O68 - Of Times There Were Before

[azalaisdep.livejournal.com]

Challenge: O68 - Smells (Pipeweed)
Author: Azalais
Title: Of Times There Were Before
Format: Drabble
Genre: Gen
Rating: G
Warnings: none
Characters: an unnamed Elf of Rivendell, in the Fourth Age
Pairings: none
Summary: Long ago they sailed away...

Of Times There Were Before

Much of Imladris stands empty, now.  Feet ring hollow along once-thronging halls;  dust which danced in the sunbeams settles undisturbed.

He drifts between chambers, aimless, knowing he should shake off this mood and go outside to practice-ground or stables;  yet he cannot tear himself away from the memories, murmuring in so many now-departed voices.

Odd traces remain, even in scrupulously-tidied places.  A single earring left on a windowsill.  The pale blank wall where a favourite painting once hung.  And in one small, round-windowed room at a corridor’s end… the lingering scent, fruity and sharp and autumnal, of pipeweed.

~~~

Comments

[starli-ght.livejournal.com]

Your use of the senses here is so well-done that I feel like I am walking along with him. This theme of the passage of time really speaks to me. Watching my kids grow--they grow so fast! One day, I'll be like him--I'll go through my house and see a picture here, a doll there, (an earring is feasible in the case of my jewelry-obsessed 4-year-old) and wonder "where did time go?"

Loved it. I'm so glad you're playing along this year! This is a fun month :-)

[azalaisdep.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I only took a few cards, so this is the first of my numbers to come up. I may feel compelled to work through the rest of the prompts on my cards after the month is up!

[dreamflower]

Aww...this is so sweet and melancholy. Just lovely-- and beautiful imagery as well.

I especially loved the concluding sentence, just perfect.

[azalaisdep.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I did enjoy trying to find just the right words to evoke the smell of pipe-tobacco...

[aliana1.livejournal.com]

Lovely and autumnal--I like the way you invoke multiple senses, especially scent, at the end.

[azalaisdep.livejournal.com]

Thank you! The prompt was from the "Smells" card, and the first thing I always associate with scents is memories, so...

[blslarner.livejournal.com]

Oh, the delight to know that this unnamed Elf finds himself missing Bilbo! Excellent!

[azalaisdep.livejournal.com]

I was glad to find that too :-)