A Different Kind of Heaven [ Silmarillion ] 1

Chapter 13: Lessons and Memories

Eve let out an exasperated sigh and sunk deeper into the white couch. "I'll never remember all of this. I feel like I'm back in school learning french."

"What is french?"

"It's another language than what I speak," she explained quickly. "I speak English."

"You speak Quenya well enough, also," Findekáno added.

"Quenya?" She paused and sat up straighter in confusion.

Findekáno nodded. "That is our language. You seem to know it."

"What?!" She froze and paused. "I'm not speaking English?" At that, Eve concentrated and realized the words had indeed not been English. So she tried very hard and spoke a word in her native language. "Pizza."

"Ah, now that is not Quenya," Findekáno said, furrowing his brow. "I did not understand that."

She let her concentration drop. Eve realized that somehow her brain had been wired for this new language. It made her feel weird, almost violated. And yet she also felt incredibly thankful she hadn't woken up here with a language barrier.

"This is so weird." She muttered to herself for a moment, finally conscious of the strange and yet fitting words leaving her mouth. "Guess I'm finally bilingual." Eve turned back to Findekáno. "You said names have special meanings? How so?"

"A name is precious. It tells who you are speaking to. Often they hold meaning, like Kánafinwë's mother name, Makalaurë. It means Gold-cleaver, in honor of his fantastic ability in music."

"How did Nerdanel know about that when he was a baby?" She found the answers giving her more questions. But as Telperion waxed and Laurelin waned, they had plenty of time.

Findekáno nodded. "Another good question. Elven mothers have some degree of foresight for their children. They name them such."

Eve grinned. "Now that's cool! I wish I could see the future."

But with a small laugh, Finno shook his head. "I do not envy mothers. It is less seeing the future as you say, and more a sense of what will come. That is a lot of pressure."

They fell into silence as each contemplated his words. Eve watched the fading light off the balcony and stood, walking to the rail. She leaned on it, watching the ocean waves come and go below her. While she knew this wasn't the heaven she'd been taught in school, she found herself thinking that this was a heaven in and of itself. It was a paradise for her to live in.

And yet again, the nagging guilt returned. The memories flooded back in. She felt sick, thinking of her last days in her home. She'd had an argument with her brother before going out on New Year's Eve. He'd insisted she could get hurt, reminded her of the dangers. But she'd wanted, once in her life, to have fun without worrying. She bit her lip in anger and regret. Look where fun had gotten her.

Findekáno watched her silently. He wondered what she thought about. He remembered how they'd found her that morning, sad and angry, and decided he'd speak to Lady Nerdanel about it upon their return to Tirion. Perhaps Estë and Lorien would be able to help her. He stood, the last light of Laurelin shining strong. Cautiously he went to stand next to her.

"Something troubles you," he began slowly, carefully. "Findaráto mentioned it again after you went to sleep. What happened, Lady Eve? What brought you to us?"

She bit her lip and did not meet his gaze. Instead she stared intently out into the horizon. After several silent moments, she sighed. "It was my birthday. Where I'm from, people aren't allowed to drink alcohol until twenty-one. That doesn't keep us from doing it, but since I turned twenty-one I decided to enjoy a day without lying to drink." She gave a tiny smile, still looking away. "Sophia and Christopher and I decided to go out to a bar, a place where people go to drink and party. But my birthday is also one of the biggest drinking nights of the year."