For a long while I dreaded returning to the town that once soothed me, and after my arrival with Vineleth, I spent most of my time in the house. I tended to my garden, and took a liking to watching my friend work on her wares. It was all very uneventful, and of course I grew stiff with feeling like a fenced animal due to my unease. Sweet Vineleth understood and rode with me to Bree.
Naturally, I snuck off to my beloved Tavern. The Prancing Pony hadn’t changed in the slightest, which I was unsure how to feel about, and soon after my entrance I reconnected with an older woman, Authera, whom I met when I was reaching twelve winters. She spoke of all that had happened between that time and now: her husband’s absence, which pained me to hear, and of her new hobbies. It felt odd, the realization that we were both adults now, and she was so comfortable telling me of her woes. I was introduced then to the little one clinging to her leg—her child, Alli.
Authera’s young, who has lived a measly four years, helped in restoring my love for Bree as I spent my next few weeks with her. Her mother offered me a small bit of coin to care for her when she needed to work or tend to chores, and I had such an eye for Alli that I would stay even when she was there to watch her herself.
I suppose I could say I started this journal for the remembrance of Alli when she was small. I swore to her that I would watch her grow and develop into a marvelous human being, and I will. I surely will. I intend to look back on this journal after years have passed to remind myself. When she isn’t around, I miss the embrace of her tiny arms around my neck as I held her, and the questions she asked of simple things, like the flicker of a candle’s flame, or the petals of a blossomed flower. I can’t help but treat her as if she put the stars in the sky, because in my eyes, she has. I’ve never realized the abundance of love I have to give until I met her.
She calls me ‘Mousey’, following Authera introducing me as her ‘Little Mouse’, and I’ve taken a liking to that name. She is to me, and many others, a ray of sunshine that I feel fortunate to have shine upon me each day. I can never thank Authera enough for their presence, and I’m sure by now it is infuriating, but I simply can’t help it.
Also, I’ve met a few brilliant people in my time in Bree when I was not with Alli, notably a man named Drandr, who had presented to me a friendly smile the first second of noticing me, even though I felt a bother because of how peaceful he looked by the hearth. Before leaving town I had the misfortune of only meeting the most ill-tempered sorts, and Drandr’s easiness was uplifting. He told me stories of the history of his people, and at times he reminded me of my father. That may partly be why I enjoyed his company so much.
I can say now that I am pleased to be home.
