*

I love the way you make this work--the idea of Frodo NOT being there for Sam when he sails in the hands of some could be an angst-fest (which really does not suit Sam at all). But this is a Sam who has grown wiser through the years, able to accept the way things are and not rail against them.

It's still sad, but it's a lovely and warm kind of sad, if you know what I mean.

Author Reply: Thank you, DF! One of the reasons I added more tribbles than I originally intended (there was only going to be thirty, there's now forty-one) was because it was focusing too much on the more angsty moments - and that's just not Sam. One tribble was so hilariously angsty that I first moved it to the end, then deleted it, then was able to salvage some of it for a whole new tribble that works much better. It's probably my favorite one now. I'll try to remember when we get there to point it out to you.

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