twotrees

[twotrees]

The Two Trees, The Two Heroes

The Two Trees, The Two Heroes

By Bray Colloway

As a part of this experience, the titles section of each part link to a particular song by The 1975. Please click the link and let the song carry you through the chapter while you read. When you have finished reading a section, please close out the previous song before moving onto another. The sections will not take the whole song to complete, so feel free to advance at your own pace.Thank you!

PI: Frail State of Mind

“Fuck, It’s over….I guess” he said aloud as he looked out over the temple steps that lead to the steep cliff that dropped away, plunging into the foggy depths, the ground not in view. He was sitting down on the leaf covered apron leading out from the Sanctuary of the Avatar. He hadn’t been back to the Temple in quite some time, 2 years or so. Well, at least not since his 115th birthday, his first birthday after the war. So many things whirled around his brain like the air he bent at complete ease. It was the middle of winter, but thanks to his firebending, he kept himself nice and toasty. These new Air Nomad robes, that the great clothiers of Ba Sing Se had made for him, felt like that didn’t fit. “Am I shrinking? No...that’s just my heart.” He gave himself one more blast of heat from a deep, deep breath. With that, he took out his new staff, made by the Mechanist, ran with abandon towards the steep drop-off laid out before him, closed his eyes, and took flight into the cold night. For the brief half step before the wings of the glider opened, he felt the thousand meter drop below. It felt...inviting. 

As he flew through the evening sunset, which was masked by the thick clouds turning it sort of a brown tinted grey, he began to tear up. He couldn’t tell if it was the cold wind hitting his eyes or...something else. “Come on”, he thought to himself, “it’s been 2 months, fucking pull yourself together”. The crisp air was soothing in a way to him. The slight bite that the air made made him realize that he could actually feel something again. 

After a few minutes of loitering in the sky surrounding the top of the temple, he saw a particularly dark cloud approaching the complex. Something drew him to it, he wasn’t sure exactly what though. With a quick shimmy of his shoulders, and a turn of his core, away he darted towards the dark form that sat between him and the quickly dimming sky that lay beyond it. When he came head on to the cloud, he felt a deep sense of dread as he plunged into darkness and chaos. This thundersnow flung his carefully crafted glider left and right with quick force. His left hand began to slowly slip from the formed handle. He battled his sweaty palms but felt a moment of calm: What if I just….let go?...shit no no no I need to get back, they need me! I-I think…

It was at this moment a flash of lightning came down 20 meters in front of the airbender, the Avatar was startled, but saw a glimpse of the silhouettes of the people closest to him. Time stood still as he peered across the outlines of his brother in arms, the greatest teacher he ever had, his enemy turned friend, and the love of his l--the one he loved. When he saw the last shadow he brought the wings of his glider in, offering himself to the storm and feeling the earth pull him towards its center. He fell. He fell some more. He closed his eyes. I did my duty. Am I wanted or desired? Is there a point? 

As he expected to be caught by the rocks below, he felt a soft caress of head, and his momentum shifted horizontally. He opened his eyes and saw the tufts of thick fur below him. It was Appa, carrying him back in the direction of the Southern Air Temple, for a long awaited audience with his past lives. “Time to talk, Aang” he heard a voice say to him.

PII: Be My Mistake

There’s a reason I am leaving, a reason I am going away. They think it’s because of the Morgul Blade wound and the weight of the burden I carried, but it’s really another ache and weight in my heart. 

Laying in bed, he stared at the ornate ceiling above him, counting the number of times the great shipwrights of the Grey Havens had nested a leaf into the crowning of the walls. He knew the great White Wizard recognized that something was amiss, as he had tried to call upon the ring bearer multiple times. He didn’t care. The wizard could never understand what he was going through. He hadn’t come out of the cabin of their Elven ship, on the Straight Path to Valinor, since they left out of view of the harbor. The outer creases of the hobbits' eyes were crusted with the dried remains of all the tears he had shed over the past few days. All he wanted to do was be in the arms of the one he loved once more. The two of them had been through so much, shed to many tears together, and had grown up together.

“Master hobbit”, came a deep rumble from outside the door, “there is something outside you should see”. He smelled the smoke from the Longbottom Leaf come from underneath the cabin door. “That smells like them”, he thought as he rolled over and covered his head with the blanket. *thud thud* rapped the door. “Fuck off! I am to be left...alone” the halfing yelled from underneath his covering. Then, nothing. The young master waited for a few seconds only to roll over and see the long beard, flowing robe, and kind eyes of Gandalf the White sitting on a stool beside the bed. “You know I bloody hate it when you do that” said the hobbit, “I don't know why you’re even in here right now Gandalf.” They both took a beat to read each other. “I am concerned for your wellbeing Frodo. You waste away in this small room, it will be a long journey if you keep up like this”, Gandalf said through a kind smirk coming across his face. There was a pause while both of them waited for the other to break.

“Well, it doesn’t matter anyway does it?”, snapped Frodo, “Where you are taking me, I will never die! It’s in its name ‘the Undying Lands’, real creative the Valar are, eh?” The hobbit finally sat up and dangled his feet over the bed. For a normal man, this would be the perfect height for one to slip their slippers on, but for the dear Baggins it felt like a cliff. “I know why you are truly leaving dear Frodo”, spoke Gandalf with a more hushed tone, “this feeling too shall pass.” The Maiar got up from his seat and began to leave the room, gesturing towards Frodo to come join him above decks. “You think so?” asked Frodo. “I sure do hope so,” responded Gandalf, “or else you’ll have an eternity full of regret”

Frodo begrudgingly crawled onto the sun baked deck and stood just beside the wizard’s cloak. He watched as the last glimpses of the sun began to disappear underneath the horizon. The sunset was as beautiful as the face of the one he loved, and felt just as distant too. With a call from the helm, the captain of the vessel filled the sails with wind, and the ship began to rise up and away from the water’s surface as the ship and crew began the Lost Road to Valinor. The place where Frodo will call home until the end of the Song of Time.

PIII: Ballad of Me and My Brain

Aang was on his back, clinging on for dear life on top of Appa’s saddle, the reins falling into his hands as if they were guided by some outside force. He grasped them tightly, tears coming to his eyes as he let out a whimper, “I’m so sorry buddy. I don’t know what came over me. I’m scared, I’m lost.” he said to his longest tenured friend. Appa tilted his head side to side and let out a deep and resounding MMMOOOOAAAAAAHHHH before shaking his shoulders as thought to tell the seemingly young Avatar to lay down and rest.

Appa touched down back on the apron outside the great Sanctuary, his great landing sending all of the leaves tumbling away in a circular pattern. Aang hopped off, landing with the light feet that his teacher and friend Toph would always tease him for. With each step towards the Sanctuary door, the Avatar felt a tightness in his chest grow more and more. He reached out to send the currents of air into the door mechanism, but stopped just shy of sending them. He dropped to his knees crying, not knowing what he was doing or why. He felt lonely, abandoned, and terrified of what the rest of his life was going to look like. He sat with his back to the great door, head in his hands, and lost all track of time. He came to, with the sky a bright orange and pink. Was it morning? Evening? Dawn or dusk? He couldn’t tell. “Open the door Aang” he heard the voice command. With ease, the great bender sent hurricane force winds into the maw of the locking mechanism, hearing gears and levers shift, finally letting out deep tones like an organ. The doors opened, revealing once more the lines of statues depicting all of the lives of the Avatar, his past lives.

Aang made his way to the middle of the cavernous chamber, sat down into Padmasana, and began breathing deeply. He had done this countless times before, the deep meditation that Gyatso taught him, but this time it felt labored, tiring. No matter, Aang pressed on, sinking deeper into his inner self, into his past lives. Normally when he passed into the Spirit World, he could see his body floating before him, but not this time. It felt like days passed before Aang finally opened his eyes. His body was nowhere to be found. All he saw around him was a wide meadow upon a hill, as he looked up he saw two great trees before him, one golden and the other silver. The Great Trees emitted the most incredible light that Aang had ever seen, filling him with warmth and awe like nothing had before. “Wait here,” the great voice said to him, “there is someone who is to join you in due time. Be patient and wait. Listen to the tree and the songs they sing”. Aang did as instructed, finding himself in Lotus position once more, this time sinking himself into this Root position. He waited….

“Hello”, Aang heard softly, “you must be who I am looking for” Aang opened his eyes to see upon the ground in front of him two very large and hairy feet.

PIV: Somebody Else

The rest of the journey away from Arda went by quicker than Frodo expected. This was aided by the longbottom leaf weed that he stole from Gandalf’s personal stash, and the elvish ale that he consumed at regular intervals. He didn’t take in the beauty of the world slowly drifting away beneath him, or the stars finding their shapes, or even the light becoming warmer. Frodo kept himself in a constant state of high and drunk. 

Two days before arriving in Aqualande, Frodo found himself standing on the bow of the great ship, a pint in one hand, a necklace in the other, and a pipe sitting precariously balanced between his teeth and lips. He knew that the helmsman and deck hands were watching him...he didn’t care. All he did that evening was yell into the wind, and then hold up the chain of the necklace high in front. On the end of the simple silver chain was a small black oval, made of cast iron. Frodo knew what it was, and hated it. Not even Gandalf could guess what it could be.

Gandalf stared at the small black iron oval with great intrigue as he carried Frodo’s inebriated little body down the gangway of the ship and towards their new home. He laid the hobbit down to rest on a small cot and sat beside him for three days until he woke up. “I’m sorry Gandalf, a broken heart is a harder burden to carry than any I have before” said Frodo meekly. “That’s quite alright Mister Frodo”, responded Gandalf. His bushy eyebrow twitched and quickly he gazed out the side window towards the two lights off in the distance. “Frodo”, addressed Gandalf, “Do you see those two great lights in the distance? Go to them, sit at their roots, and you shall find the peace you seek.” 

Yah right old man, send me on another fucking wild goose chase fucking adventure bullshit goddam-”Yah alright Gandalf….if you say so” 

The following morning, with a pack full of Lambas Bread, Frodo began his walk to the two lights. To the hobbit’s surprise his feet never tired, his mouth never dried, and his pace never slowed. He covered a great distance in his first day, and found a small grotto for that night’s rest. During his sleep he saw a young man sitting cross legged with his eyes closed. He looked young but yet so old, but he certainly wasn’t an elf. “You must meet this being”, he heard call to him. “I will do what I must'', responded Frodo, almost instinctively. The following morning, Frodo finished his walk towards the lights, which he began to realize were the canopies of two great trees. When he arrived at the plaza beneath them, he came upon the young boy, sitting at the base of the silver tree, the young boy from his dream. “Hello”, he said sheepishly, “you must be who I am looking for”

PV: I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it

Aang stared at the two hairy feet laid out before him. They were very large for how small the legs were that sprouted from atop the ankles. As his gaze slowly went higher, he saw a green cloak covering simple brown trousers with a fine wool top, with small bronze buttons poking through the brown monotony, leading to a kind face. Smooth, unkempt dark hair crowned this frame, all only a little over one meter tall. “Hi,” declared Aang, reaching out his hand, “I’m Aang, the Avatar.” The small man seemed to recoil at first, but quickly stood back up to the tallest posture he could muster. “Iluvatar?” retorted the kindly dressed man. “No, the Avatar….uh...like master of all 4 elements? Do you know what that is?” “I-I can’t say I do, no...sorry. I am Frodo, hobbit of the Shire” “Nice to meet you Frodo, would you care to sit down with me?” Aang said while gesturing to the patch of perfectly manicured grass that lay beside him.

The hobbit named Frodo seemed to let his guard down momentarily, put his pack down and sat beside the Avatar. After a long period of awkward silence, Aang relented and asked Frodo where they were, and what this place was. Frodo explained that this was Valinor, the Undying Lands, and that the two immense trees they were sitting under were Laurelin (the Gold Tree) and Telperion (the Silver Tree). This world was separated from his home world of Middle-Earth when Eru-Iluvatar (the deity that Frodo mistook Aang for) bent the oceans, leaving only the Straight Road as the connecting path between this world and his home. “What brought you here then?” asked Aang. “Y-you wouldn’t understand” uttered Frodo as he began to get up and slink away. Frodo began to walk down from the top of the plaza, finding a steep set of stairs and making his way down them. Aang, concerned for his new acquaintance, drew a vein of air underneath him and scootered his way to the bottom of the stairs and waited. As soon as he landed, Frodo turned the corner and jumped. “Fuck me. You know, you’re not the only person who shows up out of nowhere, and I’m tired of his shit too”, exclaimed the hobbit. Aang replied, “Look I am just trying to help here. I don’t know anyone else here, in fact you're the first person I’ve seen. Something drew me through the Spirit World to be here with you.” There was a long pause, only the sound of the breeze running through the leaves high above them making a noise.”Look”, Aang began, “In my world, I don’t know what my point is anymore. My great task was completed, my friends are no longer around me like they used to be, and I don’t know what the purpose of going on is anymore. But, I think I am here to help you.”

Frodo broke down balling, collapsing into Aang’s arms. Through the tears, Aang was able to hear, “I went through so much with Sam. He literally carried me to hell and back. I thought we were going to die together. At what was certainly our end, all I saw were Sam’s eyes. They were so intensely seared into my brain, that when we returned home to the Shire, I was broken, and then he went running into Rosie’s arms. I didn’t know what to expect, and I didn’t know exactly when I was feeling. I saw Sam fall more in love with Rosie, get married, and have kids! So, I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to leave, and go somewhere far far away.”

Aang held Frodo tight for what felt like an hour.  Aang felt so sorry for this person he just met. He felt helpless just like him. Aang could relate. Aang could also feel all of the energy in this person, bottled up and unable to free themselves. “Okay here is what we are going to do. I am going to show you how to open your chakras, one by one. You will never be able to achieve peace until you do so.”

Aang then guided Frodo through all of the steps of opening the chakras that Guru Pathik showed him, all those years ago.  First they went through the earth chakra, then water, fire, and finally air. Frodo saw things that he couldn't even comprehend, and Aang could feel the barriers in the halfling's heart shatter, the scares began to heal, and the full force of his energy returned to him. Aang wasn’t able to confirm it, but for a brief moment it seemed like the Trees of Valinor got a little  brighter.

Frodo’s tears changed from tears of heartbreak to those of joy, and when he opened his eyes, he was a new hobbit. “Thank you”, gushed Frodo, “I feel whole again.” “Oh, you’re welcome,.... I guess” remarked Aang, “Guess you don’t need me anymore now then.” Frodo thought long and hard. “Actually, there is one thing…” Frodo mused, “Come with me.”

PVI: Pressure

Frodo led Aang back towards the home that he had stayed in his first night in this new land. His heart was still singing from the experience that he had just had. The weight of heartbreak had been lifted, and he was ready to enjoy this life eternal in the Undying Lands. As they approached the ornately tiled building, they saw a warm glow from the windows above. Frodo gestured to get low and stay quiet, hearing two hushed voices talk back and forth, with a familiar scent wafting in the air. Frodo began to scurry along the bottom of the outer wall towards an unlit door, beckoning Aang to stay close behind and enter the house behind him. “What are we doing?” asked Aang. “Right now”, Frodo responded, “I am on cloud nine, and you, my friend, need something to help put things in perspective. My good lads, Merry and Pippin, shared this with me long ago, and now it is my chance to pass it onto you.” Aang looked perplexingly at the ringbearer. “And what would that be?” queried the Avatar. “Mischief and Longbottom Leaf!” responded Frodo.

Together, the two of them waited until the two voices they heard, Gandalf and Bilbo, recede to their bed chambers for the night. On Frodo’s signal, the airbender sent a flurry of wind to push the hobbit, who had cloaked himself in the camouflage robe given to him by the Lady Galadriel, towards the unlocked larder of Bilbo Baggins. Quickly, Frodo began to grap every instrument of libation and liberation he could find. Once all of the necessary tools were acquired, Frodo turned to exit the small pantry, only to come face to knee with Gandalf the White. “And just what might you be up to Master Hobbit?” posited the great spellcaster. “Oh...um well...you see...um” stammered Frodo like he was 20 years old once again. “It’s quite alright Master Baggins. I knew this was to come. Go ahead, enjoy your evening with your new friend. Your task has been completed.” interrupted Gandalf. 

With that, Frodo scurried out with a grin larger than when he and his cousins would snag potatoes out of Farmer Maggot’s field. He grabbed Aang’s expensive sleeve, and ran out into the brisk evening, making a beeline for the beach.

PVII: If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know)

Frodo Baggins and Aang sat together on the beach of Aman, watching the light of Laurelin fade, only for Telperion to take over and shine the night sky with a sharp brilliance that neither hero had ever seen. They swapped stories of their great adventures, Frodo showing off the scar from the Morgul Blade, while Aang pulled up his shirt to show the lightning mark, courtesy of Azula, on this back.They recalled the trouble that their friends got them into, and also how they would never had made it through their ordeals alive it wasn’t for those same people. 

They smoked more Longbottom than any Shire-folk ever had before. Their horns of ale seemed to never hit bottom. They laughed and cried together for hours and hours, finally calming down to just watch the waves of the Endless Sea crash before them. “Thank you, Aang” said Frodo. “No,” replied Aang, “thank you. If it wasn’t for you, I would have never seen how I can help someone no matter what. Our great ordeals are over, but it seems as though our lives are about to begin.” With that the two of them leaned their backs against a large piece of driftwood, and began to doze off to sleep. Right before succumbing to slumber, Aang felt his spirit transport up and away quickly into the heavens. He found his eyes opening, in padmasana, in the middle of the Great Sanctuary he had been in last. 

With a deep breath, and a bow to his past lives, Aang walked outside into the cold winter air, climbed onto Appa’s back, took a hold of the reins. With hope in his voice for the first in years, he said, “It’s time to go home buddy…. Appa, Yip Yip.” With an immense force, the Sky Bison leapt into the air and began to fly effortlessly towards home, where Aang’s friends awaited his return.