Day 99: Those Gone Before

Today dawned as any other day, chilly and swathed in fog. Everything went on as it normally did. School was uneventful, students coming and going from class. Work was filled with coffee, printer toner, and quizzes to grade. Far below the valley continued life as usual. It was another day in another year. The world continued to turn as it always did. But for me the day stood still, filled with melancholy and the dull ache of loss. Today was the one year anniversary of a friend’s passing.

Death is as much a part of life as anything else, always present, always at work in the world. I have been fortunate thus far to have remained largely undisturbed by him. Most of my family is still living as are most of my friends. Death is not something I have experience with in general. But today I stopped to think about the friend I had lost as I trekked 6.41 miles (10.32 km) along one of my favourite trails. His death, as almost all deaths seem to be, was tragic. It was too early. It shouldn’t have happened. But it did. He was gone. Today the world continued to turn despite my sorrow. Life kept going. Death is something I will never be used to.

The Lord of the Rings contains death. Tolkien knew death all too well. The characters have to struggle with battle and loss throughout their adventures. They are left behind to pick up the pieces and rebuild their world. The hobbits leave their home in the Shire, away from a more traditional notion of death, and are thrust into the world of war, hardship, and loss. I doubt I will ever understand the world of life and death as they must surely have after the events of The Lord of the Rings concluded. Nor do I ever hope to.

The road goes ever on and on,
~ Daisy Buttons