Untitled - BoG-Archive

“Nay.”
Boromir gave him a look. It was a rather good copy of The Look, the one
their father used on people who displeased him. Still, for Boromir victory was no
certain thing when it came to this kind of battle. Faramir was pretty good at
outstaring him.
Not today, though. He broke eye contact quickly, prefering to investigate
the soft, suede shoes he usually wore inside.
“Hey.” The seven-year old looked up again. “Tell me,” Boromir urged. “It
can’t be so horrible that you can’t tell me, right?”
There was a pause. Then: “Did Father love Mother? And did Mother love
Father, too?”
The older boy was taken aback by question, but recovered quickly. “Of
course! How can you even think they didn’t love each other? She always used to
cheer him up when he became too grim for her liking. And sometimes she made
fun of him, especially when we were in Dol Amroth.” He grinned. “One day they
went on a trip in a small sailing boat, and when they returned to the beach, they
were both completely soaked. I don’t know what exactly happened, but Father
didn’t seem to mind at all. He kept laughing, even when she stuck out her tongue
at him!”
Faramir gasped. “Really?” Well, it was hard imagining anyone getting
away with such behaviour.
“Really.”
“I don’t remember.”
“Oh, you can’t. You were but a babe then.” Then realisation hit him. “You
don’t remember much about Mother, do you?”
“Nay.“ Faramir looked sad. “I’m trying, but it doesn’t work well. I
remember her lying in bed all the time because she was so weak. But before she
fell ill, she made me feel all warm and comfortable. And she had a very beautiful,
deep singing voice. She was beautiful anyway.”
“Aye. And she also liked to play with us.” The rather blank look on his
brother’s face confirmed Boromir’s suspicion. “It’s all right that you don’t
remember much. You were too small,” he tried to assure Faramir.
“But I was five already when she died, and that was only two years ago! I
should remember her better…”
In his mind, Boromir searched frantically for something appropriate to say
in order to ease the distress of his little brother. “Well, like it or not, five is still
very young. And when you’re that young, your memories fade very easily.”
Hopefully, Faramir would believe him.
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