Today was the anniversary of the death of Frodo's parents. I remember the first time Frodo told me about his parents. When Frodo was 12 years old, his parents were sailing out on the Brandywine River. But, then their boat tipped over and the two hobbits drowned in the river and were never seen again.

I haven't seen much of Frodo today. I only saw him at breakfast. He didn't eat much. He didn't talk much, either. The last place I saw him was in his study. I wonder if he's still there.

I was sitting on my bedroom floor, tidying up all of my ink drawings. I put them all in a pile and set them on my nightstand. I got up and walked over to Frodo's study.

When I arrived there, Frodo was nowhere to be seen. There was a pile of books sitting near his chair and a bunch of papers were scattered all over his desk. Usually, Frodo keeps his study clean. I wondered why he decided to leave it in such a state. Frodo's ink pen lay on the ground. I picked it up and placed it on his desk.

Out of nowhere, I heard the sound of Frodo sobbing. My heart broke into two pieces. I figured that he might have been in his bedroom, so I rushed over there as quickly as I could.

I pressed my ear on Frodo's bedroom door and I could still hear the sound of his mournful crying. I moved my ear away from the door. For some strange reason, I felt this sadness growing inside me. I tried my best to hold back my tears as I quietly tiptoed into Frodo's room.

I saw Frodo lying down on his stomach on his bed. A picture of Frodo's parents was lying on the wooden floor. Frodo had buried himself in his bedsheets and he was clenching onto the ends of his pillow, sobbing quietly.

I sat down gingerly beside Frodo on his bed. I tried calling his name to see if he would notice me. "Frodo? Frodo? It's me, Brianna." I said, in a gentle voice. Frodo didn't reply. He buried his head deeper into his pillow.

"It's me, Frodo. It's your daughter. It's me." I begged. I had the urge to cry. I placed a shaking hand on Frodo's back.

"Frodo, it's me. It's your dearest one. Please talk to me." I couldn't hold it in any longer. A couple of tears slowly streamed down my face. "I'm here, Frodo." I said, in a cracking voice. I swallowed hard.

All of a sudden, Frodo hesitantly lifted his head from his pillow and looked up at me. Frodo's nose was completely red. His eyes turned a dark shade of blue. His face was full of pain and grief. "Bri....Brianna." he whimpered. "I'm.....I'm....sorry."

I shook my head. I wiped away some tears from my cheeks. "No, Frodo." I choked. "It's not your.....fault. I'm....I'm just worried about you."

Frodo gently squeezed my shoulders. His hands trembled like an old man's hands. Cold and frail. There was an uneasiness in his voice. "D-don't be. I'm....alright." he croaked.

I stared deep into his sorrowful eyes. "You're not....you're not alright, Frodo." I sniffled. "What's....what's wrong? I'm...I'm worried about you."

Frodo shook his head. A huge stream of tears fell down his face. His lips quivered as he spoke. "I...I-I-I....didn't want...you...to...see me....like this, B-B-Brianna."

"It's alright." My voice cracked. "I...I...understand. I understand. I...I....missed....y-y-you, Frodo. I m-m-missed you."

Frodo quickly pulled me in close and started rocking me back and forth in his arms. "I....m-m-m-missed....." he blubbered. "Y-y-you, t-t-too. Please....s-s-stay....w-w-with me, m-my d-d-dearest. Please stay."

I burst into a pool of tears. I buried my head deep into Frodo's chest and sobbed loudly. "Frodo, I'm so afraid! I'm...s-s-so....afraid!"

"Shh, shh, shh." Frodo crooned. "I...I...I know. I know."

Frodo placed his gentle, shaking hand under my chin and lifted my head up so that he could get a better look at me. He noticed that I was heartbroken and filled with much toil.

Frodo stroked both of my cheeks to try to comfort me. "You don't have to be afraid." he whispered in my ear. Frodo's voice haunted me. It sent shivers down my spine. Goosebumps were running down all of my arms.

"Come, my d-d-dearest. Lay your weary head to rest. Fall asleep in my arms. C-C-Close your eyes." Frodo insisted. "I want to hold you."

I nodded my head, weakly. I carefully lifted myself into Frodo's bed and buried my entire body in his warm cotton blanket. Frodo wrapped me up in his arms and cradled me like an infant. I cried loudly in his chest.

Frodo patted my back and hushed me. "Shhh, Shhh, my precious one." he soothed. "Close your eyes. Close your eyes."

"I-I-I don't think I can." I blubbered.

Frodo pulled up the blanket and covered us both in it. He gently brushed away the remaining tears on my cheeks with his right hand. "Shh, It's alright, it's alright." he consoled. "I am here. I am here. Listen to my voice, my child."

My heart rate lowered. Frodo's voice comforted me and soothed me. I almost felt at ease. I hesitantly lowered my eyelids and listened to the sound of his compassionate voice.

He rocked me slowly in his arms. Back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth.

A feeling grew inside Frodo. It comforted him to comfort me. It brought him peace of mind. He was able to relax again. There were no more painful memories flying through his head.

Frodo kissed me on the back of the head a couple of times. He shielded his hand over my eyes and whispered in my ear. "Sleep. Sleep. Sleep."

SevBaggins