The door was ajar.
You pushed it and the door creaked as it swung. You had to duck to be able to enter the house. Carefully you managed not to hit your head against the chandelier. When you were inside, you stood up properly and looked around.
The once warm house was empty.
The books that were once piled on every corner were all gone and they live in the bookshelves again. The swords and armor and things that had seen adventures were all locked up in chests. The maps are folded and stuck in between pages of the books. Jars and cups and kitchen utensils are all in place. The armchairs are still there and the bed and the covers tucked properly.
But all of these had been collecting dust.
You walked to the other rooms, ducking your head every now and then. When you had gone around you went back to the front door. There you closed your eyes.
The fire was lit.
Chairs were pushed across the floor.
Footsteps hurried pass you.
The air carried the smell of a promising meal.
Knives and forks and spoons scraped against plates.
Then there was silence.
"Come on now, (Y/N). What are you waiting for? Join us here on the table! Frodo, why did you leave (Y/N) standing there?"
"You asked me to carry a chair, Bilbo."
"I say Merry and Pippin made (Y/N) wait."
"Don't put the blame on us, Sam. We were hurrying around to make everything perfect for (Y/N)'s visit!"
"Yes! Even the flowers are fresh thanks to us!"
"Enough of that. Sit now, (Y/N). It's been a long time since we last saw each other."
You opened your eyes.
You were alone.
Everything felt cold.
It felt empty.
You ran a hand across the wall and went outside. With a heavy heart, you looked back inside the house. It was dark and void of laughter like how it once used to.
You closed the door and the front gate and walked away. But before you got too far, you looked back, and the ache in your heart became more painful than before.
There was no reason to come back.
"Before, in these halls I never stood alone,
I look at your faces and I am home,
Once, I thought we'd be together forevermore,
When I was here, with you, before.
But now you've gone and I am alone,
This place is cold, this is no longer home,
Your memories I bring forevermore,
As I stand here, without you, where I've been before."
(Author's Note: I write this with the thought of how everything and everyone we knew had all gone, had all passed. What if we were immortal? Or what if we were elves who decided to stay behind, and our friends have already passed or sailed? What if we, readers, have been transported to their world but all those we knew have gone? It is your decision how you will imagine this scenario came to be but one thing is certain—they are now only a distant memory. They are friends we will never see again.)