The Unusual Adventures of the Hobbits

Chapter 7: Sight Seeing

     When they got back to the apartment, they found that Jim was gone and had left a note explaining that he had research to do for the day and would be back at dinner time. "Why don't you change into your new clothes I bought you and we can go sight seeing?" Danielle suggested. "It'll be better than sitting at home all day until Jim gets back." She said. "Indeed, madam." Said Merry, pulling his clothes out of the plastic bag. "Oh, and by the way, you all might want to wear your shorts." Danielle added with a twinkle in her eye. "Why?" Asked Frodo.
    
    "Because, I want to take you all somewhere special and you'll probably need shorts." She said mysteriously. The hobbits looked at her, confused, but gathered their clothes and took turns using the bathroom as a dressing room. When they were all dressed, Danielle loaded them into the car and drove onto the road. "Where are we going?" Frodo asked. "You'll see," Danielle said, "its a surprise." They drove for almost an hour and they still had no clue as to where Danielle was taking them. Frodo looked silently out the window as Sam, Merry, and Pippin wondered about where they were going. He felt that their ending up in this world was somehow his fault, deep inside, and his heart was heavy.
    
     Eventhough he was gazing out the window at all the cars whizzing by on the road like busy little ants, he wasn't paying any attention to them or the scenery. He was pondering how they were going to get back home. He felt responsible for the others, just like he felt responsible for them when he carried the Ring into the black land of Mordor and destroyed it in the fiery casm of Mt. Doom. He was lost in his thoughts when he heard Sam say, "look Mr. Frodo! The ocean! We're going to see the ocean!" Frodo jolted out of his dark thoughts and rubbed his eyes. "What did you say, Sam?" He asked, turning to look at his best friend.

     "We're going to see the ocean, Mr. Frodo!" Sam repeated joyously. "Are we really?!" Frodo asked, his spirits lifting. "Look out the window." Danielle said with a smile from the driver's seat. Frodo's head snapped toward the window and he stared out at the ocean scene before them. His face lit up and his burden was lifted. "I've always wanted to see the ocean!" He exclaimed. All the hobbits were chattering excitedly as they pulled into a parking lot that was filled to the brim with cars of all shapes, colors, and sizes. As soon as they got out of the car, the hobbits all breathed deeply. "Ah, the salt air! I thought I would only ever be able to smell it in my dreams." Said Frodo, stretching his arms after the long drive.

     "And the cry of the gulls! Listen, do you hear them?" Merry said with awe. "They're noisey!" Exclaimed Pippin. The others laughed. "C'mon!" Said Danielle as she began to sprint towards the beach. "Oi! Wait up!" Said Merry as the hobbits all trailed after her, their curls blowing in the breeze. Frodo laughed as he ran beside Pippin. He felt like he could fly, his feet propelling him forward until he passed the others, including Danielle. They all ran into the water with a giant splash! Danielle, still in her dress, flung water at them with a laugh. Soon a full on water war insued. None of the hobbits seemed to pay any attention to the other people at the beach; they were too preoccupied with all the fun they were having. The sound of merry laughter filled the beach for hours.

     Soon it began to get late in the day and Danielle said they had to go. They had built sandcastles when they tired of splashing each other and then they visited a sea food resuraunt for a taste of salty crab meat. All in all, it was an enjoyable day. The hobbits sighed with contentment as Danielle led them to the car. "That was fun! We should do that every day." Said Pippin with a slight yawn. "Indeed." Said Merry, rubbing his eyes. "Thank you, Danielle." Frodo said, a smile on his small face. "Yes, thank you, miss Danielle." Sam agreed as they slid into the car. "You are very welcome. Anything to make you feel happy here." Danielle said with a sleepy grin.

     They pulled out of the parking lot without much trouble, sand covering every inch of their sleepy little bodies. "Now if only all this sand would leave me alone, I would be able to get some decent rest." Pippin said with annoyance, scratching his sand-covered back. "We can get a shower when we get home. Then we will all feel much better." Danielle said. The hobbits looked at her quizzically through the fading light. "What's that? This shower you speak of?" Asked Merry. "What? You don't have showers where you come from?" Said Danielle, rather shocked. The hobbits shook their sandy curls, sending little speckletes sprinkling to their laps. Danielle thought for a moment and then said, "Well, a shower is like a bath, except you stand and the water pours down on you from a pipe." "Ooohh.." The hobbits said in unison.

     Almost an hour later, the hobbits found themselves back at Danielle's apartment. Jim wasn't back yet so it gave them all a chance to wash up and change into some old shirts of Jim's that they could use for pijamas. The shirts were rather big on the hobbits and they looked quite comical. Frodo was the last to take a shower and when he came out, draped in a giant shirt that came down almost to his knees, he looked at the others and then Danielle in wonder. "That was amazing! Water from a pipe that can change to hot or cold whenever you wish!" Danielle laughed. "Yes, it is quite extraordinary, isn't it?" She said. Danielle told them they could watch a bit of TV if they liked and headed to the kitchen to make dinner.

     "What's TV?" Pippin asked, turning to Sam. "How am I supposed to know?" Sam said with a shrug. "I'll go ask Danielle." Pippin said and sauntered off, trying to look important. When he came back, he pointed at a flat, black rectangle and said, "Danielle said that a TV is this thing." "Nice. Now why would watching this be entertaining?" Merry asked, crossing his arms. "Danielle said you have to turn it on with a remote." Pippin replied. "What's a remote?" Sam asked. "Danielle said it is this thing." Pippin said, striding over to an intable and picking up a small, grey rectangle with weird knobs on the front. The hobbits all looked at it in wonder before Frodo asked, "How do you turn the TV on with that?" Pippin grinned with his supirior knowledge on this matter. "Behold." He said, pressing a red button on the top of the remote.

     Suddenly, the TV jumped to life. Moving pictures formed themselves on the TV's smooth surface and sounds, that seemed to fill all the air, came from it. On the surface a man and woman could be seen talking to each other. There were tears in the woman's eyes. They were wearing clothes that were strange to the hobbits but more familiar than the clothes of this strange world. The man talked of liberty from the British for America. The hobbits sat themselves on the couch and watched intently. They were captivated by the lives of the strange people on the screen. "It seems to be some sort of palantír." Pippin said. "Shush!" Hissed Merry, leaning foreward to hear the conversation.

     The hobbits watched as the man, who seemed to want to kill someone the woman wanted to spare, left right when Danielle entered the room. "This moving picture, what is it called?" Frodo asked when he noticed Danielle. "Oh, that's Turn: Washington's Spies. Its a favorite show of Jim and I." She said with a smile. "What is it about?" Asked Merry. "Well, its about the Revelutionary War. America, the land we are in now, had to fight the British to gain independence." Answered Danielle. She continued to educate them in American history and they gazed at her in wonder. "Wow! That's quite interesting!" Frodo exclaimed, letting his passion for history show. "It really is." Danielle said with a sigh. She loved teaching, it was her dream.

     Just then the door opened with a slight creak and they all looked to see Jim standing in the doorway with an upset expression on his face. "Is everything alright, dear?" Danielle asked, walking over to him and placing her hands in his. "O-of course..." He stuttered, avoiding the hobbits' gaze. "I just need to talk to you in private." He whispered in her ear. Danielle glanced back at the hobbits, noticing her husband's uneasiness towards them. "Anything, dear." She whispered in his ear. "Will you excuse us for a moment?" She asked, turning to the hobbits who sat on the couch, discussing the show they had just watched. "Of course." They said in unison.

     Jim led Danielle into their room and shut the door quickly behind him. "What's the matter?" Danielle asked. Jim looked at her, his eyes wide and his breathing ragged. "I found out who those guys are and where they came from. Beats me how they got here or why, but..." He trailed off, wiping his sweaty brow with a trembling hand. "Jim, dear, what on Earth is the matter? I don't understand what's going on here. Your worrying me!" Danielle said, gripping Jim's arms and staring into his eyes.

     "Well, I went out to do a little reasearch about Hobbits. The wifi shut down here so I had to go to the library. Anyways, I found out that hobbits are mythical creatures from the writings of a deceased author, J.R.R. Tolkien. He wrote about them in his books The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings. I looked up the books and turns out they made them into movies." Jim rambled on and on about all he had discovered about Hobbits and Middle-Earth. Danielle stood there with her eyes wide, a hand covering her gaping mouth. "You don't mean...? But it couldn't be. Its just not possible.. is it?" She asked, staring at the ground. "There's only one way to find out!" Jim said, turning towards the door.