A Sense of History: Straight Road
The next in a series of articles about ships passing to and from the West, Simon uses "The Fall of Númenor" to attempt to arrive at Tolkien's reading of the exordium to "Beowulf."
Memories are both painful and pleasant.
"Where are you now?" she whispered to the still water she stood in "Why did it have to happen to you?"
She didn't know the answer to either of those two questions, and she wouldn't have one, unless she did that. Doubts plagued her mind. What if it didn't work? Was it worth it to try, only for the attempt to end in failure?
Memories surfaced.....
-x-
It had been an ordinary summer day, and Nellas was gathering flowers, when a strange sound caught her attention. Curiosity got the better of her, and she took a peek. It was a procession of five, led by Beleg, followed by three strangers, with Mablung bringing up the rear.
All three strangers were mortal men. Two of them were bent with age, while the third was a mere child. A child who was forced to mature too quickly. Nellas wasn't sure how she knew this information, but she did. She felt herself drawn to this child, in more ways than one. And so she offered to be his companion, and to teach him some of things he needed to know.
And so they walked through the forests of Menegroth, and she taught him the names and uses of various plants that grew there, and even some of the animals living there. She knew his name by that point. Everyone did. She knew of his ambition to follow his father's footsteps, and of his hatred for the Enemy.
-x-
She held one regret for all this time. That she couldn't see the real implications of the darkness that she knew existed around him at the time.
"Why didn't I save you?" she asked the skies "Why didn't I keep you from leaving? Why didn't I stop you from doing the deed which made you leave?"
Those questions and more swirled around her head. Thoughts of what could have been tormented her with their uncertainty.
Deep down, she knew why. Morgoth's power was too strong, and no one could work against it in the end.
-x-
The more time she spent with him, the more she grew to like him. As he grew, so did the nature of her feelings towards him. And at some point, her feelings turned into love.