"I Who Am Water", by Himring

[hhimring]

Title: I Who Am Water
Author's Name: Himring
B2MeM Challenge: Seasons of Middle-earth, Summer (non-compilation)
Prompt: "Each year at summer’s end I go to find them for her, In a wide pool, deep and clear…" (Fellowship of the Ring, "In the House of Tom Bombadil")
Summary: Goldberry is the River-daughter
Rating: PG
Warnings: none
Format / Genre: ficlet (108 words); character study (first-person)
Characters/ Pairings: Goldberry (Goldberry / Tom Bombadil)



No matter how many water lilies he brings, this circle of bowls that I can lightly leap across cannot be my wide pool, deep and clear, my ancient home in the river.
‘Goldberry’, he calls me, ‘Goldberry, merry yellow berry-o!’
And I consent.  I consent to be Goldberry. I sleep in Tom’s arms at night. I welcome our visitors. I sing water, I who am water; I sing rain for hobbits at summer’s end.
If I withheld my consent, I could slip the noose and turn into a nameless brook hurrying down to the Withywindle. No house or door could hold me. Not even Tom could stop me.

A/N: Possibly influenced by a fic that I have read, but which I cannot clearly remember. If it reminds you of someone else's fic, please let me know whose it is...

Comments

[kittotter.livejournal.com]

Interesting! The water lilies seem to be Goldberry's vow to stay, and Tom's talisman against her leaving. In any case, Tom is lucky to have won this wild river's daughter!

Clodia on ff.net has a lot of Tom and Goldberry stories. :/

[hhimring]

Thank you!
I've read at least some of Clodia's stories of Tom and Goldberry and enjoyed them. Do you actually think they are my mystery influence? The bits that I consciously remember are a bit different, but I haven't re-read them for a while. I guess I should!

[kittotter.livejournal.com]

Perhaps! Yours sounds close to Clodia's vision of the couple. But also, I really can't think of any other authors. It's a tiny niche. :)