Fic Rec Fridays 2020 - part 5

Put Me In The Ground (1495 words) by Lapin
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Lord of the Rings (Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit (2012), The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Relationships: Bilbo Baggins/Thorin Oakenshield
Characters: Bilbo Baggins, Frodo Baggins, Thorin Oakenshield, Thorin's Companions
Additional Tags: Grief/Mourning, life - Freeform, It goes on, Memories, Love

Summary:

It is on one quiet afternoon that Frodo, young, innocent child he is, asks, very matter-of-factly, “Uncle, why aren't you married?”

And all Bilbo says is, “Because I am not.”

That is the truth, after all.

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So I went into my bookmarks looking for a rec, came across this and made a blubbery mess of myself - which means I'm now going to spread out the damage. (Also I can’t believe I haven’t recced this before!)

First of all: do not mistake brevity for simplicity - this story skillfully interweaves a single, seemingly innocent conversation with the complex course of an entire lifetime, framing the achingly bittersweet reminiscence of have-beens and what-ifs with the starkly painful reality of the present. Because while time might soften and blunt the most immediate edges of grief, some wounds will never scar over completely - for what is lost is so precious that to forget it would be unthinkable.

Recommended for clear, evocative prose where every word has its rightful place, for agonisingly well-depicted emotion that doesn't veer into the pathetic, and for excellent character insight. Bring a handkerchief. Bring a pack.